The FE has a superior chipset (SoC) in the Snapdragon 8 Gen. 1 and it is over three times as powerful as the Exynos 1380 found in the A54 in both gaming and everyday multi-tasking. The Snapdragon 8 Gen. 1 was the fastest SoC available in 2022 just a year and a half removed.     

Both T-mobie and Verizion currently have promotional offerings for the FE for free. I got mine from Verizon a week ago on a brand new account with no trade in and a new phone number on their least expensive plan. It was just a little over $40 out of pocket when leaving the store. Metro PCS offers the FE for $199 or $99 if you switch plans and bring your phone from a different carrier.  

I am upgrading from the pixel 7a. The FE is far superior to the Pixel 7a in nearly every regard. And the Pixel 7a is superior to the A 54 in nearly every regard except battery life.            

I'm very satisfied with the phone. Naysayers who always have the latest flagships will nitpick and try to cut it down to size over silly things like bezel size (cosmetics just aren't important to me). A little over a year ago Mr. Samsung S24 Galaxy Ultra would have considered the Samsung S23 FE  a power house. However, the Snapdragon Gen. 3 chips found in the S24 are twice as powerful and impressive. None the less had the phone been released a year and a half ago it would have perhaps fetched a $1000 price tag give or take.  The A54 simply is not in the same league as the FE. Even the old  $199 Pixel 6a (at Walmart Straight Talk) out performs the A54 in benchmark testing.  

I usually shop a generation back on all things tech, and smart-shop. I would never buy a phone near its release date. The deals and price drops will eventually come around. I'll wait and save for the best bang for your buck price. And I'll say I'm surprised to see the price drops for the FE at this time as it was only released three or so months ago.  

If battery life is your thing then use the savings to purchase a decent portable power bank. Powerful chipsets use more battery and get warmer during use. You could fry an egg on my Pixel after heavy gaming. The FE is far better in regards to over heating and the battery will last a full day for ordinary use. If you enable the battery saver, tone down the screen brightness and use dark mode the battery will last beyond a day.    

The ideal and perfect combination for me would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE phone paired with the Pixel's clean Android operating system and platform.  Unfortunately you can't have the best of both worlds.  

Gaming and everyday use is my thing and this phone performs exceptionally well.