For example, the Galaxy S24 FE is a great deal in the United States, where it starts at just $650 for 8/128GB and $700 for 8/256GB, which is lunch money in Los Angeles.
Of course, I’m exaggerating, but with the $1,200 Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and iPhone 16 Pro Max for context, the S24 FE is half the price while giving you 80-90% of the experience you get with the top flagships.
The $650 starting price makes the Galaxy S24 a unique offering in a market where alternative options are super scarce.
You should buy a Galaxy S24+ instead of the Galaxy S24 FE – unless you want a slower phone in a few years
I’m not a fan of the Fan Edition Galaxy S24 if it costs €20 more than the better Galaxy S24+.
Why is the Galaxy S24+ a better phone than the Galaxy S24 FE? Well, there are plenty of small reasons, and a big one you should definitely take into account:
What makes the Galaxy S24+ a better phone than the Galaxy S24 FE
- Smaller, lighter, thinner, with a more modern design
- Brighter display with slimmer bezels, tougher glass, more efficient LTPO tech
- Slightly more powerful and efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip (USA, Canada, China)
- 12GB of RAM, UFS 4.0, and 256GB of storage in the base model
- Newer 3x zoom camera; selfie camera has autofocus
- Slightly larger battery and faster charging
- Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, UWB chip
As you can see, for two phones that look nearly identical and cost roughly the same (unless you’re shopping directly from Samsung), this is a rather long list of differences – or in other words, reasons to choose the Galaxy S24+ over the S24 FE.
It all depends on the deal you manage to get, but there’s absolutely no doubt that, at the same price, the Galaxy S24+ is a much better phone than the S24 FE.
If you’d like to know what the practical reason to get the S24+ over the S24 FE is, I’d say that’d be the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage combo you get in the base model.
This configuration will keep your new phone faster and usable for much longer than the 8/128GB combo in the S24 FE, especially since AI is now taking up more RAM and storage in phones than ever before. And Samsung has tons of it.
It’s mainstream – not for the fans: The Galaxy S24 FE is very similar to Samsung’s “real flagships”, but it keeps getting more expensive
One of the most frequent questions in regards to the Galaxy S24 FE I see online is whether the phone is truly meant for Samsung’s “fans” – as the name suggests. And the answer is no – of course, it’s not.
The FE doesn’t bring anything Samsung’s fans always tend to ask for – like a Micro SD card slot, a headphone jack, or a noticeably lower price than the flagships (at the time of launch).
Instead, the S24 FE is just another “perfectly” balanced FE instalment, which Samsung is using as “filler” until the new Galaxy S25 series is out.
But while it might seem pointless right now (unless you’re in the US), it’s going to make many people happy when they can get it for cheaper in 2-4-6 months time. Or even a year after launch.
Id’ say the only exception is if you need a new phone RIGHT NOW. In that case, the S24 FE is still a good option in the US. Samsung is also giving away a free Galaxy Watch FE ($200) on top of some decent trade-in offers to sweeten the deal
But if you’re not in a hurry – hold off. The Fan Edition ages like fine wine.
