A Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24 comparison poses an interesting question if you're looking to buy one of the best Samsung phones. Do you have to make too many sacrifices with the new FE model to justify the price cut from Samsung's entry-level flagship?
Complicating that question this time around is the fact that price gap between the Galaxy S24 FE and the Galaxy S24 isn't as large as it was with the Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy S23. And as we noted in our Galaxy S24 review, Samsung's $799 flagship does a pretty good job of balancing price and features in its own right, establishing itself as the Samsung phone to get for people who don't want to pay up for the more premium Galaxy S24 Ultra.
But before you write off the Galaxy S24 FE, it does share something in common with the Galaxy S24 lineup. In our Galaxy S24 FE hands-on time, we found that this less expensive model still manages to support many of the same Galaxy AI features found on the pricier Samsung flagships.
Is that enough to justify a Galaxy S24 FE purchase? We won't know for certain until we finish our full review. But this early Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24 face-off looks at the key similarities and differences between these two devices.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Specs
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Price and availability
The Galaxy S24 FE goes on sale October 3, with a starting price of $649. Galaxy S24 FE preorders are already underway.
That $649 starting price for the 128GB model is $150 less than what you'd pay for a Galaxy S24 with identical storage. That's a pretty big discount, though not as sizable as the $200 gap between the Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy S23 prices.
Upgrading to a 256GB Galaxy S24 FE adds $60 to the price, though that $709 cost is still less than what you'd pay for a base model Galaxy S24. (Upgrading to the 256GB Galaxy S24 also costs an extra $60.) You may be able to find Samsung's phone for less by checking out the best Galaxy S24 deals.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Design
Stack the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S24 FE next to each other, and you'd have a hard time figuring out which is the flagship and which is the discount version. The phones have matching designs, with rear cameras descending vertically down the back of each phone. The color schemes are slightly different, as the Galaxy S24 FE comes in blue, graphite, gray, mint and yellow versions. Opt for the Galaxy S24, and you're choosing among orange, blue, green, violet, gray, black and yellow. (Those first three colors are exclusive to phones ordered through Samsung.)
Both phones use aluminum for their frame, but there's a slight difference in the glass Samsung uses for each model. While the Galaxy S24 features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for greater durability, the Galaxy S24 FE features the older Gorilla Glass Victus Plus. In our initial time with the FE, we've found the cheaper model to be more prone to visible fingerprints.
No matter which model you pick, you'll get IP68 water resistance, so don't worry about dropping either phone into 1.5 meters of water.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Display
One of the more noticeable Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24 differences boils down to screen size. Samsung has given the FE a larger display, with its 6.7-inch panel matching the size of the Galaxy S24 Plus. (More prominent bezels on the S24 FE make that phone a little taller and wider than the Plus in order to accommodate the larger panel.) The Galaxy S24 has a more compact 6.3-inch display.
That's certainly smaller, but we expect the Galaxy S24 screen to be brighter, given its listed maximum brightness of 2,600 nits. We weren't able to record that much with our light meter when we tested the Galaxy S24 display, but the 1,416-nit reading we did record indicates a very bright panel. The Galaxy S24 FE tops out at 1,900 nits on paper, and we'll report back on what we're able to measure with out light meter.
Like the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24 FE can ramp up its display refresh rate to 120Hz to make scrolling smoother and games more immersive. We imagine the S24 FE can only scale back down to 60Hz, a contrast to the 1Hz refresh rate the regular S24 supports when on-screen action is static, but we'll confirm this during our testing.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Cameras
In the past, one of the calling cards for Samsung's FE model is the fact that it includes a dedicated telephoto lens — something you really don't come across with phones at this price. That continues with the Galaxy S24 FE, though the 8MP sensor doesn't offer as much resolution as the Galaxy S24's 10MP telephoto camera. Both phones offer 3x optical zooms, however.
Otherwise, the rear camera setups are the same. with Samsung even using the same 50MP main camera in both phones. The 12MP ultrawide camera is the same as well. Up front, the Galaxy S24 FE offers a 10MP selfie cam compared to a 12MP shooter on the standard S24.
The story with the camera setups is less about how they differ and more about what they have in common. My colleague John Velasco noted in his S24 FE hands-on that the cheaper phones offers identical shooting modes and features to the S24. That includes AI-powered photo editing features such as Sketch to Image for tapping into generative AI to add things to phots and Instant Slow-Mo for slowing down video footage regardless of the speed you captured it at.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Performance
Galaxy S24 models released in North America used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm's top-of-the line silicon. In other parts of the world, the S24 runs on Samsung's own Exynos 2400 silicon, which is a step or two behind the Snapdragon system-on-chip in terms of performance.
Expect the Galaxy S24 FE to have more in common with those Exynos-powered models because it's using an Exynos chipset, too — the Exynos 2400e, to be exact. The standard Exynos 2400 has a higher maximum frequency than the 2400e, though the difference probably isn't big enough to translate to real world performance. Still, given how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 outperformed the Exynos 2400 in our testing, we'd expect history to repeat itself in our Galaxy S24 FE tests.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Software
The Galaxy S24 introduced the world to Galaxy AI, with Samsung rolling out new features powered by artificial intelligence to its flagship phones. Samsung has subsequently extended these features to other devices, though that's largely been to older versions of its flagships or its pricey foldable phones. The midrange Galaxy A55 and A35 are gaining the Circle to Search feature, but that appears to be all.
It may not be a full-fledged flagship, but the Galaxy S24 FE supports the bulk of the Galaxy AI capabilities found on the Galaxy S24. These include Live Translate, Interpreter Mode and Note Assist. And yes, Circle to Search is along for the ride, too.
Even better, the Galaxy S24 FE enjoys the same level of software support as the Galaxy S24. That means seven years of software and security updates, so you don't get shortchanged should you opt for the less expensive phone.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Battery life and charging
With a 4,700 mAh battery, the Galaxy S24 FE has the potential to last a long time on a charge. Certainly, that's a bigger power pack than the 4,000 mAh cell inside the Galaxy S24.
But battery size isn't the only factor when it comes to determining how long phones last. The power management features of the phone's chipset also play a big role, and in that aspect, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is second to none. That's why in spite of a modestly sized battery the Galaxy S24 lasted 13 hours and 28 minutes on our battery test, topping the average smartphones result by around 3.5 hours.
We won't know how the Galaxy S24 FE compares until we run that same battery test. The larger battery will help, but the power efficiency of that Exynos 2400e chipset will have a big say in the matter, too.
There's no difference in charging capabilities between the two phones. Both support 25W wired charging, with wireless charging also available.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs. Galaxy S24: Outlook
The presence of Galaxy AI features onboard the Galaxy S24 FE goes a long way toward making this lower-cost phone a lot more attractive than it would otherwise be. You get similar features to the Galaxy S24 while paying $150 less for your phone. Other trade-offs that you make — the less impressive processor, the lower-resolution telephoto and selfie cams and the less durable glass — are ones that are easy to live with. And the larger screen doesn't hurt either.
We'll update this Samsung Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S24 face-off once we finish reviewing the new FE model, as camera performance and software experience will be the big factors in determining just how this phone measures up to its pricier sibling. But a device that can run Galaxy AI and offer a dedicated zoom lens for $650 deserves a long, serious look.
