That price hike could be due to the new software promises Samsung is making. Smartprix says that Samsung will offer seven years of Android updates and security patches when it launches the S24 FE. That matches Google’s new (ish) promise on updates and Apple’s unofficial seven-year policy.

It wasn't long ago when midrange phones were plastic, lagging disasters with little to no software support. The Galaxy S20 FE cut through that. While it wasn't a midrange phone at $700, it proved you didn't have to spend over $1,000 to get a worthwhile smartphone.

According to leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (via SmartPrix ), the 125GB Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is set to cost $649 — with the price supposedly rising to $70 for the 256GB model. Last year’s Galaxy S23 FE started at $599 for 128GB, with the 256GB option costing $659. Meaning we could be looking at a $50 price hike for both options.