Recent rumors don’t paint a very positive picture for the price of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, with European price leaks suggesting a price hike is on the cards. The bad news is that it looks like that might be happening in the U.S. too, but the good news is it won’t be quite as high as what Europeans will be expected to pay.
According to leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (via SmartPrix), the 125GB Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is set to cost $649 — with the price supposedly rising to $70 for the 256GB model. Last year’s Galaxy S23 FE started at $599 for 128GB, with the 256GB option costing $659. Meaning we could be looking at a $50 price hike for both options.
Interestingly the European price leak, while significantly more expensive when converted into U.S. dollars, also suggests a €50 price hike compared to last year.
Which, honestly, is pretty disappointing. The idea behind Samsung’s Fan Edition series is that it’s supposed to offer a premium-like experience at a much lower price. The more the price creeps up, and the closer it gets to the $799 flagship Galaxy S24 the less appealing the low-cost flagship becomes.
In fact the only thing that works out in Samsung’s favor here is that the mid-range Galaxy A55 wasn’t released in the U.S. market. The mid-range model has gained a lot in recent years, encroaching on territory that seemed like prime FE real estate — to the point where we wondered how the two could co-exist peacefully.
But despite that lack of competition this year, the price hike isn’t going to do the Galaxy S24 FE any favors. Especially since the Galaxy S24 is just $150 more — and presumably has a more premium set of hardware and features.
We don’t know when the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is due to arrive, though some rumors suggested that an October release could be on the cards. That would mean we don’t have very long to wait to find out what’s on offer.