Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review – a pleasant surprise for the price

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is a more wallet friendly mobile phone in the Galaxy S series, and offers many of the same features as the S24 phones, but at a cheaper price. So what is missing, and how do Samsung make this phone cheaper? Find out in my full review, and see if this phone makes it on to the list of the best phones for photography.

At a glance

• 50MP wide-angle, f/1.8, 24mm equivalent, PDAF, OIS 
• 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 13mm equivalent, fixed focus 
• 8MP telephoto f/2.4 PDAF OIS (76mm equivalent) 
• 10MP selfie camera f/2.4 fixed focus 
• 8K/4K video recording 
• 6.7inch FullHD+ AMOLED 2X, 120Hz screen, 1900nits peak brightness  
• Battery: 4700mAh (25W charging 15W wireless)  
• Operating system: Android 14 
• 7 years of updates  
• 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB/512GB storage options 

Features

The Samsung Galaxy S series FE edition has always been a little bit of an odd one, often being released a few months before the next new models come out, and often competing with other Samsung phones that are available. But for those that want a more wallet friendly camera phone, the FE model is often a cheaper option.  

As a slightly cut down version of the S24, the FE features a triple camera setup on the rear, but with a lower resolution telephoto camera, with 8MP rather than 10MP. The selfie camera is 10MP on the S24 FE (without AF), compared to 12MP on the S24/S24+ with AF. 

You also get Galaxy AI features from the flagship range of phones, and these include not only helpful phone features, as well as AI features that can be found in the photo editing area of the phone.   

With a price of $649 / £649 (RRP), the S24 FE certainly puts it closer to mid-range phones, making this much more affordable compared to the S24/S25 models’ RRPs, and you’ll often find the phone on sale for $100 less.  

However, if you can find the S24 for a similar price (on offer) then it would be a better option as it has better specs. But if the S24 FE is cheaper where you are then carry on reading. 

The phone has an aluminium frame, as well as Gorilla Glass Victus+ glass on the screen and on the back. The 6.7inch screen has a peak brightness of 1900nits, and 120Hz refresh rate as well as HDR10+. There’s an IP68 rating meaning you can get the phone wet, even take it underwater, but this isn’t recommended as the charging port is still exposed.

There’s a 4700mAh battery, with 25W wired charging, and 15W wireless, which is a little on the slow side, with the other S series phones offering faster wired charging. You can also find the phone with different storage options of 128GB 256B and 512GB. With RAM at 8GB. The phone runs Android 14, and should get 7 years of updates.  

Handling and Design

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE looks just like other S24 phones (excluding the S24 Ultra) – and looks like the A55 series which also mirrors the design of other Samsung phones. Ultimately all this means is that almost all Samsung phones look the same – which may or may not be a good thing depending on how you feel about the design. 

The frame around the screen on the S24 FE looks quite a bit larger than the frame around the S24/S24+ phones.  

Samsung phones tend to offer the same user-friendly interface and quick access to controls, and the S24 FE is no exception.  

The screen benefits from a quick refresh rate, which can be set up to 120Hz. The peak brightness of 1900nits is reasonably good as some competitors, many of which now offer double this. As mentioned, the borders look large compared to those of flagship phones, but larger boarders are fairly common on entry-level and mid-range and mid-range and mid-range phones. You get a 4700mAh battery along with wireless charging, the wired charging speed of 25W is a little disappointing, considering even the new A56 offers 45W wired charging.  

Camera app

The night mode will automatically activate when the scene is dark enough, or you can select it manual from the mode selection screen. It lets you shoot with the 0.6x, 1x and 3x cameras, and exposures up to 8 seconds are possible. 

The portrait mode gives you different zoom options of 1x, 2x, and 3x, and lets you adjust the strength of the background blur, as well as other lighting effects. 

Pro photo and Pro video modes give you manual controls, and yoand you cacan swwitcch  on n thehe raw images with this phone, without the need to the need to install third–party photo editing appss. 

Performance

Here we look at photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. I’ve taken hundreds of photos with the A55, in a variety of settings and weather conditions. Here are some of the best photos, as well as examples showing you exactly what this camera phone is capable of producing. 

Colour reproduction is pleasing with bright colours, and quite saturated images. They’re definitely more saturated than most photos taken with Google Pixel phones and, viewed in isolation, look great. Whether you prefer what the Samsung produces or what Google phones produce will be down to taste. For most people higher saturation will be preferable, but there were times when it was a little too strong. 

Exposure and dynamic range are generally very good, with there being little need to adjust the exposure, and the phone does a good job dealing with bright and darker areas of the image (whether shooting in good light, or low-light). Images can look quite natural, without looking like an HDR art filter. 

The 8MP 3.1x telephoto camera with a 76mm equivalent gives a good amount of zoom, typical of a 3x telephoto camera on a smartphone, and is much more interesting than just a 2x zoom (which could easily be done with the main camera). Optical image stabilisation (OIS) helps keep things steady, and the f/2.4 aperture is reasonable.

8MP may not seem like much, but the results are good enough for general use, especially if you’re simply sharing your images online, and images are upscaled to 12MP so that they match the resolution of other images.

The selfie camera is a 10MP unit with an f/2.4 aperture, with support for 4K video recording. Focus is fixed, which is a shame, as the S24/S25 series normally offers autofocus on the selfie camera, however, focus is set so that it’s optimised for subjects close to the camera, and detail is crisp as a result, with softer backgrounds. In low-light this camera can struggle, but shoot in good light and you’ll be fine.

You can use the main camera for close-ups, and the results are relatively good, certainly better than the results from 2/5MP macro cameras on some phones, and there’s a nice level of background blur.   

Low-light performance is admirable, with the camera featuring a reasonably bright f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilisation (OIS).

The phone offers 8K Video as well as 4K video at frame rates up to 120fps – this is impressive considering the price of the phone. Results are good, with image stabilisation doing a good job of providing smooth footage. 4K video is available from the selfie camera at 60fps.

Value for money

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE sits in a slightly awkward position of being surrounded by similarly priced options, whether that’s the S24 / S24 Plus, which are better phones for not much more money, or the newer cheaper Samsung Galaxy A56 phone, which offers 45W charging, albeit with a lack of telephoto camera. If you can live without the telephoto camera, then the A56 is likely to feel like a real bargain. If you can stretch to the S24 Plus, then again, you’re getting a better all-round phone, however if you find the S24 FE on offer, then it’s amazing value, especially if you find it for under $500/£500. Outside of Samsung there’s a lot of competition from the likes of Google, Motorola, Nothing and others, with Motorola and Nothing both offering cheaper phones with telephoto cameras.

Verdict

The Samsung S24 FE feels like a mix of A55 and S24, but landing nearer the S24 Plus, and when on sale, it’s much cheaper. The S24 FE features 25W charging, something that makes it feel like it’s not a premium phone, with even the new, cheaper, A56 offering 45W charging. This may seem minor but when you run out of battery this can make a big difference. This phone may look like a souped up A55, rather than a cut-down S series phone, however, the IP68 waterproof rating, 8K video recording, Samsung DeX, 7 years of updates, and telephoto camera definitely elevates it. Whether these features are enough for you or not will most likely be down to your own personal needs and preferences.

If you can find the S24 / S24 Plus, or S25 / S25 Plus for a similar price, then they would definitely be the better choice, but if your budget is limited and you want a Samsung phone with a telephoto camera, and a range of more advanced features, then the S24 FE would be a great choice, especially if you can find it cheaper than the S24 Plus. Results from the cameras are good, and with bright saturated colours, it will please fans of Samsung phones.