Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on review: Hitting the fan

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE was supposed to follow a simple formula – offering a slightly less powerful alternative to the brand’s best smartphones for a more palatable price. On paper, the S24 FE certainly looks like it’s following the playbook, with a more modest spec sheet paired with a price that undercuts both the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24 Plus.

My problem is that the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is retailing for £50 more than its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 FE – which was itself a phone of questionable value to begin with. This nudges the S24 FE a little too close to the standard S24 for my liking, begging the question: at what point does the supposedly affordable ‘Fan Edition’ model lose its place in the market altogether?

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Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on review: Specifications, price and release date

• 3.11GHz Samsung Exynos 2400e processor
• 6.7in, 120Hz, 2,340 x 1,080, Dynamic AMOLED 2X display
• Rear cameras: 50MP (f/1.8); 8MP (f/2.4) 3x telephoto; 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide
• Seflie camera: 10MP (f/2.4)
• 8GB of RAM
• 128GB or 256GB of storage
• 4,700mAh battery
• 25W wired charging; 15W wireless charging
• IP68 dust and water resistance rating
• Colours: Blue; Graphite; Grey; Mint; Yellow
• UK price: £649 (128GB); £699 (256GB)
• UK release date: 4 October 2024; Preorder now from Samsung
• Order before 31 October 2024 and get a free Galaxy Watch FE

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on review: Design and first impressions

While the top-end Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has its own unique style with dramatically squared-off corners, the rest of the S24 series is a little more generic-looking, and it’s the latter design language that the Galaxy S24 FE follows. The flat edges and rounded corners make it easy to mistake for the S24 Plus but the FE is a little chunkier, measuring 77 x 8 x 162mm (WDH) and weighing a solid 213g.

Dust and water resistance is just as good as the rest of the S24 series, with the IP68 rating marking it as fully dustproof and able to withstand a 30-minute dunk in 1.5m of water. Scratch protection isn’t quite as robust, with Gorilla Glass Victus Plus covering the display and rear – whereas the pricier models are sandwiched between layers of the supposedly sturdier Victus 2 glass.

The display is the same 6.7in size as the Galaxy S24 Plus but it has the 2,340 x 1,080 resolution of the regular S24’s screen. Stretching those pixels over a larger space results in a lower – but not disastrously so – pixel density of 385 ppi. The refresh rate is still 120Hz but this isn’t an LTPO panel like its pricier siblings, so it can only adjust between 60Hz and 120Hz, rather than dipping as low as 1Hz to preserve battery life. It is said to get brighter than the S23 FE, at least, with Samsung claiming a peak of 1,900 nits.

We’ll need to wait for our full review to find out how much performance is sacrificed with the Exynos 2400e chipset but the phone certainly felt nippy enough in the hands-on session. The 3.1GHz SoC is backed up by 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage. Compared to the Galaxy S23 FE, the vapour cooling chamber is also 11% larger this year, which should hopefully result in better heat management during gaming sessions.

The battery is also slightly larger than the S23 FE’s, now 4,700mAh compared to 4,500mAh. Charging speeds are exactly the same as the Galaxy S24, with 25W wired and 15W wireless via compatible Qi chargers.

The 50MP (f/1.8) main camera and 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide shooter are both identical to those found on the S24 and S24 Plus, with the only difference in the rear cameras being the telephoto lens. Here, we’ve got a slightly lower-resolution 8MP (f/2.4) unit that can achieve a 3x optical zoom – or up to 30x hybrid zoom in tandem with the main camera. The selfie camera is a little weaker than the rest of the S24 series, with a 10MP (f/2.4) sensor nestled in a hole-punch notch in the display.

Video recording gets a slight upgrade over the S23 FE, with 8K now shooting at 30fps, up from 24fps, and Instant slow-mo debuts on the FE series, allowing users to slow down portions of video after they’ve been recorded, with AI producing the necessary extra frames. Both of these are great but I question their necessity on what is supposed to be a watered-down, more affordable phone. 8K at least probably could have been jettisoned in order to bring the phone down to a more palatable price point.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on review: Software and Galaxy AI

The Galaxy S24 FE launches with Android 14 and Samsung’s OneUI 6.1 launcher and has been confirmed to get the same seven years of OS updates and security patches as the rest of the S24 series and the recent Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 foldable phones. 

Also carrying over is the suite of Galaxy AI features, including the likes of Google’s Circle to Search, Samsung’s Sketch to Image generator and Live Translate. The latter now works with third-party apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, and Samsung confirmed that it’s targeting 20 supported languages by the end of the year.

The cameras also get a few AI tricks, with Samsung’s ProVisual Engine apparently working to enhance details in your snaps, with the brand noting that low-light portraits are apparently much stronger this year. You’ve also got the AI-powered Photo Assist feature, which allows you to resize, move and remove objects or people in your images.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on review: Early verdict

I don’t like to be too negative on a phone before I’ve properly had a chance to put it through its paces but my first impression of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is that it’s a somewhat needless addition to the lineup. The price increase pushes it too far into flagship territory to seriously be considered a value-for-money alternative and the cuts that have been made feel half-baked and arbitrary, rather than surgical excisions designed to offer the best value to consumers.

8K video didn’t need to be on this phone and, realistically, nor did the vast majority of the Galaxy AI gimmicks. Looking at the Google Pixel 8a – which starts at £499 – I can’t help but feel that Samsung would have been better off stripping more away from the Galaxy S24 FE and positioning it at a similar price, where it really could have made a splash. As it is, the shadow of the Galaxy S24 is looming large and the S24 FE might struggle to flourish. Of course, it may be that I’ll change my tune when I’ve fully tested it.