Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review – Good Affordable Flagship Option From Samsung
Samsung just recently released a smartphone for people who want their flagship device but at a lower cost. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is positioned to be in the middle between the Galaxy A55 and their flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24. Let’s check if this smartphone has the right qualities to be your next device.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Specifications
| OS: | Android 14, One UI 6.1 |
|---|---|
| Processor: | Exynos 2400e |
| Display: | 6.7″ 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x HDR10+ |
| Wireless Connections: | 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, BDS |
| Memory: | 8GB+128GB 8GB+256GB 8GB+512GB |
| Connectors: | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| Cameras: | Rear Camera: (Main) 50 MP, f/1.8 (Ultrawide) 12MP, f/2.2 (Telephoto) 8MP, f/2.4 Front Camera: 10 MP, f/2.4 |
| SIM Card Slots: | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Battery: | 4700mAh 25W wired 15W wireless |
| Price: | 8GB+128GB: Php 39,990 8GB+256GB: Php 44,990 8GB+512GB: Php 53,990 |
The Design
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE features a consistent design that aligns with the S24 series and their latest A series smartphones. It showcases a clean, minimalistic design with individually extruded rear cameras. For me, it’s a double-edged sword because it feels like using the flagship S24 smartphone, but it also resembles the A series, which is a more affordable model.
Nevertheless, the design choice made with the Galaxy S24 FE is a tried-and-tested concept that looks really good. The available color options for the Galaxy S24 FE are Blue, Mint, and Graphite. We have the Blue color variant, which has a pastel hue, and we really appreciate its color.
Regarding its ports and buttons, it has a power button and volume rocker on the right side. On the bottom are the USB Type-C port, microphone hole, and speaker grill. On the top, you can find the SIM tray slot, which accommodates dual SIMs, and you can also add an eSIM. There is also another set of microphone holes.
In terms of durability, they didn’t compromise with this model, as it still features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection for both the front and back. Its frame is made of aluminum, and it has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, providing maximum protection.
The Display and Speaker
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE features a large 6.7-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. As for peak brightness, it can reach up to 1900 nits.
The display has a nice slim bezel, consistent across all edges, measuring only 1.99mm. In terms of display quality, it is comparable to its flagship counterpart, the S24. You can expect the display and detail to be of flagship level. The vibrancy, inky blacks, and sharpness are truly impressive.
Regarding audio, it is equipped with dual stereo speakers that offer an excellent sound profile and loudness. You can certainly enjoy listening to your music or immerse yourself in the movies or shows you will be watching.
The Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE uses an Exynos 2400e processor that maxes out at 3.1 GHz. In comparison, the international version of the S24 features an Exynos 2400 chipset that maxes out at 3.2 GHz. This means you can experience almost the same performance with the Galaxy S24 FE as with the S24. The 100 MHz difference between the two is slightly noticeable in benchmark tests, but in day-to-day use, it is not significant.
The storage options for the Galaxy S24 FE are 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, paired with 8GB of RAM across all storage variants. There is also a RAM Plus feature that utilizes your phone’s storage space to provide virtual memory, allowing you to choose from 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB. By default, it is set to 4GB.
Here are the benchmark results we got with the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE:
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE runs One UI 6.1, which is based on Android 14. Samsung has promised that the Galaxy S24 FE will receive seven years of security updates and seven generations of OS updates. Navigation on the phone is smooth and snappy, with minimal bloatware apps pre-installed. The device also includes Galaxy AI features found in their flagship models, such as Circle to Search, Chat Assist, and other AI tools. However, to use features like Translate or Bixby, you need to sign in to your Samsung account.
Regarding gaming performance, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE can handle any games you throw at it. For esports titles like Honor of Kings, we were able to set the graphics settings to Max for FPS, Ultra for Resolution, and Overall Graphics Quality to 4, maintaining a consistent 120 FPS. For Genshin Impact, the default graphics quality was set to Medium, and we adjusted the FPS to 60, which ran smoothly. We also tried increasing the graphics quality to High, while still maintaining 60 FPS, with minimal stuttering occurring.
How does it handle cooling? In our CPU stress test, after running for 15 minutes, it throttled to 66% of its maximum performance. In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, it achieved a stability score of 65%, meaning it underclocks itself after several minutes of intensive use. This is particularly noticeable when playing games like Genshin Impact, as the backplate warms up quickly. However, despite this, our gaming experience was not significantly affected, aside from the warm backplate that can be felt in your hands.
The Camera
In the camera department, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE maintains the same setup as its predecessor, the S23 FE. It features a triple rear camera system consisting of a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. The front camera is 10 megapixels.
The camera app is consistent across all Samsung phones. You can quickly toggle between portrait, photo, video, and under the “More” section, you will find options like Pro, Pro Video, Night, Food, Panorama, Slow Motion, Hyperlapse, Portrait Video, Dual Recording, and Single Take. When taking pictures in low-light conditions or at night, the night mode automatically activates across all cameras, including the selfie camera.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE – Main Camera Sample
The quality of the rear main camera is impressive, delivering flagship-quality images. The details are good, with slightly enhanced colors, as is typical for Samsung photos, but it does not overly tweak the images to the point of looking unnatural. In low-light conditions, the camera automatically switches to night mode, still capturing decent pictures with good detail, great contrast, and excellent dynamic range.
However, some noise can creep into the images. If you want to reduce this noise, you can manually select the night mode in the “More” section, which captures longer exposure images resulting in cleaner photos. Nevertheless, the automatic night mode is sufficient for social media posts, while the manual night mode is more suitable for those seeking a more dramatic image.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE – Telephoto Camera Sample
The telephoto camera is a dedicated 3x optical camera that captures good images with decent detail and color. However, noise is more apparent, especially at night. The colors are quite similar to those of the main camera.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE – Ultrawide Camera Sample
The 12-megapixel ultrawide camera on the Galaxy S24 FE offers a wide field of view but exhibits slight fisheye distortion. Still, it provides good quality with fine details and colors that are close to those of the other rear cameras.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE – Selfie Camera Sample
The selfie camera delivers good results but lacks autofocus, which is surprising for a smartphone at this price point. As a result, you won’t achieve the best bokeh effect with selfies, although the colors are natural, particularly in skin tones, with sharp details.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE can record videos up to 8K at 30fps with the main camera and 4K at 30fps with the telephoto and ultrawide cameras. The selfie camera can record videos up to 4K at 60fps. The default output format for videos is HEVC/H.265 for better efficiency, but you can switch to H.264 for better compatibility. Other video options include high bitrate recording for increased video quality, HDR10+ for optimized color and contrast, and 360 audio recording for capturing immersive 3D sound through Bluetooth headphones.
The Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is equipped with a 4700 mAh battery, which is slightly lower than the 4900 mAh battery found in the S24+, despite having the same screen size. Nevertheless, it can still power you through a busy day, often leaving you with some charge left when you get home. In our PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test, we recorded 12 hours and 48 minutes of usage from a full charge at 50% screen brightness, which is a commendable performance for a phone in this tier.
As for charging, you can charge the device via a wired connection, capable of 25W, allowing it to go from 0% to 100% in just over an hour. Additionally, it supports wireless charging at 15W.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a well-rounded device. However, it is not for everyone, as some people seek the best performance in a smartphone, which this phone does not provide. Additionally, it only has 8GB of RAM, while many phones in this price range offer 12GB or more. Despite this, it still delivers overall good specifications with its build quality, display, camera, and battery, making it a solid choice for a smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is priced at Php 39,990 for the 128GB variant, Php 44,990 for the 256GB variant, and Php 53,990 for the 512GB variant. As of the time of writing, there is a promotion happening on the Samsung website where you can grab the 256GB variant for the price of the 128GB variant. Additionally, the 512GB variant has a limited-time offering of a 10% discount, bringing the price down to Php 48,591. Besides the Samsung website, you can also purchase the Galaxy S24 FE on Lazada, Shopee, and through Samsung Authorized Dealers nationwide.
