Key Takeaways
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE offers comprehensive features for just $200.
- The bright AMOLED screen is perfect for outdoor use.
- Battery life may be a concern in the future.
Samsung’s budget devices don’t get much attention, but they’re often the company’s most attractive products, in my opinion. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is a great phone, but let’s be honest: most people, except for the most die-hard Samsung fans, would be better off buying either the Galaxy S24 or one of the company’s more affordable A-series devices. That’s why it was surprising that it took Samsung until June of this year to announce a Fan Edition (i.e. budget version) of its popular Galaxy Watch smartwatch. What’s even more surprising is how easy it is to recommend the Galaxy Watch FE.
Recommendation
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Despite being priced at just $200, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE feels like the complete package, with just about everything someone looking to improve their health would need to work out and sleep better.
- Only $200
- Powerful fitness and sleep tracking
- Bright AMOLED screen
- Equipped with NFC
- Large display bezels
- Battery life could be better
- 40mm size only
See our process
How we test and review products at Pocket-lint
We don’t make assumptions – we buy, test, and review products ourselves and only publish our buyer’s guides after we’ve actually bought and tested them.
Pricing, Specifications and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE comes in three colors: black, silver, and rose gold. At the time of writing this review, Samsung only sells the Bluetooth version of the FE, which costs $200. The LTE version will be available later this year, priced at $250. Currently, the Galaxy Watch FE comes in one size: 40mm. I tested the black Bluetooth model.
What I like about the Galaxy Watch FE
I don’t feel like I’ve compromised.
What really impressed me about the Galaxy Watch FE after using it for two weeks is how complete it is. In terms of features, it’s lacking in almost everything. Take fitness tracking, for example: Like its more expensive sibling, the FE can handle 100 different activities. With built-in GPS and heart rate monitoring, the tracking capabilities are just as strong as Samsung’s more expensive wearables.
As a cyclist, I was able to set up the FE for Zone 2 training, and as you can see from the two screenshots below, the watch made a dramatic difference – I was able to regulate my heart rate for almost 80% of the ride where the watch warned me I was pushing myself too hard.
Pocket-lint / Samsung
I was also impressed with how quickly the FE recognized that I was waiting at a stop sign or red light, pausing my workout within seconds to avoid collecting unnecessary data. Equally impressive were all the supplemental health features. Apart from the lack of a temperature sensor, the FE has all the features you’d expect from a modern smartwatch, including sleep tracking and blood oxygen monitoring. It also has body composition measurements, and overall all of these features work well and are useful.
The FE also has modern smartwatch features. It comes with an NFC modem and supports mobile payments through Samsung Pay and Google Wallet. Our only complaint is that Samsung doesn’t let you reassign the shortcut you set up to quickly launch Samsung Pay. If you want to use the Google Wallet platform instead, you’re forced to use one of the precious other shortcuts. Thankfully, you can freely switch Bixby for Google Assistant.
The FE shares the same design as the Galaxy Watch 7, except for its smaller 1.2-inch screen. The thick display bezels were not an issue, as the FE’s AMOLED panel is excellent. It’s vibrant, bright, and easy to read, even in strong sunlight. With a black background on the watch face, the bezels are easy to ignore, thanks to the deep blacks of OLED technology. Unlike the Apple Watch SE, the FE’s AMOLED display also comes with an always-on feature.
Another area where Samsung didn’t cut costs is protection. In addition to making it IP68 certified for water resistance, Samsung has strengthened the display against scratches with sapphire crystal glass. While I didn’t try to bang the display, I did take the watch for a swim in a cool lake in Canada and it was perfectly fine.
What particularly impressed me after using the Galaxy Watch FE for two weeks was how well-made it was.
As mentioned above, Samsung offers the FE in three different colors. It’s worth noting that each model comes with a color-matched silicone band. Additionally, the FE uses the same clasp mechanism as its more expensive sibling, so you can use bands that date back to what Samsung originally designed for the Galaxy Watch 4. The band that came with my review unit made the FE comfortable to wear all day, even to sleep.
Related
Heart-monitoring smartwatches may increase, rather than reduce, stress in patients with atrial fibrillation
A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has linked patients’ use of wearable devices to increased anxiety.
What I didn’t like about the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Battery life is a concern
It’s impressive how many features Samsung has packed into the Galaxy Watch FE, especially considering the LTE version costs just $250. For the most part, the company’s cuts feel justified.
It’s worth noting that the Galaxy Watch FE is powered by the older Exynos W920 chipset, which Samsung has paired with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The company unveiled the W920 in 2021, and at the time it was the industry’s first 5nm chipset for wearable devices. But three years seems like an eternity in the mobile world, and the W920 is starting to show its age in 2024.
It’s amazing all the features Samsung has packed into the Galaxy Watch FE, especially considering the LTE version costs just $250.
From a performance standpoint, the Galaxy Watch FE is usable at best. Wear OS interactions aren’t as snappy as you’d expect, with animations that render slowly. I also noticed a few glitches during my two weeks with the FE. For example, when I tried to log my daily water intake, the watch would sometimes record taps but not add them to the total.
If the Galaxy Watch FE is your first foray into the smartwatch world, or if you’re switching over from an older device, you’ll likely find performance to be fine — as we said, it’s plenty good enough — but you’ll likely find the FE’s battery life to be limited. That’s because the watch has an older, less efficient processor, plus Samsung has stuffed the FE with a 247mAh battery.
For comparison, the 40mm models of the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 7 are equipped with 300mAh batteries. In absolute terms, a 247mAh battery may not seem much smaller than a 300mAh battery, but neither the Galaxy Watch 6 nor the Galaxy Watch 7 are known for long battery life.
On standby, the FE can last for about 34 hours on a single charge. Of course, even moderate use can cause a significant drop in runtime. I consider myself an active person. My girlfriend and I walk at least 10,000 steps almost every day. I bike almost every day in the spring, summer, and fall. I also recently started lifting weights again after being unable to go to the gym for a long time due to the pandemic. If your days are similar to mine, be prepared to charge your Galaxy Watch FE every day, especially if you take advantage of the sleep tracking feature.
I am concerned about how long the FE’s battery will last and what condition the watch will be in a year or two after I buy it.
On the day I wore the FE to sleep and tracked my morning bike ride, I had about 35% battery left when I got home around 8 a.m. Finding time to charge the watch wasn’t an issue: the FE is limited to charging at 5W, but if I took it off to charge as soon as I got home, the battery was nearly full by the time I sat down for work at 9 a.m.
That said, I am concerned about how long the FE’s battery will last and how the watch will perform a year or two after I buy it. I used the FE’s activity tracking features daily, but some features I didn’t use as often. For example, I didn’t measure my body composition daily or use the watch to listen to music while I was biking. I also saved for the always-on display feature. If you’re a heavy user, you’d be better off looking at other Samsung smartwatches or Garmin competitors.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE?
As I said above, the most notable thing about the Galaxy Watch FE is how complete it is. Sure, it’s not the fastest smartwatch I’ve tested, but it does pretty much everything most people would want in a fitness tracker. Battery life may be a concern in the future, but for those just starting their fitness journey, this is the Wear OS watch to buy.
Recommendation
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
