The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is now officially available in Australia, and to celebrate the launch, Vodafone, Optus and Telstra are offering some rather competitive deals on the new device, just as Amazon Prime Big Deal Days has come around and slashed the prices on all kinds of tech.
Fitting into the wider S24 range as the cheapest entry-level model, with some specs shaved down to bring costs lower, the S24 FE bridges the gap between the budget Galaxy A series and the flagship S series. It’s honestly a very attractive phone if you don’t want to spend too much while still getting great performance, however it has gotten a noticeable price bump over the S23 FE, which started at AU$999 last year.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is now priced at AU$1,099 for the standard 128GB device, and AU$1,199 for the 256GB device – but for a limited time, you can save quite a lot of money when you bundle the phone with an eligible telco plan.
Samsung has teamed up with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone to cut up to AU$300 from the price of the Galaxy S24 FE, effectively making it cheaper than the Google Pixel 8a.
Arguably even better, JB Hi-Fi is slashing the price of the 128GB S24 FE in its entirety if you sign up for its AU$79p/m plan for 24 months. Samsung is also offering a AU$100 trade-in bonus on the Galaxy S24 FE, but that pales in comparison to the other deals at hand.
With the AU$300 discount from the telcos, the S24 FE’s price point sits just above the budget and segment-leading Samsung Galaxy A55, which starts at AU$699. The Galaxy S24 FE is a more powerful phone in comparison in almost every way, which to me helps justify the extra AU$100, and it comes with Samsung’s slew of Galaxy AI features, such as Circle to Search, Chat Assist, Interpreter and Note Assist.
The only catch with these Samsung Galaxy S24 FE deals is that you have to sign up on a repayment plan with JB Hi-Fi, Optus, Vodafone or Telstra, spanning 12, 24, or 36 months (with specifics varying depending on the provider). If that doesn’t bother you, then these deals might be what you’ve been waiting for.
It’s a bit difficult to gauge how much you’ll be spending every month on your phone repayment plan with each of these options, so we’ve done the hard work for you and calculated the cheapest applicable phone plan bundled with the S24 FE deal in the table below.
Provider | 24-month plan cost (128GB model) | 24-month plan cost (256GB model) |
JB Hi-Fi | AU$79p/m | AU$79p/m + AU$87 upfront cost |
Optus | AU$85.27p/m (plus trade-in bonus) | AU$89.44p/m (plus a AU$300 trade-in bonus gift card) |
Vodafone | AU$84.37p/m | AU$86.45p/m |
Telstra | AU$98.29p/m | AU$102.45p/m |
As you can see, down to the monthly cost, JB Hi-Fi is offering the most attractive deal, while Vodafone is offering the best value for a 256GB model if you don’t want to pay the upfront AU$87 cost at JB Hi-Fi. That is excluding Optus’ bonus trade-in offer, which includes AU$300 extra on a gift card when you trade an eligible handset in.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is most comparable to the standard Samsung Galaxy S24 which launched back in January. The phone comes with your choice between 128GB and 256GB storage, with both options backed up by 8GB RAM. An Exynos 2400e SoC underpins the phone’s processing power, paired with an Xclipse 940 GPU.
The display is quite nice, kitted out with a 120Hz AMOLED 6.7-inch screen at 1080 x 2340 resolution, capable of a 1,900 nits peak brightness. The camera array includes a 50MP wide lens, a 12MP ultrawide, an 8MP telephoto and a 10MP selfie camera.
In our Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review, we applauded the phone’s exceptional battery life and strong performance at its standard price point, however we weren’t too impressed with how some of the coolest features are hidden away under layers of software (such as Samsung DEX) and the iPhone-like design is probably not going to impress everyone.
You might want to consider picking up the Galaxy S24 FE if you’ve been meaning to try out a premium phone from Samsung without wanting to spend too much. It’s an attractive step-up from the Galaxy A range, with much of what makes the S24 series so special, such as great processing power and a nicer display. The phone also has a larger 4,700mAh battery compared to the standard S24, which only has a 4,000mAh pack.
…
Read the full article here