The FE version of Samsung's Galaxy S phones sit in a nebulous middle area of the phone giant's lineup — not quite fully featured enough to compare to the standard Galaxy S models, but a bit more powerful than the more budget-friendly Galaxy A midrange handsets. And the pricing of Galaxy S FE phones typically reflects that middle ground.
That certainly seems true of the latest model, the Galaxy S24 FE, which Samsung has just unveiled nearly nine months after the rest of the Galaxy S24 phones went on sale, but a few months ahead of the likely 2025 launch of the Galaxy S25.
Galaxy S24 FE rumors had predicted a fall launch for this phone, so here are we, wondering if the new model will appeal to people who don't want to upgrade to the S24 or wait around for the S25 but want something more than what the current Galaxy A35 has to offer.
You'll have to wait for our Galaxy S24 FE hands-on for that kind of assessment, but here's a rundown of what the new phone has to offer in terms of pricing, availability and other changes from the Galaxy S24 lineup.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Specs
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Price & release date
Samsung announced the Galaxy S24 FE on September 26, with the phone hitting stores on October 3.
The price of the Galaxy S24 FE has gone up, compared to last year's Galaxy S23 FE, which debuted at $599. Instead, Samsung is selling the Galaxy S24 FE for $649, which is still $150 less than what you'd pay for an entry-level Galaxy S24.
The Galaxy S23 FE comes in two storage capacity variants; 128GB and 256GB. You'd pay an extra $60 for the larger capacity model, with its $709 price still coming in for less than the $799 that the 128GB Galaxy S24 costs.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE comes with a 6.7-inch AMOLED 2X display. It offers FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Because of that larger display, the S24 FE is about the same size as the Galaxy S24 Plus with similar dimensions and the same size display, though the FE weighs a bit more — 7.51 ounces compared 6.95 ounces.
At 6.4 x 3 x 0.31 inches, the new Galaxy S24 FE is slightly bigger than last year's Galaxy S23 FE. Otherwise, the exterior design is basically the same as the main S24 line, so if you like Samsung's aesthetic, this won't disappoint.
The Galaxy S24 FE will be available in blue, graphite, gray, mint, yellow. As of this writing, the yellow version isn't available in the Samsung store for order, so it's not clear when that colorway will actually be available.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Cameras
The Galaxy S24 FE's rear camera array features three vertically stacked lenses — a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The only real difference between the S24 and the S24 FE is the telephoto lens, which has a higher resolution on the main flagship.
Still, you don't find many telephoto lenses on cameras that cost less than $700. Both Apple and Google charge at least $999 for their cheapest phones with dedicated zoom hardware.
The camera setup on the Galaxy S24 FE should give you enough versatility to capture great photos and video. It will also be boosted by AI-assisted features like Photo Assist that uses generative AI to edit photos and Instant Slo-Mo to transform any video into slow motion.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Performance and battery life
Prior to the Galaxy S24 FE's release, there had been rumors Samsung might turn to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset — the same one in the Galaxy S24 for this phone. That didn't pan out though, which isn't surprising, since Samsung had to find some way to keep costs down on the FE.
Instead, Samsung is going with its own Exynos 2400 silicon. That should mean performance will lag the main Galaxy S24, though Samsung's betting it's a trade-off FE buyers will be willing to make for a $150 discount on their phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE should have more battery life than last year's S23 FE as well as the standard S24. Samsung equipped the S24 FE with a 4,700 mAh battery, topping the 4,000 mAh power pack in the standard S24 and A55.
The S23 FE wasn't great on battery life, running an inefficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The Exynos 2400e inside the Galaxy S24 FE should be more efficient and combined with the 4,700 mAh battery should last longer on a charge.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: AI features
Samsung has made a point of extending AI features to older phones and midrange models, with the Galaxy A35 supporting the Circle to Search feature introduced earlier this year with the S24.
Samsung is bringing a number of Galaxy AI features to the Galaxy S24 FE that you won't see on A35, though. The new phone will include the Live Translate feature that works with third party apps, Interpreter Mode for two-way conversation with AI-assisted translation, Note Assist, Sketch to Edit, and already mentioned features like Circle to Search, Instant Slow-Mo and Photo Assist.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Sustainability
As with the rest of the S24 lineup, the Galaxy S24 FE will come with 7 years of software support, including Android OS upgrades and security updates. That means you can keep hold of your phone for longer. Hopefully it'll also mean 7 years of spare parts availability, just in case something breaks before 2031.
Samsung says that the S24 FE is made of wide variety of recycled materials including plastics, aluminum, glass and rare earth elements and the packaging is made from 100% recycled paper.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Outlook
While the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE did see a slight price increase, it still offers many of the same capabilities as the Galaxy S4 while costing $150 less.
AI continues to be a major focus of Samsung, which means that the S24 FE is also getting a number of Galaxy AI features, though not all are unique to Samsung devices.
With a larger battery and a potentially more efficient Exynos 2400 chipset, the Galaxy S24 FE could see some big improvements over its predecessor. We'll find out more once we complete testing on this model.
