Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review

The competition

At the time of writing, a base 128GB/8GB Galaxy S24 FE will run you about € 750/GBP 650/$650. The higher-end 256/8GB one retails for around € 810/GBP 700/$ 700/INR 58,000. That's not an insignificant chunk of change to give for a phone. Definitely enough to buy a regular S24, though that one might be on the smaller side for most. What's more surprising, however, is that you can also buy a 256GB S24+ for about the same amount (€ 790/GBP 740/$760) as the 256GB S24 FE.

The Galaxy S24+ gets you an arguably more premium build with an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Its 6.7-inch display is also a bit brighter and higher resolution than the one on the FE. The S24+ also comes with 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage in its base version and 12GB of RAM, compared to the FE's 128GB/8GB config. The S24+ also has an autofocusing selfie, wired DP video output, UWB, a bigger battery and 45W charging. At least both phones can look forward to a whopping seven years of software updates. Still, we must be honest here: the S24+ seems the better deal. Granted, it does seem to cost a bit more than the S24 FE in many places, but with some savvy shopping, you should be able to snag a deal on it.

Samsung Galaxy S24+ • Xiaomi 14T Pro • vivo V40 Pro

Over at camp Xiaomi, there is the Xiaomi 14T Pro. It is mostly price-comparable to the S24 FE. That being said, the only easily available variant seems to be the more expensive 512GB/12GB one. The 256GB/12GB one seems harder to find. The Xiaomi 14T Pro is an excellent all-around device with premium build quality and IP68 ingress protection, an arguably even better display than the S24 FE's, at the very least, a brighter one with Dolby Vision. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ is also a powerhouse of a chip. The larger 5,000 mAh battery and much faster 120W charging, supplemented by wireless charging, are also nice bonuses.

Depending on where you live, you can also grab a vivo V-series device, like the V40 or the V40 Pro. The latter is, of course, better. With the V40 Pro, you get a premium curvy build with IP68/IP69 ingress protection, a very impressive, large and very bright display, the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ chipset, stereo speakers, a large 5,500 mAh battery and 80W charging. Of course, the big focus of the V40 and V40 Pro is the camera experience. Unlike its sibling, the V40 Pro isn't a camera short and has a 50MP trio of an ultrawide, main and telephoto on the back. Impressively, the selfie is also a 50MP unit with autofocus. The ultrawide gets autofocus as well for macros. It's an all-around impressive package.

Our verdict

Let's keep things simple here: There's no doubt that the S24 FE is a great, very well-rounded device. Honestly, we can't find any glaring issues with it. Does it have the best display in the business, the best speakers around, the most powerful chipset or the crispest cameras? No, definitely not. What it does have is a solid combination of all of these things. It does not disappoint in any particular way. If we had to nitpick, we would have loved to see 12GB of RAM. Still, Samsung has committed to seven years of software support for the FE, so they must be confident that 8GB will be enough. At least one should hope so. Would autofocus on the selfie and ultrawide have been nice? Well, undoubtedly. But neither is a dealbreaker in our book.

Here's the thing, though: the Galaxy S24+ exists and lacks most of the deficiencies of the S24 FE at around basically the same price. Sure, the "FE" is cool and has this awesome pedigree, but we still think the smart move here would be to go for a S24+ instead. Alternatively, you could wait for the S24 FE to come down in price to make it a more "no-brainer" deal.

Pros

• Beautiful classic design, dual-glass, IP68-rated.
• Fast OLED screen, quite bright, HDR10+.
• Very good hybrid stereo speakers.
• Seven years of software support and all One UI flagship features, including Galaxy AI.
• Flagship-grade performance.
• Solid camera quality across the board.

Cons

• Virtual proximity sensor.
• Heavy weight, thick screen bezels.
• Launch price is too close to the Galaxy S24+.
• No charger in the box.