Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Evaluation: Flagship Options for Small Sacrifices

8.0/ 10
SCORE

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE

Professionals

• Large display and loud audio system
• Telephoto lens
• Samsung’s full function suite for much less cash

Cons

• Battery life
• Slower optical fingerprint sensor vs
• Galaxy S24
• Galaxy AI feels gimmicky

Samsung’s $650 Galaxy S24 FE is such a consolation to make use of that at moments it felt like I used to be testing a scaled-back model of the $1,000 Galaxy S24 Plus. The S24 FE’s giant 6.7-inch 120Hz refresh-rate show made it simple for me to take pleasure in streaming exhibits, enjoying video games and taking video calls all through the day. And it consists of almost each software program perk from the dearer Galaxy S24 line.

With the S24 FE, you may get a succesful telephone that contains a telephoto digital camera — which you do not get on cheaper units — together with entry to all of Samsung’s Galaxy AI options alongside Google’s Circle to Search. Whether or not these AI options are helpful will probably be as much as you, however the entry permits the Galaxy S24 FE to really feel like a full-fledged Samsung flagship with out having to spend more cash.

The Galaxy S24 FE nails many parts that the majority of us need from telephone, particularly at a $650 worth that the majority different flagship telephone makers are presently ignoring. Since Google’s Pixel 9 now begins on the identical $800 worth because the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24 FE is now a primary telephone for somebody that want to step up from a mid-range system like Samsung’s Galaxy A telephones or Google’s Pixel 6A with out paying for a premium telephone worth.

When you’re searching for a less expensive model of the Galaxy S24 Plus, the S24 FE ought to suit your wants fairly properly. Although pay an additional $60 to get the $710 Galaxy S24 FE mannequin with 256GB of storage: mirroring the S24 Plus’ baseline configuration (which continues to be $290 extra). 

But it surely’s a unique story when evaluating the S24 FE with the $800 Galaxy S24. When you do not thoughts having a barely smaller telephone (the S24 has a 6.2-inch display) and paying $150 extra, you get a lot of noticeable upgrades together with a greater digital camera, longer battery life, a sooner fingerprint sensor and a speedier processor. However in case you do not want absolutely the high of the road, then save $150 and get the FE mannequin.

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Evaluation: A Cheaper Strategy to Get Galaxy AI

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Galaxy S24 FE’s design

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE has a barely taller design to accommodate its 6.7-inch show, nevertheless it’s in any other case just like final 12 months’s Galaxy S23 FE, apart from the $50 worth improve. The S24 FE has aluminum sides and pastel backs — this time out there in blue, mint, grey and graphite. I discover each the blue and grey fashions to skew nearer to a white beneath some lighting, whereas the mint and graphite variations have bolder colours.

The S24 FE’s display and audio system are a pleasure to make use of. I had no issues watching YouTube movies and enjoying We Love Katamari by means of Xbox Sport Cross, which regarded and sounded nice. The S24 FE’s dimension and form additionally made it simple to make use of one-handed for telephone calls and scrolling by means of texts.

One draw back is the inclusion of an under-screen optical fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S24 FE in contrast with the sooner, hypersonic, under-screen fingerprint scanner discovered on the pricier S24 telephones. It took a second longer to unlock in contrast with the common S24. I do not discover the optical reader to intrude with the S24 FE’s usefulness as I might nonetheless unlock the telephone straight from its lock display.

Galaxy S24 FE’s battery and efficiency

The S24 FE’s has a 4,700-mAh battery in contrast with the S23 FE’s 4,500-mAh battery. Battery life on the S23 FE was my chief grievance after I reviewed it. Fortuitously the S24 FE’s bigger battery does enhance issues as I ended most days at 30% in contrast with the S23 FE, which frequently had between 12% and 20% left.

When you do want a lift, the S24 FE helps 25-watt wired charging pace, which refilled the battery in my testing from empty to 56% in half-hour. The FE additionally helps 15-watt wi-fi charging and PowerShare which helps you to flip the telephone right into a Qi wi-fi charger for different units, prefer to high off your wi-fi earbuds case. 

Learn extra: Samsung Breaks Down How Bixby Will Evolve Alongside Galaxy AI

Samsung’s Exynos 2400E processor powers the US version of the Galaxy S24 FE, which is fascinating because the telephone maker has at all times used Qualcomm Snapdragon chips for Galaxy S telephones offered within the US. For instance, final 12 months’s S23 FE ran on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 within the US, whereas the worldwide mannequin opted for an Exynos processor. 

This is not actually a problem for the telephone’s efficiency although, because the Exynos 2400E outperformed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor used on the 2023 Galaxy S23 in my benchmark testing. The S24 FE even scored only a hair slower than the dearer Galaxy S24 and S24 Extremely, which run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. It is price declaring that the S24 FE would not absolutely measure as much as the common Galaxy S24’s efficiency, however for most individuals the S24 FE will probably be high-quality when it comes to dealing with on a regular basis duties and nonetheless working quick for years to return.

Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy AI

Samsung’s greatest push for the S24 FE stays its Galaxy AI suite: a lot of software program instruments geared toward bettering writing, pictures, translation and extra. What’s good is that the telephone will get entry to each function that’s out there on the dearer S24 telephones — although final 12 months’s S23 FE additionally has these identical AI options.

I discovered Samsung’s generative AI Sketch to Picture software to be a enjoyable strategy to flip on a regular basis objects into coloring books. The function makes use of AI to generate a photo-realistic model of one thing you draw or doodle on a picture within the Gallery app. As an example, I took a photograph of a Dunkin’ espresso cup, used the Sketch software to attract a coronary heart on it and watched Galaxy AI flip my sketch into an precise emblem. It stored the colours of the Dunkin’ emblem whereas morphing my form right into a design that regarded as if it was printed on the cup.

I seen that some phrases in photographs would grow to be a jumbled mess. As an example, after I drew a star on a picture of a Celsius can, the AI added letters and descriptors to the picture in locations that did not make sense. The Sketch to Picture software is a neat trick that I would take into account to be a enjoyable recreation.

There’s additionally Samsung’s Interpreter app that may be set to Listening mode and supply a translation primarily based on what the telephone can hear. It is a bit totally different from Galaxy AI’s Stay Translation function for telephone calls and texting apps, which might come in useful for multilingual chats, however as my colleagues who’ve examined iterations of those on different Galaxy telephones discovered, the outcomes are combined for the way properly these translations end up. 

I opened the Interpreter app and put the telephone into Listening mode whereas watching an Italian-language movie. And whereas this is not the supposed objective, the outcomes weren’t at all times correct. I do not really feel comfy to truly use Galaxy AI for a dwell dialog, however in case you’re curious how the Interpreter app does in that situation learn this story from my CNET colleague Patrick Holland who tested it in Paris.

Then there’s Google’s Circle to Search function, which helps you to draw a circle round one thing being proven in your show to run a seek for it. The function is not a part of Galaxy AI and is out there on different telephones just like the Pixel sequence and the Galaxy S and Z sequence. Circle to Search was essentially the most helpful AI function for my on a regular basis wants. As an example, while not having to take a photograph, I can open up the Digicam app after which press and maintain the house button to scan flowers, animals and websites like Manhattan’s Little Island.

Presently, Galaxy AI features finest for creativity, transcription and translation, however I would prefer it to assist me with duties like discovering the most affordable sizzling lunch possibility close to my workplace or manage my communications with a single level of contact. Different AI choices like Google’s Gemini and Apple Intelligence have introduced related plans for organizing our knowledge with synthetic intelligence, nevertheless it’s nonetheless early days for these options.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE cameras

The Galaxy S24 FE’s cameras did a good job taking pictures in each well-lit and low-light environments. The telephone has a trio of lenses: huge, ultrawide and telephoto. The primary digital camera has a 50-megapixel picture sensor, the ultrawide a 12-megapixel sensor and the telephoto an 8-megapixel one.

Taking the cameras to New York’s Excessive Line park turned out to be a ravishing strategy to take a look at out these cameras, as my pictures taken on each the primary lens and when zoomed in with the telephoto lens captured numerous element for the varied vegetation seen on the park. The primary picture suffers a bit from the shadows being boosted which supplies it an HDR-look.

Utilizing the telephone’s 10-megapixel front-facing digital camera additionally takes a balanced picture that captures my hair strands and pores and skin tones whereas exterior on a Manhattan rooftop.

When inside, particularly in nighttime environments, the Galaxy S24 FE’s picture take successful in terms of picture noise. I took the Galaxy S24 FE, the S23 FE and the common S24 to a dimly lit bar. Regardless of there being solely hint lighting, all three telephones did an OK job capturing my bowl of pasta and beer. There’s noticeable picture noise throughout all three pictures when zooming in, however the noise discount every telephone utilized made the photographs look extra like a drawing than a photograph.

After I switched to the front-facing cameras in the identical bar, nevertheless, there was a noticeable distinction between every telephone’s selfies. The S23 FE’s picture is tender and has a blurry look. The S24 FE’s picture captures extra element in my facial hair. However the S24’s picture was the very best and took the extra step of brightening up my face. Whereas the S24 is ready to put in that extra work it prices extra.

I additionally took comparability pictures with simply the S24 and S24 FE at a well-lit location of The Cheesecake Manufacturing facility. Each photographs of a Bloody Mary have loads of sharp clear particulars. Discover the water droplets on the tomato garnish and the spices used inside the drink itself. 

All in all, I discover the S24 FE’s cameras to match fairly favorably to the S24’s, even when the dearer telephone has a bit extra energy for cleansing up photographs in difficult circumstances.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Backside line

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a good value-option for somebody who’s searching for a telephone that may deal with just about something you wish to throw at it, however is not as involved about having the most recent and best specs. The Galaxy S24 FE is a stable handset with a pleasant massive display, loud audio system, first rate cameras and is straightforward to make use of with one hand. You additionally get full entry to Samsung’s Galaxy AI options and a promise of seven years of software program and safety assist that can offer you new telephone options for a substantial period of time.

Whereas you may get extra processing energy and higher pictures by choosing the dearer Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus telephones, for most individuals this telephone is a simple advice once you simply need a good Samsung telephone that does not skimp on options to hit a cheaper price. However those that want to get essentially the most attainable energy on your telephone buy ought to nonetheless take into account the Galaxy S24 or wait a couple of extra months till subsequent 12 months once we anticipate Samsung to announce its Galaxy S25 line firstly of 2025.

How we take a look at telephones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was truly utilized in the true world. We take a look at a telephone’s options, play video games and take pictures. We look at the show to see if it is brilliant, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construct to see how it’s to carry and whether or not it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s efficiency to the extremes utilizing standardized benchmark instruments like GeekBench and 3DMark, together with our personal anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution movies and enjoying graphically intense video games at excessive refresh charges.

All of the cameras are examined in quite a lot of circumstances from brilliant daylight to darkish indoor scenes. We check out particular options like night time mode and portrait mode and examine our findings in opposition to equally priced competing telephones. We additionally try the battery life through the use of it each day in addition to working a sequence of battery drain assessments.

We consider extra options like assist for 5G, satellite tv for pc connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus assist, quick charging speeds and foldable shows, amongst others that may be helpful. We stability all of this in opposition to the worth to provide the verdict on whether or not that telephone, no matter worth it’s, truly represents good worth. Whereas these assessments could not at all times be mirrored in CNET’s preliminary assessment, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.