Last Black Friday, I pulled the trigger on one of the best Samsung Galaxy phone deals of 2023. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE was on sale for $400, and it was hard to pass on a $200 discount, especially when the phone had just come out. Its successor may not be that much of a bargain. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE announcement rumors claim it could be official before the end of summer 2024. What will it bring? It’s hard to say. As a Galaxy S23 FE user, I have a list of Galaxy S24 FE improvements I wish to see before Samsung’s next Fan Edition phone grabs my attention.
1 A better screen
A display that looks better and can be seen easily
The Galaxy S24 FE needs a brighter screen. This is apparent during the summer months and walks to the beach. My Galaxy S23 FE’s display struggles to counter the scorching sunrays despite the claimed 1,450 nits of peak brightness. Rumors indicate Samsung picked a 1,900-nit display for the Galaxy S24 FE, which would be a noticeable improvement.
The chunky bezels and distracting bottom chin are expected to be trimmed down, judging by the Galaxy S24 FE images that leaked via OnLeaks/GizNext and Android Headlines. They’re in the gallery below. Not that the bezels bothered me, but an improvement would be welcome.
2 Better performance
Lag and stutters don’t belong on a Galaxy S phone
One would expect stellar performance from a Galaxy S-series phone, but that isn’t what you get with the Galaxy S23 FE. It runs well most of the time, but the occasional lags and stutters can be annoying. Launching, exiting, and switching between apps is often accompanied by noticeable delays. Plus, the keyboard typically needs a few extra moments to pop up and Minecraft is practically unplayable.
The good news is that the Galaxy S24 FE should arrive packing a relatively newer and faster system chip. Even if it doesn’t match the performance of the flagship Galaxy S24 series in heavy tasks like 3D gaming, I’ll be happy if it only executes everyday operations flawlessly.
3 A more reliable telephoto camera
Zoom and portraits we can count on
I sometimes wonder if not having a phone feature is better than having a poorly implemented one. For example, the Galaxy S23 FE’s telephoto camera can be unreliable, especially with focusing. It spoiled many photos that I’m confident the main camera would have had no trouble capturing with satisfactory detail.
Leaks suggest that Samsung is sticking to a triple-camera setup on the Galaxy S24 FE, with one of them presumably being a telephoto. That’s great. The benefits of telephoto cameras are undeniable. But this time, Samsung, please put one in that works. I’m not asking for a huge sensor or a big megapixel count. I just want it to be dependable.
4 A stronger vibration motor
Bzzt, bzzt? More like zzz, zzz
I considered placing this higher up the list as the vibration motor on the Galaxy S23 FE is a major weak spot. With the risk of giving you the “that’s what they said” joke material, I barely feel it buzzing in my pocket, and yes, I have it set to maximum intensity.
The Galaxy S24 FE needs a vibration motor with more punch. It doesn’t need iPhone-grade tactile feedback with complex mechanisms like the Taptic Engine. I’m just tired of missing calls and texts. If nothing changes, expect to hear the Galaxy S24 FE vibrating in your pocket more often than feeling it.
5 Flawless pocket detection
I thought we had figured this one out already
Speaking of pockets, I hope to see proper pocket detection on the Galaxy S24 FE. My Galaxy S23 FE has a habit of waking up in my pocket and skipping or pausing songs. It sometimes fiddles with the lock screen widgets, probably due to its screen rubbing against my leg and interpreting the contact as touch input. It’s an issue I haven’t encountered in ages, and it’s shocking to see it on a phone in 2024.
6 A more reliable fingerprint scanner
Faster, but above all, more reliable
A faster in-screen fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S24 FE would be nice. Still, a better upgrade would be to a more reliable one. You may notice a theme here. The reader on the Galaxy S23 FE works fine, except when it doesn’t feel like it. After trying several times, at different angles and using less or more force, I have to enter my PIN manually. Enrolling your fingerprint multiple times could improve its accuracy, but that feels like a hack for an issue that shouldn’t be there.
7 Fewer bugs
None, preferably
A phone without a single software bug doesn’t exist, but the fewer that slip through the cracks of Samsung’s quality control, the better. Unresponsive buttons, widgets freezing and failing to update, and apps appearing stretched outside the screen’s bounds are some of the software issues I’ve dealt with on the Galaxy S23 FE. It’s nothing critical, but it isn’t fun.
The most amusing bug occurred on the lock screen, where the glowing white circle for the fingerprint reader appeared in the middle of the screen. I believe most (if not all) of these issues have been addressed in software updates. Still, it would have been nicer if they had never been present. I can’t believe nobody caught the more frequent ones before the phone’s release.
8 Longer battery life
Mega battery? More like meh-ga battery
The Galaxy S23 FE delivers okay battery life, but it isn’t as long-lasting as Samsung wants you to think. I hope to see the Galaxy S24 FE last longer between charges. I believe that’s achievable through hardware upgrades.
A bigger battery could help. It’s rumored that the Galaxy S24 FE would pack about 4,550mAh, nearly the same battery capacity as the Galaxy S23 FE. That’s disappointing when the new model (or at least its screen) is expected to be bigger, perhaps reaching a footprint that fits the S24+’s 4,900mAh cell.
An upgraded, more energy-efficient system chip could help the S24 FE get you more screen-on time. We don’t know which Snapdragon chip the phone will have, but there’s a chance it will outperform the S23 FE’s three-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
9 Faster charging
It’s about time to bring on the power, Samsung
There’s one thing that can be said about all Samsung phones. The Galaxy S24 FE should have faster charging. The S23 FE is not unbearably slow in that regard, taking around 90 minutes to go from zero to full from a compatible, 25W charger. However, in a time when we have to buy chargers separately and high-power fast chargers are both affordable and compact, I’d say we deserve a bump in speed. Could we at least get the 45W fast-charging speeds of the Galaxy S24+?
With the Galaxy S24 FE, Samsung should try harder
We can’t have it all on a trimmed-down, budget-friendly version of a flagship phone. Still, Samsung should try harder to make the Galaxy S24 FE better than the Galaxy S23 FE. Preferably more polished and free of frustrations. There’s no room for glitches and hiccups on a phone bearing the Galaxy S brand.
Alternatives in the $600 to $700 price bracket are plentiful. Unless Samsung steps up its game with the Galaxy S24 FE, a Galaxy S23 from 2023 could be a better choice if you’re on a budget. Will that be the case? We’ll find out when we get our first look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE when it materializes in the coming months.
Samsung Galaxy S23
The Galaxy S23 offers the best that Samsung has — from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset to a high-class camera system led by an impressive 50MP sensor — at just the right size with a vibrant and “palmable” 6.1-inch display. The phone also brings a larger battery than the S22’s, plus a sector-leading five years of monthly security updates. That’s all for the same price as last year.
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