Inside the case of the FE, it’s a high quality digicam too, with a shiny f/2.4 lens and built-in optical image stabilization. I’m usually not a fan of portrait modes on additional moderately priced handsets similar to the S24 FE, nonetheless proper right here I found it made sense given that compression from the telephoto lens leads to larger matter separation. I ended up snapping an entire lot of portraits on account of the phone did an incredible job of rendering natural-looking pores and pores and skin tones and background blur.
The first digicam is far much less of a standout. Because of that 50MP sensor, it’d most likely produce basically probably the most detailed photographs of the S24 FE’s cameras, nonetheless the autofocus wasn’t as fast as I may need favored. After I attempted to get a closeup of 1 factor, similar to my cat Celine, the digicam took numerous seconds to lock focus. Nonetheless, open air of that, the S24 FE can take beautiful footage. It’s no slouch in low gentle, each.
As for the 12MP ultra-wide, it was my least favorite of the FE’s cameras. Samsung’s image processing doesn’t do an incredible job of correcting for the fish-eye distortion produced by such a big lens, so buildings and the remainder captured throughout the periphery of the physique look misshapen. Photos look unbelievable when zoomed out, nonetheless begin to look worse as rapidly as you start pixel-peeping. Part of the difficulty proper right here is that Samsung didn’t substitute the ultra-wide digicam in order so as to add autofocus, so not every shot comes out as sharp as a result of it could very nicely be, whatever the sensor offering a great amount of choice.
Speaking of autofocus, the selfie digicam is missing that perform as correctly. It’s a shame on account of the FE has considered one of many larger front-facing cameras I’ve used not too way back. It provides adequate choice to make selfies look detailed nonetheless not quite a bit that every pore and blemish is rendered in painful aspect. On the same time, the company seems to have toned down the overly aggressive pores and pores and skin smoothing it was recognized for in years earlier.
I mentioned the Pixel 8a earlier, and I imagine it’s value returning to it for a second. When my coworker Sam Rutherford pitted Google’s midrange handset in the direction of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, he found the two had been surprisingly comparable when it acquired right here to digicam effectivity. No matter costing $800 a lot much less, the Pixel 8a usually produced footage with additional right colors and superior aspect. The S24 FE’s cameras perform a shade worse than their counterparts on the S24+. Besides you well worth the inclusion of a telephoto lens as quite a bit as I do, there’s a case to be made that the S24 FE doesn’t provide adequate of an enhance to warrant spending $650.
Effectivity
Luckily, the S24 FE is simply not all small tweaks. Internally, the phone choices Samsung’s new Exynos 2400e chipset. It’s the one processor the company is using for every US and worldwide variants. I can already hear just a few of you groaning since Exynos chips have been recognized beforehand for every poor effectivity and effectivity relative to their Qualcomm counterparts, so let me get straight to the good news: The 2400e is a powerhouse.
After I put the S24 FE by means of Geekbench 6, the chip delivered a single-core ranking of two,140 and a multi-core effectivity of 6,690. To put these numbers in perspective, when my co-worker Sam did the similar with the S24+ earlier this yr, its flagship Snapdragon Gen 3 SoC carried out larger nonetheless not significantly so, posting scores of two,284 and 7,003, respectively.
The Exynos 2400e was equally spectacular in real-world use. Although the FE solely has 8GB of RAM at its disposal, I didn’t experience any hiccups scrolling by means of web pages, switching between apps and completely different day-to-day duties. When it acquired right here to gaming, I’d play Diablo Immortal with the game’s 60 fps mode enabled and graphics settings pushed to their max. I didn’t experience any hitching or dropped frames. I’ll level out proper right here that Samsung redesigned the FE’s vapor chamber to make it larger and thereby improve cooling. In my experience, the phone will get warmth — nonetheless not scorching — working graphically intensive video video games.
Battery
As I mentioned on the prime, this yr’s FE is bigger than its predecessor. Samsung has appropriately used the extra space to include a much bigger 4,700mAh battery. Disappointingly, the company solely made a minor change to the FE’s charging capabilities. Because of Qi2 assist, wi-fi charging now tops off at 15W, up from 10W on the S23 FE. As for wired power provide, the FE continues to be restricted to 25W.
All through one check out, I left dwelling at 8AM with the FE’s battery at 87 %. For the next three hours, I used the phone to hint a motorcycle journey on Strava and snap footage alongside the way in which during which. After I purchased dwelling, the battery was at 67 %. I then went out for lunch with my confederate, snapping a great deal of footage alongside the way in which during which, and using the FE to surf the net and confirm social media. I later carried out an hour of Diablo Immortal for an entire of three hours of show display time that day. Sooner than mattress, I had about 40 % battery left. Samsung says the S24 FE can power prolonged gaming lessons, and judging by what I observed, that’s right.
Charging the FE is method from an ideal experience. In my testing, it was attainable to get the battery from zero to 50 % in about half-hour. That’s in line with Samsung’s claims. Nonetheless, charging to full takes significantly longer. It took close to 70 minutes to get a ineffective battery to 1 hundred laptop. In any case, that’s assuming you private an appropriate 25W fast charger. Did I level out Samsung doesn’t embody an affect adapter throughout the subject? Certain, you’ll need your particular person. In another case, anticipate glacial charging speeds.
Software program program
I’ve spent an entire lot of phrases on the S24 FE’s {{hardware}}, nonetheless for Samsung, that’s not the story of this phone. The company wishes you to see the model new FE as a additional moderately priced strategy to entry its Galaxy AI devices. I obtained’t bore you with a consider of your total suite since Engadget has already covered what’s included.
What I’ll say is that the whole S24 FE’s AI choices work correctly, nonetheless none of them are causes I’d exit and buy this phone for myself. Take Circle to Search, for instance. By prolonged pressing the FE’s dwelling button, you’ll be capable to convey up Google anyplace, along with whereas scrolling by means of footage on Instagram and your digicam roll. It’s then attainable to hunt for a selected object by drawing a circle spherical it. So, the next time you discover a cute floof, you’ll be capable to confirm it was a Samoyed with out leaving Google Photos. No wish to change between apps or try to find out learn the way to explain what you observed to Google.
Circle to Search is useful, nonetheless I’d moreover reside with out it. And I can safely say the similar for all of Samsung’s private AI choices. For example, Transcript Assist was helpful for turning voice memos into written notes, however it absolutely didn’t save me quite a bit time in the long run since I ended up enhancing most of what the software program program produced. I moreover don’t want to matter my friends to AI-generated texts courtesy of Chat Assist.
Most importantly, I can’t see myself paying for any of the FE’s AI choices as quickly as they’re not free. In case you forgot, Samsung plans to monetize Galaxy AI. “Costs may apply to positive AI choices on the end of 2025,” the company talked about throughout the press release asserting the S24 FE. Once you’re on the market for a midrange gadget, the prospect of paying a subscription to make use of some of its choices looks like a non-starter. I don’t discover out about you, however after I’m purchasing for a funds phone, I would like it to save lots of a number of me over the long run, not worth me additional after a yr or two.
Wrap-up
In a vacuum, the Galaxy S24 FE is an effective all-around phone and may very well be a simple suggestion if the S24+ didn’t exist or had Samsung launched the two devices on the same time. At $650 for the underside 128GB model and $710 for 256GB, the FE isn’t significantly cheaper than the S24+, significantly when you concentrate on the Plus comes with 256GB of storage by default and has already been decreased by as quite a bit as $150 off in newest months. To ensure that you a discount S24+, you’re larger off merely prepared for that phone to go on sale.
The S24 FE is in a great weirder spot as compared with the easiest midrange telephones you should buy correct now. Certain, it has a much bigger show display and an extra digicam over our current prime resolve, the $499 Pixel 8a. Nonetheless, for most people, I don’t suppose these upgrades warrant spending an extra $150. Once you’re looking for to get basically probably the most phone for as little money as attainable, the S24 FE is simply not it.
I’m sure Samsung will alter the worth sooner than prolonged, nonetheless for now, this Fan Model gadget doesn’t have a clear viewers.
