Apple’s beta testing service Testflight just got a fairly substantial update, according to a report by TechCrunch. The software refresh gives developers much more control over who can join a beta and how new features are shared. It also allows beta testers to get more information about an app before they dive in.
Developers will be able to set all kinds of criteria as to who can or cannot access the beta. This should help devs narrow the test groups to specific audiences, like those using a particular device or OS version. Testflight offers a maximum of 10,000 invitations by default, so this should help reserve spots for an intended audience. The developers can also now decrease this maximum number to whatever they want.
The update allows for more control over the beta invites, as they can highlight new features and content. Apple says that beta builds of apps that have already been approved for publication can now include screenshots and the app category along with the invite.
App creators will also be able to view metrics regarding the success of a beta invite, which includes information as to how many people viewed the invite, who opted in and why folks declined.
As for users, beta invites can include a feedback field. This is for people to let the developer know why they chose not to download an app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-updates-its-beta-testing-service-testflight-with-redesigned-invites-and-more-185002704.html?src=rss
Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don't have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we've reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $160 at Ninja ($40 off): Use the code CREAMI40 to save $40 off the list price directly from Ninja. The 7-in-1 ice cream maker isn’t your average appliance, as we make clear in our Ninja Creami review. It's based on machines found in restaurants, and creates uniquely high-end frozen treats.
Anker Prime Power Bank 27,650mAh for $130 at Amazon ($50 off): This beefy battery earned a mention in our guide to laptop batteries. It carries a lot of extra charge for laptops, tablets and phones and can even be paired with an optional dock to conveniently recharge the unit itself. This sale price is about $5 more than the all-time low.
Apple Watch Series 10 for $370 at Amazon ($30 off): Apple released its Series 10 Watch only a month ago and it's down to its lowest price yet. The wearable earned a 90 in our review thanks to its thinner frame and bigger screens and it's our favorite smartwatch overall. The 42mm model is down to $370 from $399 in Jet Black and the 46mm model is down to $399 from $429 in Jet Black and Silver Aluminum.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 (small band) for $700 at Amazon ($99 off) : If you've got a smaller wrist (or plan to swap out the watch band anyway) you can snag the AW Ultra 2 with a titanium case for nearly $100 off. The sale only applies to the small size of the Alpine Loop in indigo or olive. This is still the current model of Apple's largest smartwatch, as a new one didn't materialize during Apple's iPhone 16 event in September.
Anker Charging Station (100W) for $40 at Amazon ($20 off): On any given day, I'm testing (and thus needing to recharge) between one and four electronic devices — ereaders, smartwatches, portable batteries and more — plus I have my own phones and gadgets. This compact box is the only thing I've found with enough ports to handle everything at once. I just wish I'd bought mine on sale.
Anker Prime 67W USB C Charger for $40 at Amazon ($60 off): This is about $2 more than the all-time low from last Black Friday. Anker products often find themselves at the top our lists for chargers, batteries and more. So if you need quick charges for a few of your smaller devices, this should serve you well.
JLab Go Air Sport for $14 at Amazon ($16 off): The Go Air Sport is the budget pick in our guide to the best running headphones. The hook design stays in place and the water-resistance holds up to sweat and light rain. This is close to the lowest price. Just be sure to click the $6 on-page coupon, and note that it only applies to the teal colorway.
Resident Evil 4 (PS5) for $20 at Amazon ($10 off):In other video game deals, this is an all-time low for the physical PS5 copy of last year's Resident Evil 4 remake. That's the same price as it's selling for through PSN for the digital copy.The Xbox version is available for $22 at Amazon.
Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $40 at Amazon ($30 off):We recommend the Basilisk V3 in our gaming mouse buying guide for those who don't mind using a cable and prefer a more ergonomic, right-handed shape. This deal has been live for a couple of weeks but still matches the device's all-time low. Note that Razer released an updated version with an improved sensor earlier this month — we'll test that one soon.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m2-macbook-air-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-171031718.html?src=rss
Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don't have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we've reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $160 at Ninja ($40 off): Use the code CREAMI40 to save $40 off the list price directly from Ninja. The 7-in-1 ice cream maker isn’t your average appliance, as we make clear in our Ninja Creami review. It's based on machines found in restaurants, and creates uniquely high-end frozen treats.
Anker Prime Power Bank 27,650mAh for $130 at Amazon ($50 off): This beefy battery earned a mention in our guide to laptop batteries. It carries a lot of extra charge for laptops, tablets and phones and can even be paired with an optional dock to conveniently recharge the unit itself. This sale price is about $5 more than the all-time low.
Apple Watch Series 10 for $370 at Amazon ($30 off): Apple released its Series 10 Watch only a month ago and it's down to its lowest price yet. The wearable earned a 90 in our review thanks to its thinner frame and bigger screens and it's our favorite smartwatch overall. The 42mm model is down to $370 from $399 in Jet Black and the 46mm model is down to $399 from $429 in Jet Black and Silver Aluminum.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 (small band) for $700 at Amazon ($99 off) : If you've got a smaller wrist (or plan to swap out the watch band anyway) you can snag the AW Ultra 2 with a titanium case for nearly $100 off. The sale only applies to the small size of the Alpine Loop in indigo or olive. This is still the current model of Apple's largest smartwatch, as a new one didn't materialize during Apple's iPhone 16 event in September.
Anker Charging Station (100W) for $40 at Amazon ($20 off): On any given day, I'm testing (and thus needing to recharge) between one and four electronic devices — ereaders, smartwatches, portable batteries and more — plus I have my own phones and gadgets. This compact box is the only thing I've found with enough ports to handle everything at once. I just wish I'd bought mine on sale.
Anker Prime 67W USB C Charger for $40 at Amazon ($60 off): This is about $2 more than the all-time low from last Black Friday. Anker products often find themselves at the top our lists for chargers, batteries and more. So if you need quick charges for a few of your smaller devices, this should serve you well.
JLab Go Air Sport for $14 at Amazon ($16 off): The Go Air Sport is the budget pick in our guide to the best running headphones. The hook design stays in place and the water-resistance holds up to sweat and light rain. This is close to the lowest price. Just be sure to click the $6 on-page coupon, and note that it only applies to the teal colorway.
Resident Evil 4 (PS5) for $20 at Amazon ($10 off):In other video game deals, this is an all-time low for the physical PS5 copy of last year's Resident Evil 4 remake. That's the same price as it's selling for through PSN for the digital copy.The Xbox version is available for $22 at Amazon.
Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $40 at Amazon ($30 off):We recommend the Basilisk V3 in our gaming mouse buying guide for those who don't mind using a cable and prefer a more ergonomic, right-handed shape. This deal has been live for a couple of weeks but still matches the device's all-time low. Note that Razer released an updated version with an improved sensor earlier this month — we'll test that one soon.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m2-macbook-air-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-171031718.html?src=rss
The long-anticipated iPhone iOS 18.1 officially launches next week, bringing with it Apple Intelligence, but we are already on to the next new thing. The company is busy preparing iOS 18.2, which has already entered its beta stage and should be widely released in December. This next operating system will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers, as reported by MacRumors.
Users will be able to choose from three difficulty options each day, ranging from easy to challenging. There’s a scoreboard to track stats, which includes the total number of puzzles solved, speed metrics and more. This is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, joining Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. The New York Times also offers a slew of games with a subscription, including Wordle, so this is becoming an actual trend.
Sudoku will also be available for Apple News+ subscribers with the forthcoming launch of iPadOS 18.2, and rumors indicate a similar release for macOS Sequoia 15.2. Apple News+ costs $13 per month on its own but is often available as a bundle, along with Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.
Of course, number-based mobile games aren’t the only feature shipping with iOS 18.2. Apple Intelligence is getting an expansion, including the custom emoji maker Genmoji and ChatGPT/Siri integration. There’s also a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-182-will-include-daily-sudoku-puzzles-for-apple-news-subscribers-165115557.html?src=rss
The long-anticipated iPhone iOS 18.1 officially launches next week, bringing with it Apple Intelligence, but we are already on to the next new thing. The company is busy preparing iOS 18.2, which has already entered its beta stage and should be widely released in December. This next operating system will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers, as reported by MacRumors.
Users will be able to choose from three difficulty options each day, ranging from easy to challenging. There’s a scoreboard to track stats, which includes the total number of puzzles solved, speed metrics and more. This is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, joining Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. The New York Times also offers a slew of games with a subscription, including Wordle, so this is becoming an actual trend.
Sudoku will also be available for Apple News+ subscribers with the forthcoming launch of iPadOS 18.2, and rumors indicate a similar release for macOS Sequoia 15.2. Apple News+ costs $13 per month on its own but is often available as a bundle, along with Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.
Of course, number-based mobile games aren’t the only feature shipping with iOS 18.2. Apple Intelligence is getting an expansion, including the custom emoji maker Genmoji and ChatGPT/Siri integration. There’s also a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-182-will-include-daily-sudoku-puzzles-for-apple-news-subscribers-165115557.html?src=rss
Another day, another publication contributes to the rise of AI. First, the likes of Time andDotdash Meredith partnered with OpenAI to license their property, now Reuters is giving Meta's AI chatbot access to its news content for responses to current events and news questions, Axios first reported.
Basically, the multi-year deal allows users in the US to now receive real-time news details from Meta's AI chatbot tool, with these answers citing and linking out to Reuters' relevant stories.
This deal marks Meta's first AI news deal, but Reuter's has worked with the company as a fact-checking partner since 2020. "We're always iterating and working to improve our products, and through Meta's partnership with Reuters, Meta AI can respond to news-related questions with summaries and links to Reuters content," a Meta spokesperson said.
The pair have not disclosed whether Meta will get access to Reuters' library to train its learning language model, Llama. The exact figures of the deal also aren't clear, but sources report that Reuters is receiving compensation for this access. Money isn't the only form of payment companies have made in such deals with the devil — *coughs* AI (Lionsgate receives a custom AI model for production and editing in its agreement with Runway).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-ai-gains-access-to-reuters-news-content-in-multi-year-deal-142214611.html?src=rss
Another day, another publication contributes to the rise of AI. First, the likes of Time andDotdash Meredith partnered with OpenAI to license their property, now Reuters is giving Meta's AI chatbot access to its news content for responses to current events and news questions, Axios first reported.
Basically, the multi-year deal allows users in the US to now receive real-time news details from Meta's AI chatbot tool, with these answers citing and linking out to Reuters' relevant stories.
This deal marks Meta's first AI news deal, but Reuter's has worked with the company as a fact-checking partner since 2020. "We're always iterating and working to improve our products, and through Meta's partnership with Reuters, Meta AI can respond to news-related questions with summaries and links to Reuters content," a Meta spokesperson said.
The pair have not disclosed whether Meta will get access to Reuters' library to train its learning language model, Llama. The exact figures of the deal also aren't clear, but sources report that Reuters is receiving compensation for this access. Money isn't the only form of payment companies have made in such deals with the devil — *coughs* AI (Lionsgate receives a custom AI model for production and editing in its agreement with Runway).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-ai-gains-access-to-reuters-news-content-in-multi-year-deal-142214611.html?src=rss
It’s easy to assume we’ll see those models getting pushed from variants of the M3 to the M4. Given the M4’s focus on AI, expect plenty of attention on Apple Intelligence, which comes to users as part of iOS 18.1’s update at the same time. That each model is likely to be announced piecemeal across the week, rather than at one glitzy event, suggests we won’t see too many other big changes.
The rumor suggests only the Mac Mini will get a major hardware revision, shrinking its chassis to a far smaller footprint. If I’m honest, I’m secretly hoping the Mac Mini doesn’t become the same size as an Apple TV model, which has been hinted at. Especially if it means saddling us with a beefy power brick to clutter the floor instead.
In iOS 18.2, Apple is adding a new feature that resurrects some of the intent behind its halted CSAM scanning plans — this time, without breaking end-to-end encryption or providing government backdoors. Rolling out first in Australia, the company’s expansion of its Communication Safety feature uses on-device machine learning to detect and blur nude content, adding warnings and requiring confirmation before users can proceed. If the child is under 13, they can’t continue without entering the device’s Screen Time passcode.
If the device’s onboard machine learning detects nude content, the feature automatically blurs the photo or video, displays a warning that the content may be sensitive and offers ways to get help. The choices include leaving the conversation or group thread, blocking the person and accessing online safety resources.
The feature also displays a message that reassures the child that it’s okay not to view the content or leave the chat. There’s also an option to message a parent or guardian. If the child is 13 or older, they can still confirm they want to continue after receiving those warnings — with a repeat of the reminders that it’s okay to opt out and that further help is available. According toThe Guardian, it also includes an option to report the images and videos to Apple.
Apple
The feature analyzes photos and videos on iPhone and iPad in Messages, AirDrop, Contact Posters (in the Phone or Contacts app) and FaceTime video messages. In addition, it will scan “some third-party apps” if the child selects a photo or video to share with them.
The supported apps vary slightly on other devices. On Mac, it scans messages and some third-party apps if users choose content to share through them. On the Apple Watch, it covers Messages, Contact Posters and FaceTime video messages. Finally, on Vision Pro, the feature scans Messages, AirDrop and some third-party apps (under the same conditions mentioned above).
The feature requires iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia or visionOS 2.
The Guardian reports that Apple plans to expand it globally after the Australia trial. The company likely chose the land Down Under for a specific reason: The country is set to roll out new regulations that require Big Tech to police child abuse and terror content. As part of the new rules, Australia agreed to add the clause that it was only mandated “where technically feasible,” omitting a requirement to break end-to-end encryption and compromise security. Companies will need to comply by the end of the year.
User privacy and security were at the heart of the controversy over Apple’s infamous attempt to police CSAM. In 2021, it prepared to adopt a system that would scan for images of online sexual abuse, which would then be sent to human reviewers. (It came as something of a shock after Apple’s history of standing up to the FBI over its attempts to unlock an iPhone belonging to a terrorist.) Privacy and security experts argued that the feature would open a backdoor for authoritarian regimes to spy on their citizens in situations without any exploitative material. The following year, Apple abandoned the feature, leading (indirectly) to the more balanced child-safety feature announced today.
Once it rolls out globally, you can activate the feature under Settings > Screen Time > Communication Safety, and toggle the option on. That section has been activated by default since iOS 17.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/ios-182-has-a-child-safety-feature-that-can-blur-nude-content-and-report-it-to-apple-194614810.html?src=rss
For a few years now, it’s been hard to pin down the strategy behind Samsung’s Fan Edition products. Ostensibly, they’re supposed to offer high-end features at a more affordable price. However, following the Galaxy S20 FE, most FE devices haven’t lived up to that promise. Whether it was the poor timing of the S21 FE or the boring hardware of the S23 FE, those phones never felt like the absolute steal the S20 FE was four years ago.
With the new Galaxy S24 FE ($650), Samsung is offering its cheapest entry into its Galaxy AI ecosystem. Unfortunately, a few hardware changes and a lot of AI aren’t enough to overcome an uncompetitive price.
Design and display
When I first took the S24 FE out of the box, I thought Samsung had left the design of the phone untouched. It turns out I was only half right. The new model features a display that is 0.3 inches larger than the S23 FE’s 6.4-inch one. In terms of size, that means the S24 FE is a much closer match to the S24+ than the S23 FE was to the S23+. I want you to keep the S24+ top of mind as you read through this review; The S24 FE is the phone Samsung wants you to consider if everything about the S24+ is appealing to you other than its $1,000 price.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Like with the S23 FE, Samsung chose an AMOLED 2X panel that has an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution. In addition to being bigger, the S24 FE’s screen is brighter than the one on last year’s FE, offering close to 1,900 nits of peak brightness compared to 1,450 nits. The S24 FE is still missing the battery-saving LTPO tech found on Samsung’s flagship phones, but as far as screens on midrange phones go, the S24 FE easily has one of the best I’ve seen. I also think it’s the reason to buy the FE.
The display looks great, especially when scrolling through social media and playing games. It’s also easily legible in bright sunlight. Likewise, I found it was plenty sharp, despite having a lower resolution than the QHD screen on the S24+. It’s nice Samsung offers such a large display on a midrange device, but I’m not a fan of big phones. Obviously, personal preference will dictate if the FE’s girth is your thing, but those with smaller hands like me, consider this your warning: it’s not an easy phone to hold.
In North America, the S24 FE is available in four colors: blue (pictured), graphite, gray and a lovely mint. It might not be made of titanium, but I think the FE looks just as premium as its more expensive siblings. I also wouldn’t worry about its durability too much; the front and back of the phone are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+, and the entire phone is IP68-certified against dust and water.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Cameras
I’ll be honest, I did not expect to like the S24 FE’s camera as much as I did. The new phone offers the same hardware as its predecessor. Specifically, it comes with a 50-megapixel, f/1.8 main camera; a 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera; an 8MP, f/2.4 telephoto camera and a 10MP selfie camera with f/2.4 lens.
The one addition here is the company’s ProVisual engine. It’s the first time Samsung has offered the software on one of its FE phones. Having not used last year’s model, I wasn’t able to directly compare the two devices.
So I did the next best thing: I compared the photos I snapped with the S24 FE to those I took with the last Samsung phone I reviewed, the Galaxy A53 5G. If I had to pinpoint a difference, it’s that the S24 FE did a better job of consistently nailing white balance and properly exposing dark scenes.
At the same time, Samsung’s image processing hasn’t dramatically changed over the last couple of years. There’s no mistaking the photos from the S24 FE came from a Samsung device. As you can see from the gallery below, nearly every image features bright and saturated colors.
Even as someone who’s not a fan of Samsung’s image processing, I had a lot of fun using the FE’s cameras. Of the three main ones, my favorite was the telephoto. Thanks to its 32-degree field of view, it gives you a 3x optical zoom over the FE’s main camera. That might not seem like much, but when most midrange phones, including the excellent Pixel 8a, don’t come with a telephoto camera, any bit of optical zoom makes it feel like you’re using a more premium product.
In the case of the FE, it’s a quality camera too, with a bright f/2.4 lens and built-in optical image stabilization. I’m usually not a fan of portrait modes on more affordable handsets like the S24 FE, but here I found it made sense since the compression from the telephoto lens leads to better subject separation. I ended up snapping a lot of portraits because the phone did a great job of rendering natural-looking skin tones and background blur.
The main camera is less of a standout. Thanks to that 50MP sensor, it can produce the most detailed images of the S24 FE’s cameras, but the autofocus wasn’t as fast as I would have liked. When I tried to get a closeup of something, such as my cat Celine, the camera took a few seconds to lock focus. However, outside of that, the S24 FE can take stunning photos. It’s no slouch in low light, either.
As for the 12MP ultra-wide, it was my least favorite of the FE’s cameras. Samsung’s image processing doesn’t do a great job of correcting for the fish-eye distortion produced by such a wide lens, so buildings and anything else captured in the periphery of the frame look misshapen. Photos look fine when zoomed out, but begin to look worse as soon as you start pixel-peeping. Part of the problem here is that Samsung didn’t update the ultra-wide camera to add autofocus, so not every shot comes out as sharp as it could be, despite the sensor offering a decent amount of resolution.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Speaking of autofocus, the selfie camera is missing that feature as well. It’s a shame because the FE has one of the better front-facing cameras I’ve used recently. It offers enough resolution to make selfies look detailed but not so much that every pore and blemish is rendered in painful detail. At the same time, the company seems to have toned down the overly aggressive skin smoothing it was known for in years past.
I mentioned the Pixel 8a earlier, and I think it’s worth returning to it for a moment. When my coworker Sam Rutherford pitted Google’s midrange handset against the Galaxy S24 Ultra, he found the two were surprisingly comparable when it came to camera performance. Despite costing $800 less, the Pixel 8a frequently produced photos with more accurate colors and superior detail. The S24 FE’s cameras perform a shade worse than their counterparts on the S24+. Unless you value the inclusion of a telephoto lens as much as I do, there’s a case to be made that the S24 FE doesn’t offer enough of an upgrade to warrant spending $650.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Performance
Thankfully, the S24 FE is not all small tweaks. Internally, the phone features Samsung’s new Exynos 2400e chipset. It’s the one processor the company is using for both US and international variants. I can already hear some of you groaning since Exynos chips have been known in the past for both poor performance and efficiency relative to their Qualcomm counterparts, so let me get straight to the good news: The 2400e is a powerhouse.
When I put the S24 FE through Geekbench 6, the chip delivered a single-core score of 2,140 and a multi-core performance of 6,690. To put those numbers in perspective, when my co-worker Sam did the same with the S24+ earlier this year, its flagship Snapdragon Gen 3 SoC performed better but not significantly so, posting scores of 2,284 and 7,003, respectively.
The Exynos 2400e was equally impressive in real-world use. Even though the FE only has 8GB of RAM at its disposal, I didn’t experience any hiccups scrolling through websites, switching between apps and other daily tasks. When it came to gaming, I could play Diablo Immortal with the game’s 60 fps mode enabled and graphics settings pushed to their max. I didn’t experience any hitching or dropped frames. I’ll mention here that Samsung redesigned the FE’s vapor chamber to make it bigger and thereby improve cooling. In my experience, the phone gets warm — but not hot — running graphically intensive games.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Battery
As I mentioned at the top, this year’s FE is bigger than its predecessor. Samsung has wisely used the extra space to include a larger 4,700mAh battery. Disappointingly, the company only made a minor change to the FE’s charging capabilities. Thanks to Qi2 support, wireless charging now tops off at 15W, up from 10W on the S23 FE. As for wired power delivery, the FE is still limited to 25W.
During one test, I left home at 8AM with the FE’s battery at 87 percent. For the next three hours, I used the phone to track a bike ride on Strava and snap photos along the way. When I got home, the battery was at 67 percent. I then went out for lunch with my partner, snapping plenty of photos along the way, and using the FE to surf the web and check social media. I later played an hour of Diablo Immortal for a total of three hours of screen time that day. Before bed, I had about 40 percent battery left. Samsung says the S24 FE can power long gaming sessions, and judging by what I saw, that’s accurate.
Charging the FE is far from an ideal experience. In my testing, it was possible to get the battery from zero to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. That’s in line with Samsung’s claims. However, charging to full takes substantially longer. It took close to 70 minutes to get a dead battery to 100 percent. Of course, this is assuming you own a compatible 25W fast charger. Did I mention Samsung doesn’t include a power adapter in the box? Yes, you’ll need your own. Otherwise, expect glacial charging speeds.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Software
I’ve spent a lot of words on the S24 FE’s hardware, but for Samsung, that’s not the story of this phone. The company wants you to see the new FE as a more affordable way to access its Galaxy AI tools. I won’t bore you with a review of the entire suite since Engadget has already covered what’s included.
What I will say is that all of the S24 FE’s AI features work well, but none of them are reasons I would go out and buy this phone for myself. Take Circle to Search, for instance. By long pressing the FE’s home button, you can bring up Google anywhere, including while scrolling through photos on Instagram and your camera roll. It’s then possible to search for a specific object by drawing a circle around it. So, the next time you spot a cute floof, you can confirm it was a Samoyed without leaving Google Photos. No need to switch between apps or try to figure out how to describe what you saw to Google.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Circle to Search is useful, but I could also live without it. And I can safely say the same for all of Samsung's own AI features. For example, Transcript Assist was handy for turning voice memos into written notes, but it didn’t save me much time in the long run since I ended up editing most of what the software produced. I also don’t want to subject my friends to AI-generated texts courtesy of Chat Assist.
Most importantly, I can’t see myself paying for any of the FE’s AI features once they’re no longer free. In case you forgot, Samsung plans to monetize Galaxy AI. “Fees may apply to certain AI features at the end of 2025,” the company said in the press release announcing the S24 FE. If you’re in the market for a midrange device, the prospect of paying a subscription to use some of its features feels like a non-starter. I don’t know about you, but if I’m buying a budget phone, I want it to save me over the long run, not cost me more after a year or two.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Wrap-up
In a vacuum, the Galaxy S24 FE is a great all-around phone and would be an easy recommendation if the S24+ didn’t exist or had Samsung released the two devices at the same time. At $650 for the base 128GB model and $710 for 256GB, the FE isn’t substantially cheaper than the S24+, especially when you consider the Plus comes with 256GB of storage by default and has already been reduced by as much as $150 off in recent months. If you want a discount S24+, you’re better off just waiting for that phone to go on sale.
The S24 FE is in an even weirder spot compared to the best midrange phones you can buy right now. Yes, it has a larger screen and an extra camera over our current top pick, the $499 Pixel 8a. However, for most people, I don’t think those upgrades warrant spending an extra $150. If you’re looking to get the most phone for as little money as possible, the S24 FE is not it.
I’m sure Samsung will adjust the price before long, but for now, this Fan Edition device doesn’t have a clear audience.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s24-fe-review-a-great-phone-but-i-wish-it-was-cheaper-190032655.html?src=rss