Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S24: Why did Samsung do this?

The Galaxy S24 FE has quickly become a hot topic among tech enthusiasts, offering an impressive set of features at a more budget-friendly price. At $150 less than the flagship Galaxy S24, the FE promises much of the same premium experience, but does it deliver on that promise without compromising too much? With similar designs and hardware, it’s tempting to think these two devices are interchangeable, but there are some crucial differences worth exploring.

On the surface, the S24 FE and Galaxy S24 share a sleek, boxy design and high-end specs like powerful chipsets, high-refresh-rate displays, and capable camera systems. However, there are some clear distinctions: the S24 FE boasts a larger display, a bigger battery, and a slightly more affordable price tag, while the S24 focuses on portability with its smaller size and superior outdoor visibility. What’s more, the fingerprint sensors differ, with the FE using a traditional optical sensor while the S24 features an ultrasonic one for better speed and accuracy.

But how do these differences impact everyday use? In this comparison, we’ll break down the key areas—design, performance, display, camera, and battery life—to help you decide which phone offers the best balance of value and functionality. Is the Galaxy S24 FE truly the better deal, or does the Galaxy S24’s compact power make it worth the extra investment?

Galaxy S24 FE: Up to $400 off with trade-in

The Galaxy S24 FE is up for grabs at the official Samsung Store. Currently, you can save up to $400 on the handset with eligible trade-ins.

$400 off (62%) Trade-in

$249 ⁹⁹

$649 ⁹⁹

Buy at Samsung

Galaxy S24 FE: Get at Amazon for 12% off

The Galaxy S24 FE is also available at Amazon. The model in Gray with 128GB of storage is currently available at lower prices, and you can save $75 on it.

$75 off (12%)

Buy at Amazon

This year Samsung decided to alter the design of its flagship series, making it box-like, with flat sides and slightly curved corners and edges. Well, that's what it has also done to the Fan Edition series, which was expected considering the FE is supposed to just be a less expensive version of the high-end models.

But despite that, the FE is more similar to the Galaxy S24 Plus instead of the Galaxy S24, mostly due to its size. While the Galaxy S24 stands as arguably the best compact phone on the market right now, the S24 FE is big phone that needs two hands to operate.

We are looking at 6.38 x 3.04 x 0.31 inches for the S24 FE vs 5.79 x 2.78 x 0.30 inches for the S24, so the former is much taller and somewhat wider. It is also much heavier at 7.51 oz vs 5.89 oz. Suffice it to say, this can be a major deciding factor if you are choosing between these two phones.

Materials-wize, both have aluminum frames with glass back panels. Even their camera modules protrude the same length outside the phone's back. Both also come with an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, which is about the best you can get on a flagship phone. Buttons and ports are placed at the same spots, and feel equally well made.

The Galaxy S24 colors include a wider selection of colors, including:

In contrast, the Galaxy S24 FE only comes in:

• Blue
• Graphite
• Gray
• Mint
• Yellow

And, no, neither includes any goodies inside the box like cases or wall chargers. You are just getting a USB-C charging cable and that's it.

The Galaxy S24 FE has increased in size, and with that its display size has also jumped from 6.4 inches to 6.7 inches, meaning it has an even larger display compared to the 6.2-inch one on the Galaxy S24. What's more, even though they are not as thin and uniform as those on the S24, the bezels have significantly shrunk on the S24 FE, and it now looks more premium.

The Galaxy S24 has a peak brightness of 2600 nits, while the S24 FE is maxes out at 1900 nits, although the real brightness levels are different (see display measurements below). Both phones come with HDR10+ support and both have a high display refresh rate of 120Hz, which feels like should be the norm for any phone over $500 these days...

One big difference between the two is that the S24 FE comes with a standard optical fingerprint sensor embedded in its display, which is noticeably slower and less accurate than the ultrasonic one Samsung uses on its flagship series.

Lastly, protection-wise, the Galaxy S24 FE's screen comes with Gorilla Glass Victus Plus — an improvement over last year's Gorilla Glass 5 — vs the Galaxy S24's Gorilla Glass Victus 2. We are not exactly sure just how much more durable the S24 display is, but our guess is that it is not by much in comparison.

Display Measurements:

The Galaxy S24 got about 200 nits brighter during our display lab tests. This difference is noticeable in real life too, but we wouldn't say that the S24 FE is not visible when outdoors. Both phones are perfectly usable even under lots of sunlight.

Contrary to our initial believes, performance isn't the main area where the flagship Galaxy phone differentiates itself from the Fan Edition. The S24 FE and its Exynos 2400e chipset showcased very similar performance to the Exynos 2400 inside the S24. There was no point during the comparison that we felt the S24 is considerably more capable than the S24 FE in terms of performance.

As for RAM, both phones come with 8GB of it, so that won't be a factor when it comes to performance differences. That also seems to be the minimum for Galaxy AI features. And, speaking of AI, everything related to it that's available on the S24 is also available on the S24 FE.

The FE even comes with the somewhat new Sketch to Image feature that allows users to sketch over a photo, after which the phone generates an AI image on top that (hopefully) fits in. In our experience, however, this feature did not work too well.

What does seem to work very well is the more useful AI features such as Chat Assist, Call Assist, and Interpreter. These are the AI-powered tools from Galaxy AI that actually show why AI in our phones is the future, and it is great to see them on the Galaxy S24 FE, even though most were already available on the S23 FE too.

The software update situation with this year's Fan Edition has improved, and Samsung now offers the same 7 years of Android updates and security patches that it promises with its flagship series. including the Galaxy S24.

Even though the S24 should technically have the better chipset, it only managed to show its superiority in graphical performance. When it comes to CPU power, however, the S24 FE matches it.

According to Samsung, the cheaper Galaxy S24 FE shares the same 50MP main camera inside the Galaxy S24. It even comes with the same ProVisual engine that is supposed to help improve image quality, especially when zooming in digitally.

Both come with a 3X telephoto camera. The small difference is that the one on the FE is 8MP while the S24's is 10MP, although that doesn't seem to be apparent in our samples, as you will see in a bit.

Unlike the telephoto cameras, however, the S24 FE has a 12MP ultra-wide camera, just like the Galaxy S24. The spec sheets make it appear as those cameras are the same, and the sample photos and video we took gave us the same impression.

When it comes to the selfie cameras, the S24 once again has slightly higher resolution — 12MP vs 10MP on the S24 FE. And, in fact, from the previous generations of these phones, which had the same selfie camera differences, we did notice slightly higher levels of detail coming from the S24's front camera. But, again, the difference is not immediately visible.

The FE had pretty poor HDR performance during video recording last year, which is why we are happy to see that Samsung has addressed that issue with the S24 FE. Unfortunately, that is only when it comes to the rear cameras. The front camera still shows halos around edges.

PhoneArena Camera Score:

Our camera score consolidates Samsung's claims that the S24 FE has the same main camera, but it also shows us that the rest of its camera system performs almost identically too.

Main Camera

There is virtually zero difference between these two images taken by the 50MP main cameras. The colors and sharpness are the same. The only small difference we can spot is that the FE has produced a less contrasty image.

Zoom Quality

Despite the lower resolution telephoto camera, the S24 FE manages to give us similar quality to what the S24's 10MP telephoto. The difference here is that the FE has leaned toward a cooler white balance. 

Ultra-wide Camera

The ultra-wide on the FE has a wider field of view, so it captures a bit more inside a single shot. That said, it also comes with more distortion, so the photos look a bit weirder and more unnatural.

Selfies

You can see a slight halo effect around the edges of the subject and the tree leafs in the background on the S24 FE's selfie photo. The S24 does not have that issue, making up for a cleaner image.

More Camera Samples

Video Quality

The S24 FE seems to have handled the tough lighting here slightly better, making the subject brighter. The flagship seems to favor exposing for the highlights though, which in this case helps with the bright sky but not so much with the darker areas. We also prefer the way the FE's color reproduction, but that is subjective.

As you might already suspect, there is a considerable difference in battery capacity given size difference between the S24 FE and the standard S24. The Fan Edition comes with a 4,700 mAh battery, while the one on  the S24 is 4,000 mAh.

700 mAh is quite the difference when it comes to battery sizes, and it without a doubt adds to the longer battery life on the S24 FE.

The difference is not too stark despite the much smaller size of the S24's battery. The Exynos 2400e inside the new Fan Edition is meant to be better at preserving energy, so it is no surprise that it comes out on top, but it is not by much.

On the charging side of things, both phones should charge at the same speed given both support 25W, but the lower battery capacity on the Galaxy S24 means it should take less time to go from 0-100% than its more affordable counterpart.

Both also have the same 15W wireless charging, and both support reverse-wireless charging.

PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:

Since the Galaxy S24 FE is larger and has a bigger battery capacity, it was no surprise to us that it also had better battery life. In this case, our estimation gave it 6 hours and 20 minutes, compared to the S24's 2 hours.

Both phones have great sound quality, but the larger size of the S24 FE gives its sound a bit more depth and umph. That's because there is more room inside the phone for improved acoustics. Both have similar maximum volume.

If you were to compare the $649 Galaxy S24 FE to the $799 flagship Galaxy S24 purely by their spec sheets, most of the differences boil down to size. The FE is larger, and therefore comes with more screen real estate and a bigger battery. There are two more tiny differences, and those are the slightly higher resolution 3X telephoto and selfie cameras on the S24.

Check out our separate detailed page of the Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S24 specs comparison for more information. 

Comparing the spec sheets of two devices serves as a way to look at them from an eagle's point of view, revealing things that one might not typically see. The comparison above gives us the impression that there is very little that separates the Galaxy S24 FE from the more premium Galaxy S24.

When deciding between the Galaxy S24 FE and the Galaxy S24, the choice ultimately comes down to what you value more: premium features in a compact package or a larger display and better value for your money. The Galaxy S24 is the better option if you prioritize portability and superior outdoor display visibility, as its smaller size makes it easier to handle and its brighter screen excels in direct sunlight. The S24 also offers a more accurate and faster ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, as well as slightly improved selfie and telephoto cameras, which could make a difference for photography enthusiasts.

However, the Galaxy S24 FE stands out as a more budget-friendly alternative with a significantly larger screen, longer-lasting battery, and virtually identical performance. While its camera system and display aren’t quite as refined as the S24’s, the differences are minimal and may not be noticeable for most users. With a $150 savings, the S24 FE provides fantastic value, especially for those who enjoy consuming media or gaming on a larger screen.

If you’re willing to compromise slightly on size and camera quality, the Galaxy S24 FE offers a compelling deal that delivers much of what the flagship S24 has to offer. On the other hand, if you want the compact, flagship experience and don’t mind paying a premium for it, the Galaxy S24 is the way to go. Ultimately, the decision depends on your specific needs—whether you want the sleekness of a compact phone or the immersive experience and budget-friendly savings of the S24 FE.