Samsung's Galaxy S24 FE is the phone the Pixel 9 should have been

I enjoyed reviewing the Google Pixel 9, but the little flagship hasn’t quite made it into my daily life. The Pixel 9 is a great little phone, but its $799 price tag is not the value proposition we’ve become accustomed to from Google. Worse for the 9, the far superior Pixel 9 Pro is absolutely worth that $200 extra.

Despite its undeniable strengths, the Pixel 9 is a tricky sell, but clearly, building affordable flagship phones is still possible — check out the new Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. It’s just the sort of phone that I really wanted the Pixel 9 to be and it’s only $650. That’s $150 less than Google’s flagship and a lot cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 16. Samsung may have just out-Pixel’d the Pixel.

Great specs, affordable prices

The classic Pixel formula, if we can call it that, was a combination of good enough specs, premium software, and an unbeatable price. Google has slowly diverted from that path in recent years, but Samsung has put together just such a package with the latest FE.

One of the biggest upgrades is found in the chipset department. The aging Exynos 2200/Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 makes way for the Exynos 2400e. It’s not Snapdragon, and this variant isn’t quite as powerful as the Exynos 2400 found in global Galaxy S24 variants, but it shouldn’t be far off and will, therefore, be snappier, cooler, offer smoother gaming, and that bit more future-proof than last-years model and Google’s placeholder Tensor G4.

Samsung has chucked in a few flagship staples for good measure. The Galaxy S24 FE boasts the same visual ProVisual Engine as its flagship models, making the FE a bit more competitive with flagship-tier camera phones. It also has an option for 512GB of storage (though not in the US), solidifying its place as a good pick for the family camera. Google taps out at just 256GB on the Pixel 9, and a 512GB iPhone 16 costs an eyewatering $1,129.

The Galaxy S24 FE also boasts seven years of OS upgrades, matching the best in the business: Samsung’s Galaxy flagships and Google’s latest Pixels. If you’re on the AI hype train, Galaxy AI makes an appearance, boasting Circle to Search, Live Translate, Instant Slow-mo, and more. It’s never been more affordable to dabble in some of the industry’s latest toys, and it’s built to last.

Slap in the flexibility of a 3x telephoto camera, passable 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, an IP68 rating, Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back, and a 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display, the S24 FE is a solid package that would have passed for a more expensive flagship two or three years ago.

You can never have it all on a budget

Now, I’m not saying the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is absolutely perfect; $650 will always lead to some compromises compared to its flagship brethren.

Its camera hardware, for instance, could use an upgrade if it really wants to punch above its weight, as the Pixel 9 does. Samsung’s notorious oversaturation will no doubt have me running for a third-party camera app. The heavier weight is also not great, and it doesn’t feature the same snappy fingerprint scanner as its pricey siblings.

Still, these are all minor compromises that are far from deal breakers, which is the art of building a brilliant affordable phone. You don’t need the absolutely latest image sensors, glass protection, wireless charging speeds, or pinnacle of chipset performance, as long as the essentials are covered and the FE covers them more than well enough.

With seven years of software support and AI extras, $650 looks like a very good deal. However, once you factor in the regular Galaxy S24 discounts we’ve seen, you’re just $100 or so shy of an even more refined experience. In that sense, the FE suffers from a similar problem as the Pixel 9 — a better model is never that far away.

Google is clearly charting a much more premium course with the Pixel 9 series, but that’s left a gap in the market for a flagship that won’t cause me to grimace when entering my card info. Perhaps the Pixel 9a will fill that $600 void, whenever it arrives. Until then, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE looks like the affordable flagship to beat.