One UI test build reveals hints about Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE

Summary

• The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is in development, with evidence suggesting a fall 2024 to early 2025 launch.
• The first One UI test build for the S24 FE has been spotted on Samsung’s servers, indicating it’s getting close to release.
• The S24 FE is expected to have a chip inferior to the regular S24, but still pack features like AI-enabled photo editing tools.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, the company’s Fan-Edition device with some top-of-the-line features packed into an affordable package, was generally well-reviewed across the industry. Samsung had entirely skipped the S22 FE in 2022, and last year, there was skepticism about the existence of an S23 FE.

Though lo and behold, the Suwon, South Korea-based tech giant unveiled one of the best mid-range devices in October 2023. Now, following rumors about the successor to the S23 FE being in development, new evidence suggests that the Galaxy S24 FE is indeed in development, and nearing its eventual launch.

Previous leaks indicated that an in-development device was codenamed R12. This is largely considered to be the S24 FE because of a previously established codename pattern: R8 for S20 FE, R9 for S21 FE, and R11 for S23 FE. Now, tipster Tarun Vats has spotted the first One UI test build for the S24 FE on Samsung’s servers, which might indicate that the device is getting closer to being released.

The build also revealed that the device’s model number to be SM-S721B for Europe. This follows a previous leak where a similar model number (SM-F721U) was spotted in a UK-based carrier’s database (via Neowin), which might indicate that the device could hit the market through major carriers.

When can you get your hands on the S24 FE?

This is speculation, but it still doesn’t look like the device might be released before its usual fall launch window. The S20 FE was released in October 2020, and the S23 FE was released in October 2023. The S21FE was the only outlier, being released in January 2022.

Samsung’s next Unpacked event is rumored to take place on July 10, and it will likely focus on the new-gen foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Additionally, the January-teased Samsung Galaxy Ring might grace the event, alongside a potential a Galaxy Watch 7 reveal too, which might not leave much room for the Fan Edition mid-range smartphone.

We’re expecting the S24 FE to run on a chip inferior to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 found on the regular S24, with a camera system similar to the S23 FE, but be loaded with AI features like Circle to Search and generative AI-enabled photo editing tools.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE starts at $600 in the US. We’re expecting the S24 FE to cost about the same.