Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S21 FE: A perfect upgrade?

The Galaxy S24 FE was announced recently. It brings several minor improvements over last year's Galaxy S23 FE, but what if you want to upgrade from your Galaxy S21 FE?

Does it bring enough improvements over Samsung's Fan Edition phone from 2021?

Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S21 FE: Specs comparison

While both phones have a premium design featuring an aluminum frame and glass on the front, the Galaxy S24 FE has a glass back that feels more premium compared to the Galaxy S21 FE's plastic back. It also looks more modern, following the same design as the Galaxy S24, and has a flat frame.

Bigger and brighter screen

The Galaxy S24 FE also has a bigger screen and thinner bezels. Its 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen is bigger than the Galaxy S21 FE's 6.4-inch screen. The display on the new phone is much brighter, at 1,900 nits. The Galaxy S21 FE has a maximum screen brightness of up to 1,200 nits.

Higher durability

While both smartphones are IP68 rated for dust and water resistance, the new phone features more premium screen protection with Gorilla Glass Victus+.

Massive performance upgrade

The biggest upgrade on the Galaxy S24 FE is the Exynos 2400e chip. It brings massive performance improvement thanks to its newer (4nm) fabrication process, newer CPU cores, and the Xclipse 940 GPU. The CPU performance of the new phone should be almost double that of the Galaxy S21 FE, while the new GPU should be three times more powerful than the one inside the Galaxy S21 FE.

The Galaxy S21 FE has 6GB or 8GB RAM, depending on the model, while the Galaxy S24 FE comes with 8GB RAM in all the variants. Both devices have 128GB or 256GB internal storage versions, but the Galaxy S24 FE comes in an additional variant with 512GB storage. However, it could be limited to a few countries or Samsung's online store.

Improved front and rear cameras

There is a huge improvement in the camera if you are upgrading from the Galaxy S21 FE to the Galaxy S24 FE. The Galaxy S21 FE has a 12MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, and a 32MP selfie camera. The Galaxy S24 FE has a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, and a 10MP selfie camera. A newer (and bigger) primary camera and a much better processor results in better images and smoother videos. The Galaxy S24 FE can also record 8K 30fps videos using the rear camera.

Faster wireless connectivity

The Galaxy S24 FE also brings Wi-Fi 6E support, which is missing from the Galaxy S21 FE. The new phone has Bluetooth 5.3 instead of Bluetooth 5.0 on the Galaxy S21 FE. There is a bigger battery (4,700mAh) to support the Galaxy S24 FE's bigger screen, but a more power-efficient processor brings battery life improvements.

7 years of Android OS updates

Both Fan Edition phones have support for 5G, GPS, stereo speakers, Samsung DeX, Samsung Pay, and a USB Type-C port. The Galaxy S24 FE runs Android 14 (One UI 6.1.1) out of the box and is bound to get software updates for seven years (up to Android 21), while the Galaxy S21 FE will be limited to Android 16.

So, if you are thinking of upgrading from the Galaxy S21 FE to the Galaxy S24 FE, you are getting a sleeker and modern design, a bigger and brighter screen with thinner bezels, a much faster processor, improved front and rear cameras, faster wireless connectivity, longer battery life, and an extremely long software update support.