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At a starting price of $649, the Galaxy S24 FE is not as premium as Samsung’s Galaxy S24 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.
To Samsung’s credit, the S24 FE has a large, vibrant, and sharp-looking display that gives off a very strong first impression. The Dynamic AMOLED panel measures 6.7 inches and supports Samsung’s Vision Booster feature, allowing it to peak at 1,900 nits of brightness. The result is a handset that’s refreshingly easy to see (and use) when you’re out in the sun.
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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.
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.
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Lastly, I’ve been satisfied with the 50MP-led camera system of the S24 FE. Coming from the Google Pixel 9 series, I expected the S24 FE camera to dial up the saturation and sharpening of photos and videos, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, subjects often came out natural-looking, with just enough dynamic range to portray the varying weather conditions in October.
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
Source : ZDNet