Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: Bigger screen, smaller price

If there's anything you can safety predict about premium smartphones nowadays, it's that they aren't getting any cheaper. The gap between the asking price attached to a flagship like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and a more modest mid-ranger (or a budget friendly banger like the Nothing Phone 2a) is only getting bigger. The lone silver lining to this trend is that there's no shortage of options that sit between these segment. What's more, there's gold to be found if you know where to look.

The Samsung Galaxy FE line is one of the most high profile suspects in the mix when it comes to the growing throng of sub-premium smartphones. The idea here is simple. You get to save a few bucks. Samsung gets a few new citizens for its ecosystem. Everyone wins.

You won't get the snappiest processor the sharpest photos, but the truth is that there are likely plenty of more everyday Aussies out there that could probably get almost as much from the Galaxy S24 FE as they might its superior siblings.

The new Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is as much a thriftier spin on the Galaxy S24 as it is a timely update for the Galaxy S23 FE. It's a cheaper take on this year's cheapest premium Samsung smartphone and a better take on last year's best Galaxy S23 substitute.

To that end, you've got a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen on the front and a triple-lens camera on the back. Other premium perks here include a dedicated vapor chamber, an improved Armor Aluminum frame, IP68 water and dust resistance, wireless charging, a 10MP selfie camera, 5G and Gorilla Victus Plus protection. Those features might be table stakes for a modern flagship but these tasty inclusions inevitably induce more delight in a smartphone that's that little bit cheaper.

To hold and handle, the Galaxy S24 FE doesn't feel quite as premium as the standard Galaxy S24 but it gets close enough that it doesn't feel like you're missing out. The screen here is both bigger and brighter than the Galaxy S23 FE (though not as bright as the one on the S24) and the aluminum edges go a long way towards making the hardware feel anything but budget-friendly. For the most part, the differences between this and the Galaxy S24 feel like rounding errors.

For all that the Galaxy S24 FE is a showcase for how close the premium and mid-range segments have become, the back of the device is where you'll find a few of the lingering differences. This side of the smartphone is host to a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide one and an 8MP telephoto to complete the set.

On paper, this configuration isn't quite as capable as the one on its flagship counterpart or the likes of the iPhone 16. In practice though, the integration of a dedicated telephoto lens here does leave the S24 FE in a place where it's significantly more versatile than other handsets of its weight class. I found the quality of the pictures by the device to be above the average for a device of its price-tag, though it isn't like to sate power users better served by the likes of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The other thing separating the Galaxy S24 FE from much of its competition is that it comes with many of the image and video-adjacent AI features introduced by the Galaxy S24 earlier this year.

To head off the hype, what's here isn't quite good enough to turn a bad photo into a good one. However, it does give a few more options when it comes to getting that little closer to what you were going for when you captured a given snap.  You can use Photo Assist to tweak the orientation of a photo. You can use generative AI to add or remove elements as needed. You can turn ordinary videos into slow motion ones at the press of a button.

These AI-powered features offer a faster (and potentially more intuitive) way to do the kinds of edits you previously had to go to Photoshop for but the high level utility they offer isn't all that different. That being said, the results it delivers are variable enough that it can be hard to rely on and that's to say nothing of the broader concerns around the potential for misuse.

All told, the Galaxy S24 FE offers a capable and comprehensive camera setup that isn't quite on the level of a flagship device like the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL but the inclusion of a telephoto lens and a few AI-powered tricks goes a long way towards selling it as a step above what you can find in its competition.

For a sense of what I was able to do with the camera hardware here, check out the image gallery below.

Under the hood, the Galaxy S24 FE ships with a Eyxnos 2400e processor, 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage and a 4700mAh battery. For those keeping track, that's a bigger battery and a better processor than its predecessor.

Still, AI apps aside, the formula here is more familiar than not. Compared to the Galaxy S24, the processor inside the Galaxy S24 FE isn't more powerful but it is slightly more power efficient. The baseline model also comes with 128GB rather than the 256GB offered by the premium model. However, the silver lining to that is that you're getting a much bigger battery than the 4000mAh one inside this year's fun-sized Samsung flagship.

In practice, these details don't make for all that much of a downgrade. The performance here for apps and games felt broadly comparable to that of the Galaxy S24. Apps loaded fast and games like Star Wars: Hunters, Diablo Immortal, Zenless Zone Zero and League of Legends: Wild Rift all ran smoothly and without issues. For most users, the real kicker here are new AI-powered features that the Galaxy S24 FE offers.

In line with Samsung's broader push to bring its Galaxy AI offering to more customers, the Galaxy S24 FE ships with many of the same augmented features and apps as its flagship siblings. Those mentioned in relation to the camera are only the tip of the iceberg. Some, but not all, of these can be found in cheaper Galaxy A-Series handsets. However, short of AI apps that rely on the S-Pen, there's not a huge difference between this offering and what you'll find in Samsung's more expensive hardware.

The full list is as follows:

That's a decently long list and if the last year is any precedent it seems likely to grow with time. However, it also comes with a low-key alarming piece of small print that suggests it isn't going to be free forever. That detail is hardly a unique one when it comes to the conversation around the technology writ large, but it does haunt the otherwise compelling pitch that the Galaxy S24 FE has going for it.

It's one thing for the device to come with 7 years of OS upgrades and 7 years of security updates but quite another for it to lose features over time unless you pay up to keep them.

As for the battery life, I came away slightly underwhelmed with what the Galaxy S24 FE. On a good week, I'd be able to get two days of usage out of a single charge. Most of the time though, it was closer to a day and change. Burned down from 100% to zero using video streamed over WiFi, the device lasted 19 hours and 16 minutes. That result puts it slightly above the Galaxy S24 but well below the Galaxy S24 Plus.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE rounds out Samsung's premium roster with a welcome dose of affordability. In a time where flagship prices keep going up, there's plenty to like about premium economy devices like the Galaxy S24 FE. More than other mid-range devices, it's biggest competition is the steady depreciation of its premium siblings. Still, if you can snag it for the discounted launch pricing then it's practically a steal at $799.

If the standard Galaxy S24 is for those with smaller hands, this device is for those with smaller budgets. The Galaxy S24 FE isn't the best premium smartphone Samsung has to offer this year, but it might well be the easiest to recommend.