Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review: Where Exynos Makes Sense

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82%

82%

• Camera

  8.5
• Value for Money

  8
• Display

  8
• Design

  8.5
• Performance

  8
• User Ratings (157 Votes)
  4.2

I’ve had my fair share to say about Samsung’s Exynos series of chips.

Living in the UK, I had no choice but to buy an S22 Ultra with the Exynos chip inside, when the rest of the world (well, most of it) received one with the latest Snapdragon chip. Mine always felt slow, hamstrung, and sluggish. It wasn’t a great experience at all. If you want to learn more read my why the Galaxy S22 Ultra Is a Massive Disappointment explained article.

This changed for the S23 Ultra when Samsung decided to ditch their chip in my region and give us access to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – just like everyone else. The difference in performance and everyday usability was profound. A year later, we were treated to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered S24 Ultra which remains the best smartphone I’ve ever used.

Now, in front of me, I have another Exynos-powered Samsung device. It’s the S24 FE, and I have some very good news.

Specs and pricing

The S24 FE is powered by the Exynos 2400e. I have no idea where this sits, comparatively, against other smartphone chips, but some research suggests that it’s the equivalent of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Apple’s A15 in benchmarks. However, we’ll get to performance later because benchmarks are pretty meaningless.

Joining the Exynos chip is 8GB of RAM, a 4,700mAh battery, and IP68 water resistance. The screen is powered by a 6.7-inch dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a peak brightness of 1,900 nits and a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate.

Samsung’s latest mid-to-low-range phone starts at £649 for the 128GB model and tops out at £699 for the 256GB edition, although this being Samsung, there is currently a £100 sale on offer in the UK.

You can buy it from Amazon here.

Design and display

The S24 FE is a nice-looking phone. Once again, this is largely down to the pleasing colour choices (why is this always the case versus the boring flagships?!) but also because it looks strikingly similar to the regular S24. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it design approach here from Samsung, in the best possible way.

The build quality of the S24 FE is nicely premium feeling, the choice of display size is bang-on for most people, and it consequently feels great in the hand.

On the subject of that display, the S24 FE shines, just like most Android-based phones in its price bracket these days. It’s a timely reminder that the iPhone 16 is still lagging in that regard. 

Samsung has seen it fit to include a 120Hz variable refresh rate and 1,900 nits of peak brightness. The new iPhone 16 may beat the S24 FE marginally with the latter, but that fast refresh rate does separate the two phones.

Performance

It’s 2024. I’m yet to test a smartphone this year that hasn’t felt super fast, fluid, and devoid of jitteriness. It was the same story last year. And for most of 2022.

This is good news for phones like the S24 FE. Yes, it’s powered by the Exynos, and yes I threw a lot of shade that chip’s way a couple of years ago, but that was because of Samsung’s insistence on placing it in their flagship for regions like the UK market.

Times have changed. Samsung’s flagships currently sport the latest Snapdragon worldwide. Equally, whatever is going on inside that Exynos 2400e appears to be perfect for the S24 FE. Remember – people who buy this phone aren’t going to have any interest in benchmarks, and if they game at all on their smartphones, it’ll be of the bathroom-time-passing variety. Their use case will be communication, photos, social media consumption, and some light web browsing.

For those use cases, the S24 FE provides oodles of value for money – particularly at that £100 discounted price point that’s currently running in the UK.

Oh, and yes it has all of the Galaxy AI stuff you’ll have been hearing about in the Samsung ads for ages now, and of which you’ll possibly find a couple of minor use cases. Once again, that stuff is relatively abstract and not what you’d call a daily priority for the people who will be buying this phone. They want solid general performance, and with the S24 FE they’ll get just that.

Camera

As always, I’ll leave you to be the decision-maker in terms of how good the Samsung S24 FE is at taking photos, via a few test shots.

Samsung has opted for a three-camera setup – a 50MP main wide lens, an 8MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultra-wide. The selfie camera is 10MP.

The optical zoom range on that telephoto tops out at 3MP which doesn’t offer the glorious usefulness of the 5X we find on flagships these days, but it’s enough, once again, for most people.

I think the S24 FE produces great imagery. They’re not too sharpened, nor too saturated, and the shutter speed seems fast enough to capture the moments that matter.

Video quality is very good at this price point, too – and the S24 FE has been granted access to the frankly ludicrous ability to shoot at up to 8K at 30FPS. I’ve not tested that, and I have no doubt it isn’t something most purchasers of this phone will ever switch on, but it’s there if you need it, for whatever reason.

Conclusion

The S24 FE is a superb mid-range phone which kicks it with the best of the non-Samsung Android alternatives in this price bracket.

It has a defined audience, but it’s also one which further blurs the lines between flagship and mid-range. I’m not entirely sure where that line lies anymore, to be brutally honest. Samsung has made the chip the big differentiator here, but even that doesn’t have a huge impact – if at all – on the user experience for the target market.

Perhaps more important is the fact that the S24 FE is a brilliant choice for anyone who also wants to invest in a Galaxy Watch which is a tough competitor for Apple or a brand new Galaxy Ring (maybe both!). The ability to lower the cost of your main device to access a wider ecosystem is, I think, one of the winning aspects of the S24 FE.

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE

Feature	Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra	Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
Display	6.8-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440), Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz adaptive	6.4-inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080), Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 / Exynos 2400 (region-dependent)	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
RAM	12GB / 16GB	6GB / 8GB
Storage Options	256GB, 512GB, 1TB	128GB, 256GB
Rear Cameras	– 200MP main sensor – 12MP ultra-wide – 10MP periscope telephoto (10x optical) – 10MP telephoto (3x optical)	– 50MP main sensor – 12MP ultra-wide – 8MP telephoto (3x optical)
Front Camera	12MP	10MP
Battery	5,000mAh, 45W wired charging, 15W wireless	4,500mAh, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless
Operating System	Android 14 with One UI 6.1	Android 14 with One UI 6.1
Build Material	Armor Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front/back	Plastic frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front
Additional Features	S Pen support, IP68 water and dust resistance, UWB support	IP68 water and dust resistance
Dimensions	162.3 x 79 x 8.9 mm	158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm
Weight	233 grams	203 grams
Price	Starting around $1,199/ £599	Starting around $599/ £599

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