When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, I loved almost everything about it. The phone has an excellent build quality, gorgeous display, and surprisingly good performance, adding to an overall pleasing experience. Despite the positives, I did take issue with the price. Carrier deals helped ease some of the pain, but $650 for an unlocked Galaxy S24 FE was a non-starter for me. There are too many good mid-range options for less money, such as the OnePlus 12R and Google Pixel 8a. However, like last year, Black Friday sales are here to help Samsung fans, and at $475, the Galaxy S24 FE is a fantastic value.
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Premium design and excellent display
Samsung turned the saturation back up
I’ll be the first to admit that Samsung’s design language is stale. The company also uses it across so many device classes that it’s hard to tell flagship phones from more budget offerings. However, I still like the feel of the Galaxy S24 FE, and it’s hard to deny it has a premium build. Gorilla Glass Victus+ protects the front and back with a flat aluminum band around the edge. Unlike other phones with flat glass, Samsung molded the aluminum towards the back glass, eliminating sharp edges against your palm.
My apologies to the Exynos haters, but the 2400e chipset is good.
I still contend that the Galaxy S24 FE has the best display that Samsung shipped this year. It doesn’t have the highest resolution at 1080p, but it’s the most vibrant and saturated panel on a Galaxy in 2024. Games and movies look fantastic, and I’ve had no issues viewing my Galaxy S24 FE outdoors. If you need natural tones, Samsung provides a way to turn down the vibrancy, but if you’re a fan of how Samsung used to tune its panels, you’ll be a massive fan of the Galaxy S24 FE.
Plenty of power for a mid-range phone
Exynos isn’t a joke anymore
My apologies to the Exynos haters, but the 2400e chipset is good. I haven’t noticed any slowdowns or overheating that plagued earlier versions. I’m also pleasantly surprised by the gaming performance of the Galaxy S24 FE, which maintains higher graphical settings and more frames per second than other mid-range phones. On-device AI tasks are snappy, and the overall UI experience feels fluid. The Exynos 2400e combined with the Galaxy S24 FE’s 8GB of RAM means you’ll get decent performance for years.
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When I test a new Exynos-powered smartphone, I’m concerned about battery life. Thankfully, the 2400e is power-efficient, and I consistently get noticeably better battery life than last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Galaxy S23 FE. You can expect over an hour more of screen on time per charge. Unfortunately, Samsung has capped charging speeds to 25W wired, but the larger 4,700mAh cell should offset some of that pain. All told, it’s rare to see battery life improve when switching to an Exynos, but that’s the case with the Galaxy S24 FE.
Software support for days (or years)
Galaxy AI and extended support for less
I cringed when Samsung tried to justify the Galaxy S24 FE’s increased price by including Galaxy AI. It’s not a reason why I’d spend extra on a smartphone. However, at $475, I love what Galaxy AI offers. Sketch to Image is a fast and fun way to generate quirky images, but it’s behind the scenes where Galaxy AI improves the Galaxy S24 FE. The Galaxy S23 FE had a poor camera. Images were soft, and it often struggled to focus, making consistently good photos nearly impossible. Photo Assist has transformed images from the Galaxy S24 FE. Color reproduction is significantly better, and Samsung’s notorious shutter lag is nowhere to be found.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE camera samples
Samsung also brought extended software support to the Galaxy S24 FE, promising seven generations of Android upgrades and security updates. With today’s smartphones designed to last longer, with better chipsets and more RAM, it’s welcome to see software support match longer lifespans. Even if you don’t keep your phone for seven years, extended support means it will be worth more at resale time, so having it doesn’t hurt.
Black Friday fixes the main issue with the Galaxy S24 FE
I always thought the Galaxy S24 FE was good, but its price made it hard to recommend over powerful competition. However, a $475 price tag jumps it to the head of the line, with a premium build, excellent performance, and extended support — matching or besting the mid-range competition. Don’t make the same mistake as last year by waiting on Samsung Black Friday sales. The Galaxy S23 FE was reduced in price to $400, and like everyone else, I thought that was the price tag we’d see a few times over the year — it wasn’t. If you’re interested in a Galaxy S24 FE, don’t make the same mistake; take advantage of Black Friday.
