The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE emerges as a strong contender in the mid-range phone market, offering much of the flagship experience found in its more expensive siblings at a more affordable price of $649.99. The S24 FE aims to deliver key aspects such as strong performance, extended battery life, and the integration of Samsung’s innovative Galaxy AI features. While making some expected compromises, particularly in the camera department, the Galaxy S24 FE offers a well-rounded package that could appeal to users looking for a powerful Samsung experience without breaking the bank.
Design
In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE adheres to classic Samsung design, featuring a rounded rectangular body, an aluminum frame, and front and back glass panels. This gives the device a premium feel, even if the overall design language has become somewhat familiar. The phone measures 6.38 x 3.04 x 0.31 inches (height x width x depth) and weighs 219.5 grams, making it taller and wider than its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 FE (6.22 x 3.01 x 0.32 inches, 7.37 ounces), as well as the Google Pixel 8a (5.99 x 2.86 x 0.35 inches, 6.63 ounces). Despite its slightly larger dimensions, the S24 FE remains sleek and comfortable to use. Durability is a key consideration, and the S24 FE features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back, an upgrade from the Gorilla Glass 5 used on the S23 FE and Pixel 8a.
This newer glass offers improved drop protection, surviving drops of up to 2 meters compared to the 1.2-meter protection of Gorilla Glass 5. Both types of glass are scratch-resistant. Furthermore, the phone boasts an IP68 rating, similar to the S23 FE, indicating its supposed dust and water resistance, allowing it to withstand submersion in deep water for longer periods than the Pixel 8a’s IP67 rating. Physical controls, including the power and volume buttons, are located on the right edge, slightly raised but easy to use. The top edge houses the SIM tray, while the bottom edge houses the USB-C port and a bottom-mounted speaker. For biometric authentication, the phone includes an optical fingerprint sensor at the bottom of the display, which we find highly reliable, along with the less secure Face ID option. One difference from Samsung’s flagship devices is the thicker bezels around the display, particularly the prominent bump at the bottom.
The back of the phone retains Samsung’s triple-camera array, with three lenses protruding slightly. The Galaxy S24 FE is available in a range of colors, including blue, graphite, gray, and mint, with the graphite model featuring a darker aluminum frame compared to the silver frame in the other color variants.
Display
The display on the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE has undergone a change in size and type for 2024. It features a larger 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, an upgrade from the 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the S23 FE. The refresh rate remains at 120Hz, and peak brightness reaches 1900 nits. Interestingly, Samsung stated that the Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the S23 FE has achieved HDR10+ certification and more accurate colors compared to the Super AMOLED display on the S24 FE.
This suggests that the S24 FE’s display is a technical step down from the previous model in some aspects, although the review suggests that few users are likely to notice a significant difference. By comparison, the Google Pixel 8a features a smaller 6.1-inch OLED display with a 2400 x 1080 resolution, a 60-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. Despite these differences, all three displays (S23 FE, S24 FE, Pixel 8a) are easily visible, even in direct sunlight.
Performance
Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is powered by the Samsung Exynos 2400e processor, paired with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB ($649.99) or 256GB ($709.99) of storage. This marks a departure from Samsung’s usual practice for US releases, which often use Qualcomm chipsets; Performance tests reveal a significant performance improvement for the S24 FE compared to its predecessor. In Geekbench 6, which measures CPU performance, the S24 FE achieved a single-core score of 2035 and a multi-core score of 5979, significantly higher than the S23 FE’s 1520 and 3143. Surprisingly, these scores are very close to the Galaxy S24’s flagship scores of 2260 and 6893. The PCMark Work 3.0 test, which simulates general mobile tasks, achieved an impressive score of 17205 for the S24 FE, a significant increase from the S23 FE’s 14389 and close to the S24’s 17399. All three Samsung phones outperformed the Pixel 8a, which scored 11,982. In graphics-intensive tasks, as measured by GFXBench’s Aztec Ruins test, the S24 FE excelled, achieving 82 frames per second (fps), more than double the S23 FE’s 39 fps and again approaching the S24’s 85 fps. The Pixel 8a scored 55 fps on this test. In real-world use, the S24 FE handled everyday tasks like email and web browsing smoothly, and showed no issues running graphics-intensive games like Genshin Impact at high settings, though the back of the phone did get a little warm during extended gaming sessions.
Device Battery Performance
Battery life is a major strength of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, which has a 4,700mAh battery. The phone supports up to 25W wired charging, 15W Qi2 wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging for accessories. In our battery test, which included streaming HD video at full screen brightness, the S24 FE lasted an impressive 15 hours and 50 minutes. This represents a significant improvement over the S23 FE’s 10 hours (with a 4,500mAh battery) and the Pixel 8a’s 12 hours and 15 minutes (with a 4,492mAh battery). Although a charger isn’t included in the box, using a compatible fast charger, the phone can be charged from 0% to 100% in 1 hour and 20 minutes. A 15-minute charge reaches 27%, and a 30-minute charge reaches 55%. For comparison, the S23 FE takes 1 hour and 35 minutes to fully charge, and the Pixel 8a requires 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE supports a full range of wireless bands, including 5G (sub-6GHz, C-Band, and mmWave), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC. These connectivity options are similar to those offered by the S23 FE and Pixel 8a. On Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network in New York City, the S24 FE achieved a peak download speed of 651 Mbps and a peak upload speed of 90.0 Mbps, a slight improvement over the S23 FE, which achieved 552 Mbps download and 83.7 Mbps upload under the same conditions. When connected to Wi-Fi 6, the S24 FE reached peak download speeds of 408 Mbps and upload speeds of 9.48 Mbps, slightly lower than the Galaxy S23 FE’s 463 Mbps download and 12.6 Mbps upload. However, on Wi-Fi Edge, the S24 FE maintained strong performance with peak speeds of 241 Mbps download and 9.29 Mbps upload, outperforming the S23 FE’s 131 Mbps download and 10.2 Mbps upload in the same scenario.
Camera
The camera system is where the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE makes some notable compromises. It features a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP main camera (f/1.8 with OIS), a 12MP ultrawide lens (f/2.2), and an 8MP telephoto sensor (f/2.4 with 3x optical zoom and OIS). The front camera is a 10MP f/2.4 unit. While the rear cameras generally capture clean detail, colors can appear unrealistic, and shadows are often washed out. Test photos taken on a cloudy day didn’t accurately reflect what the eye sees. The main camera typically bins images to 12MP by default, producing brighter colors that some users may prefer. However, it also offers the option to shoot at the full 50MP resolution, which retains similar colors but captures better detail in distant subjects. The ultrawide camera performs consistently with the main camera, exhibiting somewhat washed-out green colors and overly bright shadows, along with some optical distortion in the corners. Images captured with the 8MP telephoto camera show good detail but can sometimes appear blurry, especially in strong light; shooting in shaded areas yielded clearer images with brighter colors.
The 10MP front camera captures nice, clean selfies, though colors were again described as oversaturated and inconsistent with the rear camera’s color profiles. The front camera’s portrait mode does a respectable job of separating the subject from the background. Both the front and rear cameras support 4K video capture at 60 fps. The rear camera’s image stabilization produces smooth footage even with motion, and the front camera also stabilizes footage well without any noticeable artifacts. While detail is sharp in videos from both cameras, color inconsistencies persist, with muted colors from the rear and oversaturated colors from the front. Overall, camera performance is described as just average.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE presents itself as a stylish and durable phone with a large screen and solid performance thanks to the Exynos 2400e processor, excellent battery life, and comprehensive connectivity options. Its ability to seamlessly offer most of the Galaxy AI features found in the more expensive Galaxy S24 models is a major drawback. However, its mediocre camera performance and somewhat thin-sounding speakers are notable drawbacks. The S24 FE is recommended for individuals looking for a more affordable Samsung phone with a flagship-like feel, particularly its Galaxy AI capabilities. For those who prioritize top-notch cameras and useful AI tools in a mid-range Android phone, and who don’t mind a slightly smaller screen, the Google Pixel 8a remains an Editors’ Choice due to its superior photography and lower price. Ultimately, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE presents itself as a “near-flagship phone for budget Samsung fans,” balancing premium features with a more accessible price.
Device Price
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Price
Dollar
The price of the Samsung S24 FE is approximately $515.
In Egypt: 28,500 Egyptian pounds
In Saudi Arabia: 1,900 riyals
In the UAE: 1,750 dirhams
In Algeria: 80,000 dinars
In Iraq: 750,000 dinars
In Morocco: 6,500 dirhams
In Jordan: 475 dinars
In Tunisia: 2,990 dinars
In Libya: 2,600 dinars
In Oman: 200 riyals
In Kuwait: 199 dinars
In Qatar: 2,400 riyals
In Bahrain: 200 dinars
In Sudan: 350,000 Egyptian pounds
