After a year of speculation, Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 FE. Like the 2020 Galaxy S20 FE, this device features most of the key specs of the Galaxy S21, including a Snapdragon 888 chipset and a 120Hz refresh rate display, but at a lower price of $700 for the 128GB model.
With the Galaxy S21’s near mid-range price and the convincing upper mid-range option in the Galaxy A52 5G, the Galaxy S21 FE represents another addition to a crowded spot in the company’s lineup.
The Galaxy S21 FE has a 6.4-inch screen, slightly larger than the 6.2-inch Galaxy S21 screen. Aside from this difference in size, the Galaxy S21 FE has a lot in common with the Galaxy S21.
This is represented in the OLED screen with a resolution of 1080 pixels with a refresh rate of 120 Hz like the Galaxy S21. The design language is also consistent, with the camera bump integrated into the phone’s side fenders.
The Galaxy S21 FE includes a 5nm Snapdragon 888 chipset in the US and Exynos elsewhere.
And there is a 12-megapixel main camera with optical stabilization, like the Galaxy S21. It is also better in terms of battery capacity of 4,500 mAh compared to the 4,000 mAh capacity of the Galaxy S21.
It also gets 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, an IP68 weather rating, and 5G from the Galaxy S21.
And for the price increase on the Galaxy S21, you get more RAM — 8GB on the base version versus 6GB on the Galaxy S21 FE — and an HD telephoto camera.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE sells for $700 with 6/128GB or $770 for 8/256GB. It comes with One UI 4.0 based on Android 12 operating system.
The Galaxy S21 FE looks somewhere between the flagship and mid-range phones. There is a plastic back side that makes it look like a mid-range phone. But the big screen with 120Hz refresh rate makes it look like a flagship phone.
The overall performance also appears to be a flagship device, except for a slight lag in the live preview of the camera’s Portrait mode. And there’s no charger in the box, something that’s become commonplace for flagship devices now.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy S20 FE last year as a low-cost, full-featured alternative to the Galaxy S20.
Also at $700, there was a bigger gap between it and the base $1,000 Galaxy S20 model, which made it a useful option.
But things are a little different this time, as the price of the Galaxy S21 has dropped to $800. There is also the Galaxy A52 5G, one of Samsung’s mid-range phones for $500.
And do not forget that the South Korean company lowered the price of foldable devices. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes in at $1,000.
This is not a new strategy for the company, as Samsung is taking the phone at every price point because it can. Also, the strong support policy that supports most of the devices makes it hard to beat its low-end and mid-range phones.
