Samsung Galaxy S24 FE test – saving a lot is worth it –

This time, a little late, almost three months after the official launch, the “well-priced” version of the Samsung Galaxy S24, the S24 FE, came to us – which we didn’t mind from the point of view that the price of the mobile phone dropped a lot in such a short time, so it’s easier for him finding a place is In S-Universe. As part of the S series, the main feature of the models marked FE (i.e. Fan Edition) is the favorable price, for which, of course, compromises must be made – exactly what changes from year to year, i.e. from model to model. In essence, it means that when designing the current phone, Samsung carefully selects the areas in which it can save the most while preserving the premium user experience as much as possible. This year, for example, the size of the screen increased, but the camera system – unfortunately – did not advance a single millimeter.

Familiar lines, with small differences

We already mentioned in the introduction that compared to its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE comes with a larger display; while in previous models the FE version was wedged between the plain and + versions with its 6.4-inch image diagonal, the 6.7-inch display of the S24 FE is just in line with the size of the S24+ display. This is not the only similarity, at first glance the two phones are just like two eggs: you can find the same rounded corners, the location of the buttons is also the same, and there is no difference in the way the cameras are lined up neatly one below the other on the back of the phones. However, if we take a closer look at the phones, we find a lot of small differences – based on these, it is quite clear that the S24+ is the premium version, and the S24 FE is the model for which costs had to be cut.

Although the display is the same 6.7 inches for both phones, the S24 FE is larger, as the part between the bezel and the display is thicker; this is especially visible in the lower part. The height of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE thus increased by 3.5 mm and its width by 1.8 mm. There is also a difference in thickness, the extra 0.3 mm can mostly be attributed to the cameras protruding more from the plane of the back panel; and with this, we also revealed that this mobile phone also wobbles on the table without a case. But this is something that we have become accustomed to from Samsung over the past few years.

Although it is not visible, there is also a difference in the materials used: the S24 FE has an aluminum frame, but we have to make do with a less durable alloy, and for the front and back panels, we get the previous Gorilla Glass Victus glass, the + version. Fortunately, Samsung kept the IP68 classification, so dust is guaranteed not to get inside the device, and water resistance is given up to a depth of 1.5 meters and a duration of 30 minutes.

As for the contents of the package, no one should expect a big surprise: even before the EU ban, Samsung didn’t include a charger with its mobile phones, and foil or a case was in the box so long ago that we don’t even remember it. A USB-C cable rattles in the box, and a SIM pin is also hidden in one of the cardboard sheets.

A little frugal hardware everywhere

The interior no longer follows the configuration of the S24+, but the international version of the S24, but it is not the same. There is no option for the system chip, Exynos 2400 is definitely working under the cover, but not the plain one, but the “e” version. This is minimally weaker, because the performance-optimized Cortex-X4 core only runs at a clock speed of 3.11 GHz – otherwise, there is no difference in the number and clock speed of the other cores. In terms of general performance, this really means only a minimal setback, and not even that much in terms of graphics tasks, because the GPU is exactly the same model. In addition, if we compare the phone with the S24+, it has to drive fewer pixels. The RAM size is 8 GB, and the internal storage space can be 128, 256 or 512 GB – it is worth avoiding the 128 GB model if it fits in the frame, because there is no possibility to expand the storage later!

The display is halfway between S24 and S24+: AMOLED, so far it’s a clean line. However, it got its size from the S24+ and its resolution from the S24: 6.7 inches, with 1080×2340 pixels. Of course, looking at the phone from a normal distance, the smaller number of pixels is not really noticeable, we are still talking about a PPI of 385, i.e. a value well above retina resolution. However, it can be all the more striking that the maximum brightness is “only” 1900 nits on paper. In reality, the peak is a few percent lower, around 1800 nits, and the phone only produces this when used outdoors, in the sun, or when HDR+ is active. Otherwise, we can manage with 460 nits, which is not bad, but not particularly good either. The refresh rate varies between 60-120 fps in an adaptive way.

As usual from Samsung, there is no camera island, only a circular cut-out was made on the surface for the front camera. The fingerprint reader is hidden below, of course under the OLED panel, so we only see its exact location when we have to log in to an app and the system shows us where to put our finger.

The mobile’s USB-C connector is a 3.2 standard, so it enables fast data transfer. If required, we can also connect a data storage here, but not a monitor. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 adapters can be used for further communication, and of course a whole range of sensors are ready for deployment: NFC, GPS, Glonass, Galileo, etc. The phone accepts two nano-sized SIMs, supplemented with eSIM support.

The battery is 4700 mAh, which is 200 mAh less compared to the S24+ – it’s not really the 4% difference in capacity that can hurt (the mobile can still last a day), but the fact that the S24 FE only takes 25 watts compared to the S24+’s 45 watts. But at least the possibility of wireless charging remained.

Genuine Samsung experience

The savings almost entirely affected the design and hardware, in terms of software, Samsung doesn’t really differentiate between its phones. Accordingly, the Galaxy S24 FE also came with the latest Android, which was the version of Android 14 – which, of course, also comes with the One UI version 6.1. Even with 8 GB of RAM, the iron runs the system and applications beautifully – if you don’t mindlessly open programs, you won’t encounter any hiccups. The phone doesn’t even heat up, although the price of this is that the system chip takes back some of the clock signal in case of a longer load.

Back to One UI, we think it’s still the system that sets the benchmark on Android: it’s the most well-thought-out, best-put-together interface, full of various settings and highly customizable. In addition, Samsung has not been pushing its own applications at all costs for some time now; of course, Samsung apps are available in the same way as with previous models, but they are not pre-downloaded, we have to install them from the Samsung app store if we think one of them is useful.

As a member of the S24 series, the FE model also received the AI ​​tricks with the fact that there has been no progress in terms of language support since the beginning of the year. That is, the Hungarian language is still not supported by the AI ​​translator and AI annotator. On the other hand, a summary of the content of the internet pages can also be prepared in Hungarian, and the AI ​​is excellent at manipulating photos afterwards (removing or moving objects, adding to a photo, removing reflections, etc.) and videos, in addition to being able to create a unique background in seconds on request. What is also important is that, thanks to the close cooperation between Samsung and Microsoft, the Windows Phone Connection application also knows a little more than other Android mobile phones.

Like the other members of the S24 series, the S24 FE is guaranteed software updates for seven years, which means not only the release of security updates, but also the tracking of major versions.

Especially light in camera

It is perhaps not a surprise that Samsung saved money on the camera system, but it is not certain that many people expected that there would be no progress compared to the S23 FE. However, there is not, because the camera system of the S24 FE has the following main parameters, i.e. very similar characteristics:

• 50MP main camera, F1.8, 24mm, Dual Pixel PDAF OIS

• 8 MP zoom kamera, F2.4, 75 mm (3x), PDAF, OIS

• 12 MP ultrawide camera, F2.2, 13 mm.

If we compare the camera system with the S24 product line, the most important difference is the resolution of the zoom camera, which is only 8 MP instead of 10, as well as the fact that both the zoom and ultrawide cameras have a much smaller sensor. If, on the other hand, the S23 FE is the base, then the main characteristics are the same, in this case the coverage of the main and zoom cameras and the sensor size of the zoom camera differ, but only to an insignificant extent.

It follows directly from all of this that only the main camera can be used really well, but this provides quite good results even with double digital zoom. The images of the zoom camera upscaled from the 8 MP sensor to 12 MP are too soft, so the software would compensate with subsequent sharpening – except that the signs of this are clearly visible in the recordings. The biggest problem with the image of the ultrawide camera is that, due to the small sensor, even in good light conditions, it requires too strong noise filtering, which, together with the image errors, sends a lot of important details into retirement. Colors and white balance are also not completely consistent across the three cameras.

However, it is also true that the difference between the main camera and the two other modules, as well as the weaknesses of the two other cameras, become stronger as the lighting conditions deteriorate – which, of course, is nothing surprising.

The front camera is 10 MP. It fulfills its task perfectly, in particular, it does not stand out either up or down in terms of its performance. However, it does not have AF or OIS either.

Even when making videos, the main camera on the back is the one that should be used the most. Even 8K@30fps recordings can be made with it, but why – not many of us have a TV in our living room where this level of detail can be used. In 4K, the maximum is 120 fps, but by definition only when the main camera is active – the two other cameras can only be included in the cycle if the frame rate is reduced to 30 fps with 4K resolution, or if it is achieved with full HD detail. The front camera can also record in 4K, up to 60 fps – and in this case the OIS is replaced by an electronic solution.

Summary

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is far from a bad phone, but it is also true that even with the price reduction, it is difficult to find a place for it in the Samsung universe. In order for the South Korean company to be able to keep the price at a sufficiently low level, it had to touch on quite a few things. We can agree with most of the savings solutions, but with the camera system, in our opinion, at least one step forward should have been made – for so much money, it is not worth it that only one camera out of three works properly. The phone opened at HUF 300,000, but can now be purchased for around HUF 250,000. Compared to the basic version of the S24, this means a HUF 60,000 more favorable price, but compared to the S23 FE, which is still available, it is more expensive by the same amount. Compared to the previous phone, we get a smaller storage space and a weaker camera, while comparing the subject of our test with the S23 FE, we only have to make do with the minimally smaller display and the lack of AI solutions. The mobile is clearly a better buy compared to the S24+ in the same category based only on the size of the display – but this may change if the prices start to drop again in the spring.