We have disappointing news about the next big Samsung phone

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published September 3, 2024

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE hole-punch AMOLED display bezels alongside a Samsung notebook. — Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

We are only a few weeks away from the anticipated launch of Samsung’s newest smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. There has been a lot of positive buzz surrounding this “fan edition” model — until now.

According to recently published certifications (found by Tech Outlook), the upcoming Samsung phone is expected to feature 25-watt wired charging, similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 FE. This could be a drawback for the Galaxy S24 FE, especially compared to other mid-tier phones, such as the OnePlus 12R, which offers significantly faster 80W charging speeds.

Recommended Videos

The certifications also confirm previous rumors about the new phone. For example, the S24 FE is expected to feature Wi-Fi 6E (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, 5G connectivity, LTE, and GSM. The Galaxy S24 FE will also support reverse charging up to a disappointing 9W.

The upcoming Galaxy S24 FE is rumored to feature the Samsung Galaxy Exynos 2400 chipset, a 6.7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1900 nits, and an aluminum body similar to last year’s model. Finally, the phone is anticipated to be available in five colors at launch: graphite, blue, silver/white, green, and yellow, with two additional Samsung website-exclusive colors likely to be announced.

Samsung released the Galaxy S23 FE last year. However, mid-priced FE models are not always guaranteed, and the release timelines have been confusing. For example, the Galaxy S23 FE was released in October 2023, but there was no Galaxy S22 FE. The Galaxy S21 FE came out in January 2022, while the Galaxy S20 FE was launched in September 2020.

Galaxy S FE models typically include many, but not all, of the features found on the higher-priced regular Galaxy S models from the most recent year.

All signs indicate a release for the Galaxy S24 FE in late September or early October. It should be priced at around $600. Stay tuned.

Former Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Topics

Mobile

It looks like the big Galaxy S24 One UI 7 update is about to restart

The welcome screen for One UI 7 on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

If you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy S24 in your hand, then it’s time to start checking the software update page again, as it appears the much-delayed One UI 7 update has restarted in South Korea. It means there’s a strong chance it will also be sent out to global Galaxy S24-series phones in the near future.

Samsung phone owners will be aware of how much hassle the One UI 7 update has been for the brand’s top 2024 smartphones. Not only has it been a long-time coming — One UI 7 arrived with the Galaxy S25 in January — but when it did eventually arrive last week, a serious flaw related to locking and unlocking the phone was discovered and the update was abruptly stopped.

Mobile

The Galaxy S25 doesn’t look like the success Samsung will have wanted

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Samsung leads Apple in smartphone shipment market share, according to data from Counterpoint Research, and while this may appear good news for the brand, a deeper examination into two very different strategies indicates Samsung may not be happy with the situation at all. For the first three months of 2025, Samsung controlled 20% of the global smartphone market by device shipments, followed by Apple with 19%. This is “sell in” data, meaning devices purchased from the manufacturer by distributors. It is a considerable change over the data from the last three months of 2024, where Apple led with 23% of the market followed by Samsung with 16%.

This is crucial to understanding why Samsung may be looking at the latest figures, which on the outside appear positive, with concern. At the end of 2024 Apple would have been riding high on the release of the iPhone 16 series, while Samsung would have been far removed from the Galaxy S24 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6’s release. It makes sense for Apple to command a higher market share right after the release of its flagship devices for the year.

Mobile

Samsung’s One UI 7 update makes the Galaxy S24 Ultra feel like new

A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

I’d been refreshing the Software Update menu on my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for a few days, expectantly waiting for One UI 7 to arrive. Then, on the morning of April 10, it was suddenly available and I eagerly installed it. Samsung’s One UI 7 software over Android 15 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a big success, but what would it be like on 2024’s flagship Galaxy phone?
Not a massive update?

To my surprise, the One UI 7 update on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is modestly sized, and took less than three minutes to download and install on my phone. It did so without any issue too, and aside from a few setup screens to navigate through — one for accessing Google Gemini, and another showing the new Galaxy AI features — my phone was operational again in moments.