Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review: Affordable Flagship Features Redefined

Samsung’s “Fan Edition” phones have carved out a unique space in the market, aiming to deliver flagship experiences at a more accessible price. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE continues this tradition, packaging high-end features like a massive display and sophisticated AI tools into a device that won’t empty your wallet. It makes a compelling case for itself, but not without a few compromises.

This review dives deep into the Galaxy S24 FE to see if it truly offers the best of both worlds. We will explore its design, performance, camera system, and battery life to help you decide if this is the right phone for you. By balancing premium features with smart cost-saving measures, Samsung has created a device that might just redefine what you expect from a mid-range phone.

Design and Display: Big, Bright, and Familiar

The Galaxy S24 FE borrows heavily from the design language of its more expensive siblings, featuring a clean, minimalist aesthetic with an aluminum frame and glass panels on the front and back. It feels sturdy and premium in hand, sporting an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, which is a welcome feature at this price point. The phone is available in several appealing colors, including Blue, Mint, Gray, and Graphite.

One of the most noticeable features is its large 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display. This is a significant size increase from the previous model and puts it on par with the much pricier Galaxy S24+. The screen is vibrant and bright, with a peak brightness of 1,900 nits, making it easily viewable even in direct sunlight. The 120Hz adaptive refresh rate ensures that scrolling and animations are buttery smooth, enhancing everything from daily navigation to gaming.

However, a closer look reveals one of the phone’s compromises: the bezels. They are thicker than what you’d find on the flagship S24 series, with a slightly more pronounced chin at the bottom. While not a deal-breaker, it’s a subtle reminder that this is not a top-tier device. Another minor drawback is the optical in-display fingerprint sensor, which, while reliable, is a step slower than the ultrasonic sensors found in Samsung’s premium models.

Performance and Battery: A Surprising Powerhouse

For the US market, Samsung made a notable change by equipping the S24 FE with its own Exynos 2400e processor instead of a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. This might raise eyebrows for some, but in practice, the performance is excellent. Paired with 8GB of RAM, the phone handles everyday tasks like web browsing, social media, and multitasking with ease.

More impressively, it holds its own with demanding applications and games. Titles like Genshin Impact run smoothly at high settings, with only minor warmth noticeable on the back of the phone during extended sessions. Benchmark tests show the S24 FE punching well above its weight, with scores that come surprisingly close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered Galaxy S24. This level of performance ensures the phone will feel fast and responsive for years to come.

Battery life is another area where the S24 FE truly shines. It houses a 4,700mAh battery, a significant upgrade that delivers outstanding endurance. In tests involving continuous video streaming, the phone lasted nearly 16 hours, a massive improvement over its predecessor. With moderate daily use, you can comfortably get through a full day and well into the next without reaching for a charger. When you do need to top up, it supports 25W wired charging, which can take the battery from 0% to over 50% in just 30 minutes.

Camera: Capable but Not Class-Leading

The camera system on the Galaxy S24 FE is where its “Fan Edition” status becomes most apparent. It features a triple-lens setup on the rear: a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The 10MP front-facing camera handles selfies and video calls.

In well-lit conditions, the main camera produces sharp, detailed images. However, Samsung’s color processing can be overly aggressive, resulting in photos that look more vibrant and saturated than reality. While some may prefer this punched-up look, it lacks the natural color accuracy of competitors like the Google Pixel. The ultra-wide camera performs adequately, though some distortion is visible at the edges of the frame. The 3x telephoto lens is a great inclusion for this price, allowing for clear zoomed-in shots, though images can sometimes appear a bit soft.

In low-light situations, the phone does a decent job of brightening scenes, but noise reduction can soften details, giving photos a slightly painterly quality. Selfies from the front camera are generally clean and sharp, though they also suffer from oversaturation at times. Overall, the camera system is versatile and more than capable for social media and casual photography, but it falls short of the flagship-level performance found in the standard Galaxy S24 or Google’s Pixel lineup.

Software: Galaxy AI for Everyone

One of the standout features of the S24 FE is its software. It runs Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.1, which brings the full suite of Galaxy AI tools to a more affordable price point. This includes features like Circle to Search, which lets you instantly search for anything on your screen, Live Translate for phone calls, and generative photo editing tools. While some AI features feel more gimmicky than others, their inclusion makes the S24 FE feel like a true member of the 2024 Galaxy family.

Even more impressive is Samsung’s commitment to long-term support. The Galaxy S24 FE is promised seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates. This is a massive value proposition, ensuring the device will remain secure and up-to-date well into the future, rivaling the support offered by Google and Apple.

Is the Galaxy S24 FE the Right Phone for You?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE successfully delivers a near-flagship experience for a mid-range price. Its large, beautiful display, surprisingly powerful performance, and exceptional battery life make it a joy to use for media consumption, gaming, and daily productivity. The inclusion of the full Galaxy AI suite and an industry-leading software support promise adds incredible long-term value.

The primary trade-offs are an average camera system and a slightly less refined design. While the cameras are perfectly capable for most users, they don’t match the quality of other phones in and above its price range. If photography is your top priority, you might be better served by a Google Pixel.

However, if you’re looking for a feature-packed Samsung phone with a big screen, great performance, and all-day battery life without paying a premium price, the Galaxy S24 FE is an easy recommendation. It finds a near-perfect balance between flagship features and affordability, making it one of the most compelling value propositions on the market today.