Samsung released the Galaxy S24 FE late last week as the fourth member of its Galaxy S Fan Edition (FE) range. For reference, the new smartphone debuted with the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, rather than alongside other new FE products. By contrast, the Galaxy S25 series is not due until early next year, including the premier Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Ultimately, the Galaxy S24 FE shares plenty of features with last year's Galaxy S23 FE (curr. $339 on Amazon). For example, the pair feature broadly the same camera hardware, as well as a 1080p and 120 Hz AMOLED complemented by 25 W wired and 15 W wireless charging. However, Samsung has quietly made a major change to software support between generations that should see the Galaxy S24 FE supported for significantly longer than its predecessor.

For context, theGalaxy S23 FEwill receive four OS updates in its lifetime. As a result, all units will top out of Android 17, having come pre-installed with One UI 5 based on Android 13. Meanwhile, the device should be in line for new security patch updates until at least October 2028.

In comparison, Samsung claims it will keep the Galaxy S24 FE updated for seven major OS updates. Given that the device has started out on Android 14 and One UI 6.1, this should mean that it remains updated until Android 21 and One UI 13, respectively. Samsung will provide an additional two years of security patch updates too, thereby harmonising its security patch and software update rollouts. Please see our Galaxy S24 FE launch article for more hardware details.