In the case of the FE, it’s also a quality camera with a bright f/2.4 lens and built-in optical image stabilization. I’m not usually a fan of portrait modes on more affordable phones like the S24 FE, but here I found it made sense, as the compression from the telephoto lens leads to better subject separation. I took a lot of portraits because the phone did a great job of rendering natural-looking skin tones and background blur.
The main camera stands out less. Thanks to that 50-megapixel sensor, it can produce the most detailed images of the S24 FE cameras, but the autofocus wasn’t as fast as I’d like. When I tried to get a close-up of something like Celine, my cat, the camera took a few seconds to focus. However, other than that, the S24 FE can take amazing photos. It doesn’t bend at all even in low light.
As for the 12MP ultra-wide, it was my least favorite of FE’s cameras. The Samsung’s image processing doesn’t do a great job of correcting the fisheye distortion caused by such a wide lens, so buildings and everything else on the edge of the frame look misshapen. Images look great when zoomed in, but once you start spotting pixels, they start to look worse. Part of the problem here is that Samsung hasn’t updated the ultra-wide camera to add autofocus, so even though the sensor offers a decent resolution, not every shot is as sharp as it could be.
Speaking of autofocus, the selfie camera doesn’t have that feature either. It’s a shame, because the FE has one of the better front-facing cameras I’ve used recently. It offers enough resolution for selfies to look detailed, but not so much that every pore and blemish is shown in painful detail. At the same time, the company seems to have toned down the overly aggressive skin smoothing it was known for in years past.
I mentioned the Pixel 8a earlier, and I think it’s worth going back to it for a moment. When my colleague Sam Rutherford put Google’s mid-range phone up against the phone Galaxy S24 Ultrahe found the two surprisingly comparable when it came to camera performance. Despite being $800 cheaper, the Pixel 8a often produces photos with more accurate colors and superior detail. The cameras on the S24 FE perform a shade worse than their counterparts on the S24+. If you don’t value the inclusion of a telephoto lens as much as I do, there’s a case where the S24 FE doesn’t offer enough of an upgrade to warrant spending $650.
Performance
Thankfully, the S24 FE isn’t all minor tweaks. Internally, the phone has Samsung’s new Exynos 2400e chipset. This is the same processor that the company uses for both US and international variants. I can already hear some of you groaning as Exynos chips have historically been known for both lower performance and efficiency than their Qualcomm counterparts, so let me get the good news straight: the 2400e is a powerhouse.
When I put the S24 FE on Geekbench 6, the chip scored 2,140 single-core and 6,690 multi-core. To put these numbers into perspective, when my colleague Sam did the same with the S24+ earlier this year, his flagship Snapdragon Gen 3 SoC performed better, but not by much, scoring 2,284 and 7,003 respectively.
The Exynos 2400e was equally impressive in real life. Even though the FE only has 8GB of RAM at its disposal, I didn’t experience any hiccups while browsing websites, switching between apps and other daily tasks. When it came to the game, I could play Diablo Immortal when the game’s 60 fps mode is enabled and graphics settings are maxed out. I didn’t experience any stuttering or dropped frames. I will mention here that Samsung has redesigned the FE’s vapor chamber to make it bigger and thus improve cooling. In my experience, a phone running graphics intensive games gets warm, but not hot.
Battery
As I mentioned above, this year’s FE is bigger than its predecessor. Samsung has cleverly used the extra space to include a larger 4,700 mAh battery. Unfortunately, the company only made minor changes to the charging capabilities of the FE. Thanks to Qi2 support, wireless charging reaches 15 W, up from 10 W on the S23 FE. As for the wired power supply, the FE is still limited to 25W.
During one test, I left the house at 8 a.m. with the FE’s battery at 87 percent. For the next three hours, I used the phone to track the bike on Strava and take photos along the way. When I got home, the battery was at 67 percent. I then went out to lunch with my partner, taking lots of photos along the way and using the FE to surf the web and check social media. I then played for an hour Diablo Immortal for a total of three hours of screen time that day. Before I went to sleep, I had about 40 percent battery left. Samsung says the S24 FE can power long gaming sessions, and from what I’ve seen, that’s accurate.
Charging FE is far from an ideal experience. In my test, it was possible to get the battery from zero to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. This is in line with Samsung’s claims. However, it takes significantly longer to fully charge. It took about 70 minutes to bring the dead battery to 100 percent. Of course, this assumes you have a compatible 25W fast charger. Did I mention there is no power adapter in the Samsung box? Yes, you will need your own. Otherwise, expect glacial recharge rates.
Software
I’ve raved about the S24 FE’s hardware, but for Samsung, that’s not the story of this phone. The company wants you to see the new FE as a more affordable way to access Galaxy AI tools. I won’t bore you with a review of the entire kit since Engadget already has it covered what is included
What I will say is that all of the S24 FE’s AI features work well, but none of them are reasons to go out and buy this phone for myself. Buy it Circular to searchfor example. With a long press on FE’s home button, you can bring up Google anywhere, including scrolling through photos on Instagram and your camera roll. Then it is possible to search for a specific object by drawing a circle around it. So the next time you see a cute pup, you can confirm it’s a Samoyed without leaving Google Photos. You don’t have to switch between apps or try to figure out how to describe what you’re seeing on Google.
Circle to Search is useful, but I could live without it. I can confidently say the same for all of Samsung’s AI features. For example, Transcript Assist was handy for converting audio notes to written notes, but it didn’t save me much time in the long run since I ended up editing most of what the software produced. I also don’t want to expose my friends to AI-generated texts with the help of Chat Assist.
More importantly, I can’t see myself paying for any of FE’s AI features when they aren’t free. In case you forgot, Samsung plans to monetize Galaxy AI. “Fees may apply for some AI features in late 2025,” the company said press release S24 announces FE. If you’re in the market for a mid-range device, the prospect of paying a subscription fee to use some of its features feels like a non-starter. I don’t know about you, but if I’m buying a budget phone, I want it to save me money in the long run by not costing me more in a year or two.
Collection
In a vacuum, the Galaxy S24 FE is a great all-round phone, and would be an easy recommendation if the S24+ hadn’t been around, or if Samsung had released two devices at the same time. At $650 for the base 128GB model and $710 for the 256GB, the FE isn’t significantly cheaper than the S24+, especially when you consider that the Plus comes with 256GB of storage by default and is already discounted that much. $150 off in recent months. If you want to buy a discount S24+, it’s better to wait for that phone to go on sale.
The S24 FE is in an odd place compared to the best mid-range phones you can buy right now. Yes, it has a bigger screen and an extra camera than our current top pick at $499 Pixel 8a. However, for most people, I don’t think these upgrades are worth spending the extra $150. If you’re looking to get the most phone for the least money possible, the S24 FE isn’t it.
I’m sure Samsung will adjust the price before long, but for now this Fan Edition device doesn’t have a clear audience.
