Samsung Galaxy S24 FE hands-on: completely underrated?

Samsung’s Fan Edition sparks discussion every year: too late, too expensive, too stripped down. The S24 FE is no exception. It came only 7 months after the S24 series, but again at a high market price, when the regular S24 was already much cheaper. I have two buts that put the S24 FE in a different light.

Two buts

First, the price: A few weeks after its release, the price in stores has already dropped significantly. At the time of the video, there were only €140 between the S24 and the S24 FE.

Second, the name: To me, the S24 FE is not a stripped-down S24, but a stripped-down S24 Plus. It has a much larger display and a larger battery than the regular S24. So the right question is: is the FE worth it compared with the S24 Plus? There are about €240 between them.

Galaxy S24 FE and S24 Plus compared

	Galaxy S24 Plus	Galaxy S24 FE
Display	6.7-inch AMOLED, QHD+	6.7-inch AMOLED, FHD+
Peak brightness	up to 2,600 nits	up to 1,900 nits
Battery	4,900 mAh	4,700 mAh
Processor	Exynos 2400, 12 GB	Exynos 2400e, 8 GB
Weight		213 g, 17 g more than the Plus
Ultrawide	12 megapixels	8 megapixels
Selfie camera	12 megapixels	10 megapixels

Both have a 50-megapixel main camera and no macro mode. That is only available on the S24 Ultra.

What do the differences mean in everyday use?

• Resolution: You can’t see the difference unless you lay the devices next to each other.
• Brightness: In direct sunlight, the difference might matter. But the current iPhone 16 Pro only reaches 2,000 nits too, and at 1,900 nits the S24 FE is state of the art.
• Display bezel: On the FE it is slightly asymmetric, a bit thicker at the bottom than at the top. I prefer symmetrical bezels, but after a short time you hardly notice it.
• Battery: The FE has 700 mAh more than the regular S24. A bigger device simply has more room.
• Processor: The Exynos 2400e clocks 0.1 GHz lower. You don’t notice that in everyday use. Why Samsung didn’t use the regular Exynos 2400, I don’t know, maybe because the S24 Plus would otherwise become obsolete.
• Dimensions: The FE is 3.5 mm longer, 1.4 mm wider and 0.3 mm thicker than the Plus.

How good the camera is depends heavily on AI post-processing, as with all current smartphones. You’ll have to judge that yourselves from the shots.

What I missed in everyday use

The S24 FE is a really good upper-class smartphone with a large display, a large battery, IP68, a fast processor and all the current Galaxy AI features of the regular S24 models. But I missed face unlock, which I turn on on all my devices. Instead there is the optical fingerprint scanner. It is very accurate, but noticeably slower than on the S24 or Pixel. That’s complaining at a high level.

The back is not as nicely frosted as on the S24 models, but glossy glass. Don’t take the gray version if you don’t want to use a case, because the fingerprints are a disaster. Either one of the Samsung cases or a different color. I think the blue turned out nicely.

Verdict

Against the widespread opinion that the S24 FE isn’t worth it compared with the S24, my view is: it doesn’t have to be worth it compared with the S24 at all. With the large display and the larger battery, it competes with the S24 Plus. With a price difference of about €240 after 8 weeks and small differences from the Plus, it is more than interesting and worth considering for anyone who absolutely wants a big display.