Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: the fan edition gets more powerful with AI goodness

In this Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review, we take a look at the smartphone's performance, camera capabilities, battery life, and more.

• By Ashish Kumar
Published On: 15 November 2024 | 17:36 IST Last Updated On: 16 November 2024 | 13:46 IST

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a streamlined version of the Galaxy S24 Plus (review), priced under Rs 60,000 – and is more affordable than the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 (review). While some corners have been cut, they are not deal breakers. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE can prove to be a worthy option for fans and conscious buyers to consider within the segment. Read our detailed review to find out what works and doesn’t for the smartphone.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE offers exceptional software support and Galaxy AI features for its price, along with superior performance and thermal efficiency compared to its closest rivals. However, its charging speeds and camera capabilities may leave users wanting more.

Design and display

The design of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE closely mirrors that of the Galaxy S24 Plus, which launched earlier this year. The “fan edition” is slightly larger and heavier, with thicker bezels contributing to its increased footprint. To be fair, the difference is only marginal as the S24 FE measures 162 x 77.3 x 8mm and weighs 213 grams, compared to the S24 Plus, which measures 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm and weighs 196 grams. The regular Galaxy S24 offers an even smaller footprint, measuring 7.60mm in thickness and 168 grams in weight.

The Galaxy S24 FE boasts a minimalist design with camera rings individually placed at the back of the phone. The LED flash sits closely next to the camera rings, with ‘Samsung’ branding subtly etched at the bottom of the back panel. The edges are flat to provide a comfortable grip, and the corners are nicely curved to make even the far zones accessible with a single hand. The phone comes in three colour variants; mint, blue, and graphite. We received the mint colour variant for review.

As for I/O, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE sports a USB Type-C port at the bottom edge. The SIM-ejector tray can be spotted on the top edge, while the volume and power buttons are positioned on the right spine.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, featuring a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X FHD+ display, offers similar colours as the regular Galaxy S24. However, to make the FE more affordable, Samsung has cut some corners, notably reducing the peak brightness. The handset has a peak brightness of 1900 nits, but in our display test, it only reached 659 nits under 1700 nits of ambient brightness. This impacts outdoor visibility, particularly when compared to the similarly-priced Honor 200 Pro, which boasts a peak brightness of 4,000 nits. As a result, the content on the Honor smartphone was more readable outdoors, even under direct sunlight.

However, the Galaxy S24 FE still offers an impressive viewing experience, featuring HDR10+ support and Widevine L1 certification for high-resolution movie streaming. As mentioned, the bezels around the tall display are slightly thicker compared to the pricier S24 series smartphones. The colours remain vibrant even when the screen is viewed at an angle, and the deep blacks contribute to a richer, more engaging viewing experience. Complementing the display are the stereo speakers, which get decently loud (81.9 decibels per our dB meter) and maintain crispness even at maximum volume.

The Galaxy S24 FE’s in-display fingerprint scanner safely and accurately unlocks the smartphone; however, it is not as quick as the ultrasonic sensor on the more expensive S24 smartphones.

Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE sports a triple camera setup comprising a 50MP primary snapper, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and an 8MP 3x telephoto lens. Besides the telephoto camera resolution, the setup remains identical to the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. The overall camera performance is decent, if not the best in the segment.

You will notice typical Samsung colour science, which includes vibrant colours, slightly warm tones, and ample detailing in well-lit environments. Although the colours look accurate, there is a bit of light flare and noise in the images captured in dim conditions. Moreover, the Honor 200 Pro delivers better portrait shots than the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

Here’s a detailed Samsung Galaxy S24 FE camera comparison with the similarly-priced Motorola Edge 50 Ultra and Honor 200 Pro.

Daylight

In daylight, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE’s image features true-to-life colours. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra and Honor 200 Pro, on the other hand, tend to oversaturate the colour tone, providing a social media-friendly appeal. In terms of detailing, you will find the Motorola smartphone doing a better job.

Ultrawide

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra produce comparable results with their ultrawide cameras. Despite Samsung’s 12MP sensor, it matches the level of detail delivered by Motorola’s 50MP UW snapper. However, the Galaxy S24 FE provides a more accurate colour representation. In contrast, the Honor 200 Pro tends to oversharpen and oversaturate images, resulting in visuals that appear sharper but lack authenticity.

Portraits

While the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE’s portraits are good, the Honor 200 Pro offers the best results in the segment, thanks to the latter’s partnership with Harcourt. The Honor 200 Pro also offers better edge detection, facial detailing, and bokeh effect. The skin tones may not be accurate, but you will be pleased with the results.

Selfie

For selfies, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE preserves natural skin tones, though its facial detailing isn’t as accurate as its competitors. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra stands out with its front camera, capturing selfies with good detail and sharpness. It is worth mentioning that both Samsung and Motorola smartphones create a shallow depth-of-field, not exposing the details in the background like the Honor 200 Pro does.

Low light

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE captures good low-light images, though it could have handled light flares better, which results in slightly less sharp photos compared to its rivals. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra and Honor 200 Pro, on the other hand, offer better detailing; however, they both struggle with accurate colour representation. As noticeable in the Honor 200 Pro image above, colours, especially reds, appear maroonish and lack clarity.

Night mode

The night mode on all three smartphones enhances the images by reducing the noise and the light flare. Even though the colours appear boosted, the Honor 200 Pro outshines the competitors with respectable sharpness.

Performance and software

At the core of the S24 FE is Samsung’s Exynos 2400e chipset, which is similar to the flagship Exynos 2400 that powers the regular Galaxy S24 lineup, but has a lower 3.11GHz clock speed instead of 3.21GHz. This chipset is paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. Since the storage isn’t user-expandable, it’s essential to assess your storage needs before investing in the smartphone. There is a gap of Rs 6,000 between the two storage variants.

Core specs aside, let’s talk about the performance. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE outperforms Snapdragon 8s Gen 3-powered Honor 200 Pro and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra smartphones with higher AnTuTu and Geekbench scores. This essentially indicates that the Samsung smartphone is more powerful than its rivals and should be able to handle everything thrown at it without slowing down. I can vouch for that as the Galaxy S24 FE effortlessly managed my regular activities such as browsing, streaming, social media streaming, and multitasking with no noticeable lags or stutter. The phone’s thermal efficiency is also exceptional in the segment. The handset did not get uncomfortably warm even after gaming.

In our gaming test, which involved playing BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each at the same graphics settings, brightness, and volume levels as its competitors, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE heated up by a total of 15.6 degrees Celcius. In contrast, the Honor 200 Pro’s temperature rose by 19.6 degrees Celcius, while the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra experienced a spike of 18.7 degrees Celcius. However, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE’s average frames per second (FPS) while playing BGMI and Call of Duty remained marginally lower than the rivals, which might offer smoother gameplay.

Software-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE boots Android 14-based OneUI 6.1 out of the box. The experience remains the same as the more expensive S24 smartphones. The handset also comes with Galaxy AI features, making it the most affordable smartphone with AI capabilities that can recreate/ generate images, Live Translate, Circle to Search, Chat Assist, Transcript Assist, and more. You can read more about the Galaxy AI in detail in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

Moreover, much like its elder siblings, the S24 FE benefits from seven years of software and security updates. It also comes preloaded with a variety of apps, including Microsoft’s suite for enhanced productivity, along with features like NFC, a photo editor, and more.

Battery and charging

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE features a modest 4,700mAh battery but achieves a higher score in the PCMark battery test than the Honor 200 Pro, which has a larger 5,200mAh battery. For video streaming, the S24 FE is impressively optimised, using only 4 percent of battery life to play a 30-minute YouTube video in FHD resolution at 50 percent brightness and volume. However, its gaming optimisation could be better. In our gaming test, the S24 FE’s battery drained by 24 percent, a higher rate than both the Honor 200 Pro and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra. This could be due to the absence of an LTPO panel on the “fan edition” smartphone that dynamically adjusts the refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz to save battery.

Much like other Samsung smartphones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE supports 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, both of which are slower than its competitors. Additionally, you won’t get a compatible charger in the box.

With a 45W Samsung charger, the Galaxy S24 FE took 71 minutes to go from 20 to 100 percent. For perspective, the Honor 200 Pro achieved a 100 percent charge in just 39 minutes with a 100W charger, while the Edge 50 Ultra attained a full charge in only 15 minutes with its 125W charger.

Final verdict

Despite its relatively more affordable pricing (Rs 59,999 for 128GB storage and Rs 65,999 for the 256GB storage option) than the regular S24 series smartphones, the Galaxy S24 FE is a well-rounded device, offering an appealing design, excellent software support, and reliable performance, especially in multitasking and thermal efficiency. While its display output may not be the brightest compared to the rivals, the phone still delivers vibrant colours and rich contrast indoors, supported by decently loud stereo speakers.

However, it does show lower battery efficiency during gaming and slower charging speeds as compared to similarly-priced options like the Honor 200 Pro and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra. These may trouble users who frequently game or require quick recharges. As for the S24 FE’s camera performance, it is reliable for everyday photography; however, the Honor 200 Pro (review) and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra (review) excel in some areas.

All said and done, the S24 FE’s AI capabilities and extensive software support, with seven years of OS and security updates, give it an impressive future-proof edge.

Editor’s rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy

• Handles multitasking and daily tasks smoothly with minimal overheating.
• Minimalist look with a sturdy build, available in attractive colour options.
• Seven years of OS and security updates, unmatched in this segment, make it highly future-proof.
• Vibrant colours, deep blacks, and HDR10+ support enhance content viewing indoors.

Reasons not to buy

• Struggles with light flare in low-light, and portrait shots lag behind competitors.
• Lacks a bundled charger, so users need to purchase one separately for optimal charging speeds.