This has already been a tremendously busy year for Samsung, but the company isn’t done quite yet. Today, Samsung announced its newest smartphone, the Galaxy S24 FE. Like previous FE versions of its phones, the Galaxy S24 FE is essentially a version of the Galaxy S24 Plus with lesser specs at a lower price. But is it any good? Looking at the spec sheet, it’s … interesting.
Like the S24 Plus, the S24 FE has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. You also get a 120Hz refresh rate, though the resolution is scaled back to 2340 x 1080 (Full HD) instead of the 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD) panel on the S24 Plus. It should still be a quality panel, though just a bit softer than that of its more expensive sibling.
Around the back, the Galaxy S24 FE has a triple-camera array consisting of a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. For selfies, there’s a 10MP front-facing camera. The primary and ultrawide cameras are the same ones found on the S24 Plus, though the telephoto and selfie cameras are slightly downgraded.
Things change more significantly when you look under the hood. Instead of the excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that powers Samsung’s other S24 smartphones, the Galaxy S24 FE has Samsung’s own Exynos 2400e chipset. This is essentially a less powerful version of the Exynos 2400 used in the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus smartphones sold outside the U.S. Performance should still be good, though a full-fledged flagship chip this is not.
Similar downgrades exist for RAM and storage. The Galaxy S24 FE offers 8GB of RAM with a choice between 128GB and 256GB of storage. By comparison, the S24 Plus has 12GB of RAM with 256GB or 512GB of storage. Rounding out the spec sheet is a 4,700 mAh battery with 25-watt charging — another step down from the 4,900 mAh battery and 45W charging on the S24 Plus.
Of course, those numerous spec downgrades also mean a lower price. Where the Galaxy S24 Plus starts at $1,000, the Galaxy S24 FE starts at just $650. That is a $50 price increase compared to the Galaxy S23 FE from last year, but it is notably cheaper than the S24 Plus.
Or is it? Right now, the Galaxy S24 Plus is available for just $800 on Samsung’s website. If you choose the 256GB version of the S24 FE (which you probably should), that raises the price to $710. At that point, spending just another $90 gets you a higher-resolution display, nicer cameras, a faster chip, more RAM, a larger battery, and considerably faster charging. In that context, the Galaxy S24 FE becomes a much trickier sell.
There’s also the argument that Samsung will inevitably run similar sales/promotions for the Galaxy S24 FE, and if/when that happens, it’ll be a lot more appealing. But if you’re buying the phone at full retail price, it’s worth looking around to see what else is out there. Not only is a discounted Galaxy S24 Plus a tempting offer, but so are phones like the OnePlus 12R and Google Pixel 8a.
The Galaxy S24 FE is available for preorder starting today. It’s available in graphite, gray, blue, and mint.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
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The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.