The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is Samsung’s cheapest entry into the S24 family. But is it any good? I reviewed the phone to find out.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a confusing phone. With a $650 starting price, it’s the most affordable entry into the S24 series and has many of the same features as the $800 Galaxy S24 and $1,000 Galaxy S24 Plus. On the surface, it seems like a fantastic deal.
In some ways, it is! If you want a big phone with a giant display, good performance, and long battery life, the Galaxy S24 FE delivers. But it makes some compromises to get there, and other phones at lower prices further complicate things. Should the Galaxy S24 FE be your next smartphone? Let’s find out.Galaxy S24 FE specsThe Galaxy S24 FE makes a bad first impression
First impressions are everything; unfortunately, the Galaxy S24 FE doesn’t make a great one. Following my hands-on with the S24 FE, I initially praised its hardware, but after using it for a while longer, I’m not so impressed.
After living with the S24 FE for a few days, I’ve noticed it feels a bit cheap. The aluminum frame has a sharp edge around the display, and the backside (which is glass) feels cheap and hollow to me. It’s hard to explain, but there’s a lack of polish here that I enjoyed so much with the Galaxy S24 Plus. The S24 FE is objectively well-made, featuring aluminum and glass with no trace of plastic, but it’s clearly not constructed nearly as well as its more expensive siblings.
The other issue is how enormous the Galaxy S24 FE is. A 6.7-inch display isn’t outrageous for a smartphone in 2024, but the overall dimensions put it closer to phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. I’ve used big phones before with fewer issues, but the double whammy of this with the lesser construction quality isn’t a good combination.
Perhaps I’m more sensitive to it after coming from the small and compact iPhone 16, but I never fully adjusted to the S24 FE’s size during my review period. That’s great news if you love giant phones, but if you prefer something more manageable, this is not the phone for you.A good display, with some compromises
Speaking of the display, it’s a good one! Mostly. As mentioned above, this is a 6.7-inch screen with Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen tech — the same one found in the other S24 handsets. Colors are bright and vibrant, blacks are rich, and the 120Hz refresh rate is as smooth as can be. It’s all very solid stuff.
That said, don’t expect the same exact display quality as the S24 Plus or S24 Ultra. The 2340 x 1080 resolution is significantly lower than the 3120 x 1440 resolution on Samsung’s more expensive S24 phones. It’s not a deal-breaker, but I did notice that the S24 FE’s screen is a bit softer than I’d like.
Additionally, this is not an LTPO panel, meaning the lowest the refresh rate gets is 60Hz. You can still enable an always-on display on the S24 FE, but you can’t customize it like you can on Samsung’s other S24 models. There’s also no option to see a darkened version of wallpaper — you just have a black background with the time.
Finally, there’s the brightness. The S24 FE’s 1,900 nits of peak brightness is very good, and for the most part, I’ve had no issues with it. However, it is another step below the S24 and S24 Plus, which offer 2,600 nits of peak brightness. If you live in a particularly sunny area, it’s another factor you’ll want to consider.Surprising performance, fantastic battery life
Going into my Galaxy S24 FE, I was initially concerned about its performance. Inside the phone is an Exynos 2400e chip. Performance with Samsung’s Exynos chipsets is very hit-and-miss, and we rarely see a smartphone released in the U.S. with a piece of Exynos silicon inside of it. Thankfully, those concerns were unnecessary.
Paired with 8GB of RAM, the S24 FE’s day-to-day performance has been great. Apps open immediately, scrolling is very smooth, and not once has the phone felt slow or choppy. It also handles gaming with ease.
