Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 FE: The decadent flagship or the sensible purchase?
Intro
One is a decadent flagship phone that's about to be succeeded in early 2025 but is still at the top of its game and exceptionally capable, the other one is the undisputed value king in Samsung's current high-end phone roster that gives you a lot for less.
Can we really compare a top-end flagship like the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the affordable Galaxy S24 FE? Of course, despite the seemingly stark feature disparity, once you jump into the nitty-gritty of things, you will quickly realize that the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 FE are both very comparable, and by the end, you quickly realize that the Galaxy S24 FE is actually the more sensible purchase right now.
Sure, it might be inferior in one way or another in most areas, but it's much more affordable and maximizes the value you get.
Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 FE differences explained:
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 FE |
|---|---|
| Larger device with a boxier titanium frame design | A more compact device with a rounded aluminum frame |
| S Pen stylus | No stylus support |
| A 6.8-inch screen with 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate and anti-reflective coating; significantly brighter | Slightly smaller 6.7-inch display with 60-120Hz refresh rate, not as bright |
| Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor | Optical fingerpring sensor in the display |
| Quad camera with 200MP wide, 50MP long & 10MP short telephoto | Triple camera with 50MP wide, 8MP short telephoto |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm) chip with 12GB RAM | Exynos 2400e with 8GB of RAM |
| Three storage variants: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Two configurations: 128GB and 256GB |
| A 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging | A 4,700mAh battery with 25W wired charging |
Table of Contents:
Design and Display Quality
Similar DNA, yet quite different
Situated on the opposite ends of the evolutionary spectrum (Image by PhoneArena)
Both the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 FE definitely have the same unmistakable DNA, with shared design elements that are definitely "Galaxy".
The Galaxy S24 Ultra, being the proper and more premium flagship phone, comes with a silky-smooth titanium frame and frosted glass back panel, both of which scream "posh", making this the unmistakable higher-tier device. The frame of the phone is slightly curved outwards, though the display is completely flat.
The corners of the frame are also perfectly right, when viewed from the front, which gives the flagship its unmistakable business-like appearance. This one will be subject to change with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, so cherish it while you can.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra also comes with the S Pen stylus that delivers a lot of utility to the overall mix.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 FE is a pretty standard phone as far as design goes: it's quite vanilla in terms of appearance, with nothing really standing out. Featuring a completely flat aluminum frame and standard glossy rear Gorilla Glass Victus+ panel, it's a phone that looks like just about any Galaxy out there.
The Galaxy S24 FE is slightly more compact, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra feels better in the hand (Image by PhoneArena)
Size-wise, the Galaxy S24 FE is surprisingly large, similar to the Galaxy S24 Plus, and almost as big as this here Galaxy S24 Ultra. The two phones are nearly the same height, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra is wider and thicker, as well as significantly heavier: 233gr vs 213gr.
In terms of handling, the Galaxy S24 Ultra feels more comfortable in the hand, mostly thanks to the slight curves of the frame. In contrast, the Galaxy S24 FE feels sharper and tends to cave into your skin a little bit more.
Both phones boast camera punch-holes up front, as well as USB-C ports and IP68 water- and dust-resistance. All the buttons are in their usual places, with nothing too extraordinary going on.
Biometrics-wise, the Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts a faster and more accurate in-display fingerprint sensor, while the Galaxy S24 FE boasts an optical fingerprint, which is slightly more prone to errors and functions slightly slower.
Large-screen phones are in (Image by PhoneArena)"
Speaking of displays, the differences between the two Galaxies are just a couple, but they are important ones.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a sharper 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with QHD+ resolution, while the Galaxy S24 FE boasts a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with FHD+ resolution. The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers a much smoother 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate, while the Galaxy S24 FE only varies between 60 and 120Hz.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts an anti-reflective coating that eliminates a large part of any occasional reflections; it also boasts an Adaptive Color Tone feature that improves the viewing experience. The Galaxy S24 FE comes with a standard Gorilla Glass Victus+ front glass.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a sharper 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with QHD+ resolution, while the Galaxy S24 FE boasts a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with FHD+ resolution. The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers a much smoother 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate, while the Galaxy S24 FE only varies between 60 and 120Hz.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts an anti-reflective coating that eliminates a large part of any occasional reflections; it also boasts an Adaptive Color Tone feature that improves the viewing experience. The Galaxy S24 FE comes with a standard Gorilla Glass Victus+ front glass.
Is there a major difference in terms of overall display properties? Here follow our display benchmark tests, which paint a fuller picture:
Unsurprisingly, from a quality perspective, it's the Galaxy S24 Ultra that ends up ahead. It delivers a much better default color temperature and color accuracy, as well as better gamma. The Galaxy S24 FE, however, is surprisingly decent in terms of display quality and doesn't lag behind too much.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is definitely brighter at 20% APL (a 20% portion of the screen displays a fully white image) at 2310 nits in comparison with the Galaxy S24 FE's 1756 nits. However, at the 100% APL test, in which the whole screen is displaying a white image at full brightness, the Galaxy S24 Ultra's lead is smaller––just 270 nits.
Performance and Software
SUBHEADING
Super-premium flagship versus an upper mid-ranger (Image by PhoneArena)
Inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra, you'll find none other but Qualcomm's penultimate Snapdragon chipset, the eight-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset based on a 4nm manufacturing process, which was among the best-performing mobile chips throughout the majority of 2024. A proper flagship chipset for a proper flagship, it absolutely delivered in terms of raw performance and all the AI needs that Galaxy AI has.
Meanwhile, the more budget-oriented Galaxy S24 FE uses Samsung's own in-house ten-core Exynos 2400e chipset, which is also built on a 4nm manufacturing process. Surprisingly, it holds its own pretty decently against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but isn't very impressive in terms of graphics performance.
As evident in the benchmarks above, the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S24 FE are fairly neck-in-neck, with both the multi- and single-core tests fairly comparable. When it comes to the graphics-intensive 3DMark Extreme test, however, things take a dire turn for the Galaxy S24 FE, which achieves a best loop score of 3861 points, while its lowest loop score stands at 2435 points.
In terms of memory and storage, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is better-endowed with 12GB of RAM, most certainly to boost its AI and multitasking capabilities, while the Galaxy S24 FE only comes with 8GB of RAM.
At the time of writing, both devices run One UI 6.1 based on Android 14. Android 15 and One UI 7 will arrive in the opening months of 2025.
In terms of features and factoring the lack of an S Pen functionality on the Galaxy S24 FE, the two devices are mostly identical. Both share the same selection of Galaxy AI features, which are as follows: Call Assist, Chat Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Drawing Assist, Photo Ambient Wallpaper, and Health Assist.
Performance should be similar when you use Galaxy AI's default online-processing option, but if you opt to enable device-only Galaxy AI processing, then the Galaxy S24 Ultra should have an upper hand.
In terms of software support, both devices get seven years of software updates. This means either will be supported by 2031.
Camera
You can't dethrone the king that easily
Galaxy S24 Ultra's camera is much more versatile and capable
With a quad camera with two telephoto lenses, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is easily one of the best cameraphones that were available throughout 2024. The main wide-angle camera is an imposing 200MP one, with a fairly large sensor, wide aperture and all the software bells and whistles necessary to make the photo-taking experience great. As we mentioned, there are two telephoto cameras––a short 3X telephoto and a longer 5X telephoto with the decent 50MP resolution.
The Galaxy S24 FE, on the other hand, has humbler hardware: a 50MP wide-angle camera is aided by an 8MP 3X telephoto and a 12MP ultrawide. If this one sounds familiar, that's because it is: it's the same camera setup available on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
The Galaxy S24 FE fares surprisingly well in our PhoneArena Camera Test, ranking lower than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but still achieving great results in both the still photo and video tests.
Main Camera
The main cameras of the two devices deliver still photos that are very alike. We get comparable dynamics ranges on both, meaning that the scenes are exposed in a similar fashion, and sharpness isn't that different on both. The Galaxy S24 Ultra tends to slightly over expose the scene, while the Galaxy S24 FE gives us a slightly more realistic scene that's a pinch "grittier".
Zoom Quality
At the shorter 3X zoom, native for both phones, the Galaxy S24 Ultra does a significantly better job in almost all areas that matter: sharpness, dynamics, and color science.
The Galaxy S24 FE, on the other hand, fails to impress. Photos appear super soft and noticeably colder, with lower contrast and questionably usability.
At 10X, the Galaxy S24 Ultra easily captures a perfectly viable photo that's well-exposed and is tack-sharp, which can't really be said about the Galaxy S24 FE, which is already above its hardware capabilities and is on the cusp of giving us a big pile of artifacts and smudges. The photo is usable, but not as much as the Galaxy S24 Ultra one.
Ultra-wide Camera
No significant differences in the ultrawide cameras here: both 12MP cameras deliver similar results, which is definitely the outcome we expected.
Selfies
The Galaxy S24 Ultra gives us better selfies, but not by much. The Galaxy S24 FE resolves slightly less detail, but not by much. The difference is small, but surely things are leaning in favor of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Battery Life and Charging
Efficiency is king
The Galaxy S24 Ultra rules in terms of battery life (Image by PhoneArena)
One day, the folks over at Samsung decided that, why, yes, a 5,000mAh is a perfectly viable size for a flagship phone's battery for all perpetuity. This day was sometime in 2019, it would seem, as the Galaxy S Ultra's 5,000mAh battery streak started with the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020.
Well, while Samsung could absolutely consider putting a denser lithium-silicon battery in some of its next Galaxies, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is stuck with a 5,000mAh unit. Turns out this isn't bad given how great the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 efficiency is, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra certainly aces our battery tests.
The Galaxy S24 FE, on the other hand, boasts a 4,700mAh battery, which is a decent capacity for such a phone. The Exynos 2400e, while efficient, can't really hold a candle to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In our custom battery tests, which are all conducted with the displays set at 200 nits of brightness, the Galaxy S24 Ultra beats the Galaxy S24 FE in all three tests.
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
In our dedicated web browsing test, which aims to replicate a standard browsing experience, the Galaxy S24 Ultra achieves 20 hours and 6 minutes, while the Galaxy S24 FE reaches 15 hours and 39 minutes.
The difference in our video playback is significantly smaller, with the Galaxy S24 Ultra ahead with just 15 minutes. Finally, in our 3D gaming test, the Galaxy S24 Ultra achieves a significantly better result of nearly 14 hours, whereas the Galaxy S24 FE scores a little over 10 hours.
The same applies to our charging test, in which the Galaxy S24 Ultra completes a full charge cycle in just 69 minutes (nice!), while the Galaxy S24 FE takes 81 minutes. The reason for that is the significantly faster 45W wired charging on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, while the Galaxy S24 FE is only outfitted with 25W wired charging.
Audio Quality and Haptics
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is definitely in a league of its own when it comes to pure audio quality from its loudspeakers. The sound is rich, with a fairly wide sound stage, and with a decent amount of bass.
The Galaxy S24 FE also sounds okay, but can't really match the depth and overall quality of the flagship device.
Haptics are great on both, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers a more rewarding and pronounced vibration, which is more pleasing to interact with.
Specs Comparison
Here's a concise breakdown of how the Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 FE:
| Specs | Galaxy S24 Ultra | Galaxy S24 FE |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 161.2 x 74 x 8.6mm | 162 x 77.3 x 8mm |
| Weight | 233 gr | 213gr |
| Screen | 6.8" Dynamic AMOLED 2X 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate 2500 nits peak brightness | 6.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 60-120Hz adaptive refresh rate |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm) | Exynos 2400e (4nm) |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB LPDDR5 RAM UFS 4.0 storage | 8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB |
| Cameras | 200MP main 50MP telephoto 5X 10MP telephoto 3X 12MP ultra-wide 12MP front | 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 8MP 3X telephoto 10MP front |
| Battery Size | 5,000 mAh | 4,700 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 45W wired 15W wireless Reverse wireless | 25W wired 15W wireless Reverese wireless |
Which one should you buy?
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the better phone, but the Galaxy S24 FE is superb value (Image by PhoneArena)
Yes, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is certainly the phone that Samsung wants you to buy, and it's pretty normal that it's better in pretty much every aspect when compared to the Galaxy S24 FE. But is it substantially better? Or, put another way, is it so much better that you should shell nearly twice of your hard-earned dollars to get it? No, not at all.
With a starting price tag of $650, the Galaxy S24 FE is definitely the Galaxy phone you should buy right now if you don't really care about the best hardware specs, camera, or having the latest device as soon as it lands. It delivers great performance, a very decent camera experience, a good battery backup, and provides you with access to all the core Galaxy features and functionalities.
Although it's a great phone, you should probably put your Galaxy S24 Ultra purchase on hold right now. The reason for that is the fact that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is coming next month, so it makes sense to wait a bit and see what Samsung has been cooking in the past few months.
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