Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S23 FE: Bigger, faster, more premium

The Samsung Fan Edition legacy continues, and a year after the Galaxy S23 FE went on sale, Samsung is ready to release the sequel. The company announced the Galaxy S24 FE today, and now that we know what it's capable of, there's no better time to see how it stacks up against its predecessor.

Galaxy S24 FE vs S23 FE: Say bye-bye to one-handed use

Perhaps the most striking difference between the Galaxy S23 FE and Samsung's new Galaxy S24 FE is that the latter has a bigger screen. Upgraded from a 6.4-inch to a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, the Galaxy S24 FE offers the same viewing area as the more premium Galaxy S24+.

Needless to say, the larger display increases the Galaxy S24 FE's overall size. Aside from being marginally narrower and thinner than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the new Galaxy S24 FE's dimensions are comparable with the S Pen premium flagship.

On the one hand, the Galaxy S24 FE measures 162 x 77.3 x 8.0mm and weighs 213 grams. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 FE measures 158 x 76.5 x 8.2mm and weighs 209 grams.

If you're not a fan of large phones, this could be a big step to overcome. But if you always wanted a bigger screen on your Fan Edition device, the Galaxy S24 FE is a breeze of fresh air.

Galaxy S24 FE vs S23 FE: The new model is considerably faster

Next to the Galaxy S23 FE, Samsung's latest Fan Edition phone is more powerful and offers one extra memory option. While the Galaxy S23 FE was powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or Exynos 2200 SoCs, which were introduced back in 2022, the Galaxy S24 FE employs the Exynos 2400e chip.

The Exynos 2400e is much more powerful than either of the older chips used by the Galaxy S23 FE. It's perfectly fit to run all the latest Galaxy AI features included with the One UI 6.1.1 update.

It might be worth noting that the Exynos 2400e isn't precisely the same as the Exynos 2400 SoC used by the Galaxy S24 premium series. The Galaxy S24 FE's chip has a marginally lower primary CPU core frequency, from 3.21GHz to 3.11GHz. But in the real world, it doesn't make a meaningful difference.

For the Galaxy S24 FE, Samsung offers one extra storage option. The new model has 8GB of RAM and 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The Galaxy S23 FE (and every older FE phone) lacks a 512GB option.

Lastly, the Galaxy S24 FE's bigger footprint allowed for a beefier battery, which now clocks in at 4,700mAh instead of 4,500mAh. Charging speeds remain the same at 25W.

Galaxy S24 FE offers premium-grade firmware support

The Galaxy S23 FE launched with Android 13 and is eligible to receive four major Android OS upgrades throughout its lifetime. It already got the Android 14 update, so that's one down.

The Galaxy S24 FE debuts with Android 14 and One UI 6.1.1, but more importantly, it joins the premium segment in offering extended firmware support.

Samsung's new FE phone will receive seven major Android OS upgrades, which means it should be the most long-lasting Fan Edition phone yet.

Key flagship camera feature comes to the Fan Edition series

One of the best surprises Samsung kept in store for Fan Edition enthusiasts for the launch of the Galaxy S24 FE today was the ProVisual Engine.

This AI-driven camera engine was never before used by FE phones, including the Galaxy S23 FE. Now, the ProVisual Engine makes up the core of the Galaxy S24 FE's camera experience.

The camera hardware stays the same. The Galaxy S24 FE uses a 50MP primary, a 12MP ultra-wide, and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, much like the Galaxy S23 FE.

However, adding the ProVisual Engine makes a huge difference and even seems to give the Galaxy S24 FE an edge over the premium Galaxy S24, interestingly enough. You can see a few samples in our Galaxy S24 FE hands-on video below.

The ProVisual Engine improves Nightography, optimizes colors in Super High Dynamic Range photos and videos, and improves the quality of the 50MP Adaptive Pixel Sensor.

It really makes a difference in practice, so if you are into mobile photography, the Galaxy S24 FE should be an exciting follow-up to the Galaxy S23 FE. The cherry on top is that the Galaxy S24 FE now supports 8K@30fps video recording — an impactful upgrade from the S23 FE's 8K@24fps capabilities.

Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S23 FE: The price

Lastly, for a Galaxy S23 FE vs Galaxy S24 FE comparison, it must be said that the new model is going on sale for a slightly higher price than its predecessor.

In the USA, the Galaxy S24 FE is generally $20 more expensive at launch than the Galaxy S23 FE.

While this price increase is unfortunate, we have to keep in mind that, aside from the usual hardware and software upgrades expected from a sequel, the Galaxy S24 FE changes the dynamic with a bigger screen and a prolonged period of software updates.

Do these upgrades and changes justify the higher price? That's still up for debate. But if you want the Galaxy S24 FE, it will go on sale globally on October 10 in Blue, Graphite, Gray, Mint, and Yellow.