The newest in Samsung’s ongoing line of ‘Fan Version’ telephones, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, was unveiled on the finish of September and is on sale now in lots of markets, together with the UK and US.
It provides the bottom launch retail worth of any member of the Galaxy S24 sequence, whereas nonetheless providing the most recent Galaxy AI characteristic set, a succesful digicam system and a full seven years of updates. Don’t attain in your bank card simply but, although.
Even earlier than I obtained hands-on with the S24 FE, Tech Advisor opinions editor Chris Martin made some necessary factors about this newest entry’s place throughout the wider smartphone market. Newcomers such because the similarly-priced Xiaomi 14T Professional and even Samsung’s present base Galaxy S24 (whose worth has had time to drop since its debut at the start of 2024), maybe make for higher options.
With that in thoughts, I used to be left questioning “who’s the Galaxy S24 FE for?”, however I believe I’ve figured it out. When you’re a Samsung fan, trying to improve and also you need the big-screen expertise of the Samsung Galaxy S24+ with out that Plus price ticket (that telephone begins at £999/$999 until you could find a deal), then the S24 FE is now the right various. Virtually.
The FE sequence typically walks an uncommon line throughout the cellular market, with a specification/worth stability that hardly ever appears to account for exterior components just like the discount in worth of different Samsung telephones (particularly Galaxy S telephones from earlier in the identical launch yr), or certainly rivals boasting higher worth.
This technology’s FE does, admittedly, appear like a extra noteworthy improve than ordinary; being the primary of the road to pack the complete suite of Galaxy AI performance out the field. What’s extra, a brand new bigger physique permits for a bigger, S24+-matching, 6.7-inch show, making this the biggest FE so far.
Whereas that bigger display screen is welcome, what I wasn’t anticipating was the added bulk of the factor. The S24 FE presents itself with notably much less cohesion than the Galaxy S24+ after which it’s modelled, and even the extra modest mid-range Samsung Galaxy A55.
It’s a surprisingly weighty telephone, clocking in at 213g (the Plus weighs 196g), breaking that all-important 200g threshold the place you begin to discover a telephone’s weight after prolonged use.
It’s thick too, with the road’s signature contrasting steel body (no matter colourway) highlighting its bulkier proportions (though the S23 FE was even thicker, at 8.2mm, in comparison with 8mm right here).
Samsung has nonetheless ensured the S24 FE has the identical stage of match as its extra premium siblings (for one, it’s IP68-certified towards mud and water), however the end doesn’t look as if it’s on the identical stage.
Even with the extra house supplied by the brand new bigger show, the battery (regardless of having grown to 4,700mAh this technology) remains to be smaller than anticipated.
On the identical time, the uneven bezels surrounding the show cheapen the telephone’s aesthetics, particularly when gadgets just like the Nothing Telephone (2a) supply a cleaner and extra premium design for nearly half as a lot.
Fortunately, design seems to be the most important compromise in comparison with the S24+, with solely fractionally pared again efficiency from its tweaked Exynos 2400e chipset (it has a 0.1GHz slower clock pace than the worldwide mannequin of the Plus that runs on the usual Exynos 2400) and a ceiling of 8GB (slightly than 12GB) of LPDDR5X RAM.
It appears as if Samsung’s hope is that followers of the model go for the S24 FE over the S24+, regardless of its compromises, which is okay within the short-term, however appears to ensure restricted success, contemplating the value drops the Plus is already experiencing, to not point out wider competitors the boasts higher worth.
After all, if aesthetics aren’t all that a lot of a priority for you, the S24 FE’s place as the brand new entry level for entry to Galaxy AI performance is likely to be all you’re after. However we’ll know for positive whether or not it’s price taking a chance on as soon as we’ve carried out a full evaluate. Keep tuned.
The Galaxy S24 FE is out there now instantly from Samsung and chosen third-party retailers, beginning at £649/$649.99.