Deals: Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, Xiaomi 14T and 14T Pro launch

2024-09-29

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S24 FE this week, alongside two premium tablets. Meanwhile, Xiaomi launched a pair of 14T phones. Let’s have a closer look at the new arrivals.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE starts at £650 and will receive 7 OS updates and 7 years of security patches. Will a device with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage still be usable in 7 years? Who knows, Android is not as slim as it once was and it’s not getting any slimmer. Neither are all the apps.

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ also has a 6.7” display, but it’s a QHD+ LTPO panel versus an FHD+ non-LTPO display on the FE. And the Plus is actually a bit smaller and 17g lighter, despite having a battery that is 200mAh larger. The Plus also wins the charging race with 45W over a wire vs. 25W. Instead of the Exynos 2400e, you will get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and it comes with 12GB of RAM.

The Xiaomi 14T Pro costs the same as the Galaxy S24 FE if you are looking at the 256GB versions. The 14T Pro is powered by the same Dimensity 9300+ chip that Samsung uses in its Galaxy Tab S10 premium tablet and is paired with 12GB of RAM. The camera is fairly impressive, more so than the S24 FE anyway. It has a 50MP main (1/1.31” sensor), 50MP 60mm tele and 12MP ultra wide. The phone has a curved 6.67” 1220p+ display with 144Hz refresh rate and 12-bit colors. The 5,000mAh battery charges at 120W over USB-C (almost 5x faster than the S24 FE charge rate of 25W) and there is even 50W wireless charging.

The Xiaomi 14T is the cheaper option. You get the same display, but a slower Dimensity 8300 Ultra chip. You also lose some camera specs, e.g. the 50MP main has a slightly smaller sensor (1/1.56”) and the 50MP tele has a shorter 50mm lens. Finally, the 5,000mAh battery only supports 67W wired charging. Note that Prime and Prime Student members can get 14% off the 14T and 14T Pro, so the prices could be as low as £516 and £602, respectively.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra are 12.4” and 14.6” slates, respectively, both with the Dimensity 9300+. This chip has an 18% faster CPU, 28% faster GPU and 14% faster NPU compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside the Tab S9 series. The rest of the hardware hasn’t changed much, really, but unfortunately, the Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra offers seem to have disappeared.

You could grab a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ for half the price of a Tab S10+. It also has a 12.4” display, but it is a 90Hz IPS LCD instead of the 120Hz OLED. And the Exynos 1380 chipset is noticeably slower. Still, if you don’t need heavy-duty processing power, this could be the better value for money offer.

Huawei recently launched the Watch GT 5 and Watch GT 5 Pro. The vanilla model is pretty cheap – the 41mm and 46mm versions cost the same – but it is a beautiful watch with a stainless steel case (rated for 5 ATM) and great battery life (up to 7-9 days, depending on size and usage).

The Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro is £100 more but switches to a titanium alloy frame and a ceramic back. It is suitable for free diving down to 40m and it has a depth tracker. It is also rated IP69K for resistance against hot water jets. The Pro also has trail running navigation and golf maps. Plus, it has an on-board ECG sensor.

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