One of the biggest benefits of catching up with friends and family (apart from the obvious) is I get the opportunity to be in touch with “the average consumer”. I am able to gauge interest in new features, understand which ones matter most to people, and know just how much money users are willing to spend on a new handset, headphones, laptop, etc.
Also: This $399 Samsung Galaxy is the mid-range phone most people should buy
At a starting price of $649, the Galaxy S24 FE is not as premium as Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra or as budget-friendly as the brand’s Galaxy A35 5G. So, who should buy the Galaxy S24 FE — and why? I’ve been asking myself those questions throughout my weeks of testing, and the answer, it turns out, is a little more obvious than expected.
I’m less enthusiastic about the thick bezels and rather uninspiring industrial design, though most of the people I showed the phone to didn’t mind that it looks eerily similar to the more expensive Galaxy S24 Plus. I just wish Samsung had made the edges of the S24 FE curve into the back cover a little less and used lighter materials. At 212 grams, the phone’s heftiness makes it feel like a slippery sandwich of frosted metal and glass. A protective case is basically mandatory.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Fortunately, the rest of the S24 FE’s drawbacks — the infrequent stutter, lack of a far-distance telephoto lens, and less durable glass build than flagships — are easier to overlook. While the phone is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2400 — and not a more tested Qualcomm Snapdragon chip — the processor has proven capable of daily use. We’re in the thick of sports season, so I often play YouTube TV in picture-in-picture mode while on social feeds and Reddit to keep up with commentary.
While more manufacturers are aggressively dialing down the refresh rate to preserve battery life (and stabilize performance), the S24 FE remains at 120Hz for most tasks, including scrolling through media-filled webpages.
After all of that, I’m still finishing most of my days with roughly 30% battery left, which is better than most phones I’ve tested, let alone mid-range ones. Now, if only Samsung can speed up the wired charging rate from 25W to at least 45W. That’s a story for another day.
The S24 FE supports Samsung’s latest Galaxy AI features, including Sketch to Image, which generates visuals based on what you draw.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
At its $649 price point, the S24 FE is one of the most affordable phones that supports Samsung’s suite of Galaxy AI features. These include Sketch to Image, Circle to Search, note summaries, and an improved Bixby. While I haven’t found an urge to use the AI tools — they’re mostly gimmicky and still inconsistent in output — the ability to run them on-device gives the S24 FE added utility that you’ll either ignore or greatly appreciate. There’s no downside here.
Samsung tries to compensate for its telephoto lens with a mere 2x optical zoom by filling in lost details via software, and this generally works for images captured as far as the 10x range. Anything further basically leaves you with a water-painting-like output.
ZDNET’s buying advice
That’s all to say: I recommend the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
If you want better performance, the Galaxy S25 is a good alternative, as it houses a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. But I suggest sticking with the S24 FE. Not only is the Exynos 2400 solid hardware, but the smartphone also has a larger FHD+ display and a bigger battery. The S25 is more compact.
When will this deal expire?