Remember when Samsung decided to dive in with the Galaxy S20 FE? Many people have said that it was probably what they should have done (note: even I have the same opinion as I use one and still love it). Powerful specs at a great price point for an Android smartphone.
Many pubdits claim that the Galaxy S20 FE was an opportunity for Samsung to redeem themselves due to the Galaxy S20 series lack of success. Well, 2020 was quite a challenging year, so you could give them the benefit of doubt on that.
It’s been almost a year since the Galaxy S21 series was announced but no FE equivalent was released later in the year.
What better way to kickstart 2022 than with a new smartphone to take the spotlight? Samsung has finally unveiled the new Galaxy S21 FE 5G.
Galaxy S21 FE 5G takes it further
The very first FE model was announced in September 2020 for the Galaxy S20 series and then released a month later. This new version takes plenty of cues from the S21 family, but there are some differences that you may not notice.
- The camera bump has moved to the corner, with the corners now flush with the chassis. While some Galaxy S21 models saw the camera bump have different colours compared to the back, the Galaxy S21 FE sees the bump take on the same colour in all the colour options. It’s almost as if there are no edge corners around the rest and it just tapers into the back.
- No more microSDXC card slot from the previous model (I barely even used it) to expand the built-in storage.
- Dual Recording using both front and rear cameras is here
- Improvements to low-light/night photos using AI.
Going under the hood
Samsung has always remain silent on which chipset powers their phones, as it’s based on the region. A search on the product’s official page just mentions “5nm 64-bit Octa-core Processor”. That could either mean the Exynos or Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (depending on the region).
With the Galaxy S20 FE, I was fortunate to see the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 powering it when I bought mine. I’m praying that the Middle East gets the Qualcomm chipset just like the previous one (call me picky, but I feel that the Exynos chipset can’t match Qualcomm with regards to the performance).
The device itself looks to be slightly smaller and even lighter than the Galaxy S20 FE, yet they’ve managed to keep the same battery capacity. Paired with a newer power-efficient chipset, it will defintiely give better battery life.
Don’t expect anything less than 5G, as it’s avialability and coverage network has greatly expanded across the region with many telco operators constantly expanding it.
What better way than to show you the Galaxy S21 FE 5G specs compared to the previous one?
| Samsung Galaxy S21 FE | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.4-inch flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x Display (1080×2400 @ 411ppi); 120Hz refresh rate; 240Hz touch sensitive rate in Game Mode |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm) |
| Rear Camera | Ultra Wide 12MP (f/2.2 with 123-degree FOV) 12MP Wide-angle Dual Pixel AF w/ OIS (f/1.8 with 79-degree FOV) 8MP Telephoto (f/2.2 with 81-degree FOV) with 30x Space Zoom |
| Front Camera | 32MP dual pixel AF (f/2.2 with 80-degree FOV) |
| Battery and charging | 4,500 mAh; Fast charging at 25W (wired) and 15W (wireless); USB PD 3.0; Reverse wireless charging |
| Memory | 8 GB LPDDR5 (4G LTE and 5G) |
| Storage | 128GB (6GB / 8GB RAM) and 256 GB (8GB RAM) |
| Network support | 5G: NSA, SA, Sub6/mmWave LTE: 4x4 MIMO, Upto 7CA, LTE Cat.20 |
| Connectivity | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz); NFC, Bluetooth 5.0; USB3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Dimensions and weight | 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm; 174g |
| Colours | White/Graphite/Lavender/Olive |
The Galaxy S21 FE will be preinstaled with the new Android 12 updated wrapped under Samsung’s One UI 4. As part of Samsung’s commitment with every new smartphone, it’ll be supported with 3 generations of Android updates.
Pre-Orders?
I find the timing of this announcement puzzling; Samsung usually uses Q1 of the calendar year to reveal the next flagship in the Galaxy S series. However, never overlook a gift like this if you’ve been planning to upgrade to a newer device.
I think Samsung is doing justice in continuing the Fan Edition. I thought it would have been a one-off thing, but this new model is worthy of consideration. Following in the same footsteps as the other models, there’s no power brick bundled in the packaging.
While the news is still fresh, Middle East carriers are likely scrambling to announce pre-order incentives.