Galaxy S24 FE, S24, S24+ & S24 Ultra: The S24 Series Compared
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What are the differences between Samsung's flagship smartphones that were unveiled at the start of 2024: the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra? Which high-end smartphone from Samsung fits your needs? Perhaps even the newly launched and technically advanced Galaxy S24 FE is sufficient? To help you make the right choice, nexpit compared the Galaxy S24 series in detail.
We already reviewed the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra extensively. Now, Samsung has launched the Fan Edition and yes, we have been able to obtain a first impression of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. Let's compare all four models with each other now. We'll begin with the technical specifications and move on to other departments!
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, S24+, S24 and S24 FE compared: Technical specifications
Price and availability
The Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra have been available in stores since January 31, 2024. You can buy them from the official Samsung Store and all major retailers such as Amazon. The new Galaxy S24 FE is currently only available for pre-order and is priced from $649.99. As usual, you can always obtain a rebate by trading in your older device. If you take this route by October 31, you will receive a corresponding trade-in bonus depending on the condition of the handset brought in. Here are the prices you need to know:
Galaxy S24 price overview
| Device | S24 Ultra | S24+ | S24 | S24 FE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128 GB | ❌ | ❌ | $799.99 | $649.99 |
| 256 GB | $1,299.99 | $999.99 | $859.99 | $709.00 |
| 512 GB | $1,419.99 | $1,199.99 | ❌ | ❌ |
| 1 TB | $1,659.99 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Galaxy S24 series: Display and design
If you were to place the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the S24 Ultra next to each other, you will quickly realize that Samsung did not take a new approach to the design. The backs of the Ultra models are almost identical, but front is now equipped with a flat glass. Samsung also opted for a titanium frame, while the new Gorilla Glass Armor from Corning is used on both the front and the back.
Samsung also remains true to itself with the Galaxy S24, S24+, and the more affordable S24 FE by relying on a largely tried-and-tested design. The company uses Armor aluminum for the frame and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ at the front and back. This makes all four smartphones more robust than the 2023 models. Logically, all four 2024 devices are also IP68-certified and the Ultra once again has an exclusive S-Pen on board.
Samsung also delivered another top-class display, increasing the peak brightness of all three smartphones to 2,600 nits; only the S24 FE has to settle for 1,900 nits peak brightness. While the Ultra's display remains at 6.8 inches, the two smaller siblings are 0.1 inches larger each, growing to 6.2 and 6.7 inches, respectively. Interestingly, this was achieved without the devices themselves becoming larger. As for the new S24 FE, it has grown from 6.4 to 6.7 inches.
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All four displays offer us a variable refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz. However, there are differences in the resolution: The S24 and the S24 FE still offer FHD+ resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 px each, but the Plus model now switches to Ultra in the QHD+ camp. It is also worth mentioning that the Ultra's display is less reflective than the other three models thanks to the new Gorilla Glass Armor.
Performance and connectivity of the S24 series
Samsung has decided to break new ground more often and integrate different SoCs into its new range of high-end smartphones. We have become accustomed to all three flagship models using the same SoCs. This time, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy was reserved exclusively for the S24 Ultra. The S24 and S24+ models had to make do with the Exynos 2400 SoC. Finally, the mysterious Exynos 2400e sees action in the FE.
Before we dive into the performance of the individual Galaxy S24, let's take a look at the comparison table with the results of our usual benchmarks:
| Galaxy S24 (Exynos 2400) |
Galaxy S24+ (Exynos 2400) |
Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test |
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| 3DMark Solar Bay Stress Test |
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| Geekbench |
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According to our smartphone reviews, the Snapdragon SoC seems to be the best choice as it generates less heat and consumes less power. Although you can expect decent performance with the Galaxy S24, this is significantly below the power level of the S24+. In all cases, you will feel a slight warmth at the back when playing power-hungry games such as Real Racing 3, Battlefield Mobile, PUBG, or Genshin Impact.
With the Galaxy S24+, performance on social networks, news, and other common applications is similar to the S24 Ultra with Snapdragon thanks to the fast UFS 4.0 memory and 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM. However, longer gaming sessions or other computing-intensive tasks led to overheating at an uncomfortable level.
If performance is your priority, you should therefore opt for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is beyond reproach. The S24 Ultra is very powerful and does not overheat excessively during gaming sessions. You can play the latest games with maximum graphics as well as use image editing or other intensive applications without having a poor experience. We can't tell you much about the performance of the Galaxy S24 FE yet, as a) we still lack information about the SoC and b) we still have to review the device extensively, but it appears to be a slightly underclocked version of the Exynos 2400. We will, of course, provide you with the benchmark information later.
There are also differences in the RAM: The Galaxy S24 Ultra and Plus have 12 GB RAM, while the Galaxy S24 and S24 FE only have 8 GB. There are also differences in the non-expandable memory across all four models: 128 GB and 256 GB for the S24 and S24 FE, 256 and 512 GB for the S24+ and 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB for the S24 Ultra.
Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra already supports Wifi 7, while the S24, S24+ and S24 FE are limited to Wifi 6E. Ultra-wideband is available on the two larger models, with only the base model and the Fan Edition missing out.
Galaxy S24 vs. S24+ vs. S24 Ultra vs. S24 FE: Cameras
The camera section is likely to be disappointing for all those who were hoping for major improvements in the Galaxy S24 and S24+. The triple camera lineup is exactly the same as last year's models! Specifically, this means you will find the 1/1.56-inch 50-megapixel Isocell GN3 sensor in the main camera.
The 3x telephoto camera with the small 1/3.94 inch 10 MP sensor remained the same, as does the ultra wide-angle camera with 12 MP and a 1/2.55 inch sensor area. It's a shame, there could have been more to it, even though the new SoC and new AI features will deliver better image processing and new features to the devices.
The situation is similar with the Galaxy S24 FE: The triple camera configuration also consists of the 50 MP main camera, the ultra wide-angle with 12 MP and the telephoto camera with 8 MP in 2024. The 10 MP selfie camera is also outdated. Although we have yet to test the cameras of the Fan Edition, it appears that they are pretty much the same as the Galaxy S23 FE (review).
At first glance, changes to the S24 Ultra are not really major as the Galaxy S24 Ultra uses the same 200 MP Isocell HP2 sensor as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the 1/1.3-inch image sensor will be equipped with a new image processor in 2024.
The ultra wide-angle and selfie cameras also rely on the same sensors as last year. This means you get a sensor size of 1/2.55 inches with a 12 MP resolution for the ultra wide-angle, while the selfie camera offers 1/3.2 inches and also 12 MP resolution. However, there are changes to the telephoto sensors: although there is still a 10 MP sensor with 3x zoom, the other telephoto camera now sports a 5x zoom and 50 MP instead of a 10x zoom.
The Galaxy S24 takes very good photos in daylight. Night shots are also excellent thanks to the AI and we really liked the quality of the zoom up to 10x and selfies. The negative points we noticed in the reviews were the lack of color consistency between the different lenses and the lack of a dedicated macro mode. To give you a more detailed picture, you can find out in our photo galleries below.
Samsung Galaxy S24 photo gallery
Photos taken with the main lens of the Galaxy S24+ were excellent both during the day and at night. With good detail and sharpness level, even the color reproduction looks more realistic than Samsung's saturated photos in the past. The telephoto lens and the ultra wide-angle camera are in no way inferior and deliver equally impressive photos. The Galaxy S24+ disappointed in night shots with the ultra wide-angle option and selfies in poor lighting conditions are not exactly exhilarating either.
Samsung Galaxy S24+ photo gallery
The Galaxy S24 Ultra's main lens takes good photos in any situation, and the ultra wide-angle lens also proved to be very impressive. Photos taken with the two telephoto cameras were also good and the selfie camera did well both day and night. The only notable drawbacks were the loss of versatility due to the switch to 5x zoom, inconsistent cropping in portrait mode, and the unnatural night mode.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra photo gallery
The camera modules of the Galaxy S24 FE, S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra are all complemented by Galaxy AI functions, Samsung's new artificial intelligence. Read our detailed Samsung Galaxy AI review if you want to find out more.
Software
In 2024, you can't imagine a sophisticated smartphone without the manufacturer relying on artificial intelligence. Of course, this also applies to the Galaxy S24 series, for which Samsung has even created its own platform with the aforementioned Galaxy AI. Galaxy AI can be found on all four devices and will also be extended to other Galaxy devices.
In addition to the camera features mentioned above, the new devices will be packed with AI features. These include live translations during phone calls: You talk in your own language and the other person hears it translated directly into their ear. The Samsung keyboard also has a typing assistant, allowing you to create summaries and transcriptions, among others.
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The Galaxy S24 phones don't just want to impress us with artificial intelligence, but also with their longevity. To this end, Samsung has once again significantly boosted its update promise: The boxes delivered with Android 14 and One UI 6.1 will receive seven major Android updates and security updates over seven years! If you've done the math quickly, you'll realize that you're theoretically safe until 2031 and Android 21.
Battery life and quick charging on the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra
Battery life and charging have not changed significantly compared to the Galaxy S23 series. This means that the S24 Ultra and S24+ are still limited to 45 W charging power and the S24, like the 24 FE, can still only charge at a maximum of 25 W. Wireless charging is limited to 15 W for all four models.
The S24 Ultra retains the 5,000 mAh battery, which is not the case with the Galaxy S24 and S24+. Samsung increased the battery capacity of the Galaxy S24+ to 4,900 mAh and the S24 to 4,000 mAh. The S24 FE has been increased from 4,500 mAh to 4,700 mAh compared to the S23 FE. However, the charger is not included in the box.
In reality, the Galaxy S24 lasted 13 hours 06 minutes in our "Work 3.0 Battery life" battery benchmark with airplane mode activated, a screen brightness of 200 nits, and a remaining capacity of 20%. The Galaxy S24+ lasted 15 hours 06 minutes in PC Mark's battery test and the Galaxy S24 Ultra lasted over 19 hours, which was simply outstanding.
Conclusion
If I had to describe the conclusion in one or two words, the first thing that comes to mind would probably be "maintenance mode". The three cheaper models only have very manageable updates, which essentially consist of slightly better performance, longer software support, and greater robustness. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a bigger leap in performance and the camera module is also more promising, but in general, Samsung doesn't pull out all the stops here either.
Galaxy AI is most likely to make a real difference in all four models, and we can probably expect more changes here in the future than in the hardware. Even if it doesn't sound really positive, no one who owns a model from the S23 series will have to switch to a S24 model. If you want to buy one of the four new devices, you should definitely check the street prices, even if we have not yet reviewed the S24 FE: As with the S23 FE, I can't think of any sensible scenario in which you should pick up the "Fan Edition".
If you want the best of the best anyway, skip the S24 and the S24+ and opt for the S24 Ultra right away. You might be able to pick this up for less than $1,000 on certain retailers now.
Which Galaxy S24 suits you best? Have you bought one of Samsung's new flagships or do you plan to do so? Which new feature interests you the most?
