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Samsung has just announced the Galaxy S24 FE smartphone alongside the Galaxy Tab S10 series of tablets. However, if you’re considering buying one, I have some important news for you.
As we noted in our Galaxy S23 FE review, the timing of the FE (‘fan edition’ by the way) is quite awkward. It comes many months after the flagship of the same name and that’s a big deal.
In short, the problem is price drops.
Samsung is launching the S24 FE with a starting price of £649 (or £699 to double the storage to 256GB).
That may be cheaper than the base models in the iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 ranges – although not by much – but when you compare it to Samsung’s own phones, there’s little reason to buy the latest FE.
Buy the regular S24
It won’t be long before tech starts seeing price cuts at major retailers – even if the price is still the same in official stores – and with the S24 range arriving again in January, you can get a bargain now.
Head to Amazon and you can buy the excellent Galaxy S24 for just £580 at the time of writing. Another listing has it for £640 with a capacity of 256GB, which is still less than the cheapest S24 FE.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Or the equally large screen S24+
Granted, the Galaxy S24 FE has a larger screen than the regular S24 at 6.7 inches compared to 6.2 inches and a larger 4700mAh battery.
However, you can buy the Galaxy S24+ from Dealmonday for £669 if that suits you better.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
What about last year’s S23 FE?
Another alternative would be to buy last year’s Galaxy S23 FE, especially considering how much it costs now. Only £425 on Amazon at the time of writing.
It’s worth noting that while not much has changed from its predecessor, the S24 FE gets the same seven years of software support as the other S24 phones, which is a lot better than the S23 FE’s four years.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Can I seduce you with a Xiaomi?
Another spanner in Samsung’s works is a phone that Xiaomi announced less than two hours ago. The Xiaomi 14T Pro starts at the same £649 as the S24 FE, but has some seriously impressive specs.
It has a top-level Mediatek Dimensity 9300+ processor, an impressive 6.67-inch 144Hz OLED display, a powerful triple camera system from Leica, and support for 120/50W fast charging (wired/wireless).
There are downsides when comparing the software, but if you’re looking for high-end hardware then it’s a solid option and you can read more in our full Xiaomi 14T Pro review.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Jon Mundy / Foundry
In the US?
If you’re in the US, the Xiaomi 14T Pro isn’t an option. I don’t have US pricing for the S24 FE, but if the rumors are true, it will cost $650 or $710 for the 128 and 256 GB options.
In that case, you can get the S24 or S23 FE for $719 (or $528 renewed) and $499 from Amazon, respectively.
New phones can be tempting, but this is another anomalous release from Samsung that doesn’t make much sense.