After a yr of will-they-or-won’t-they hypothesis, Samsung has, finally, introduced the Galaxy S21 FE. Just like the 2020 Galaxy S20 FE (the FE stands for Fan Version), this machine options a lot of the flagship-level specs of the Galaxy S21, together with a Snapdragon 888 chipset and 120Hz show, at a cheaper price: $699 for the 128GB base mannequin. With the S21’s almost midrange price ticket and a compelling upper-midrange choice within the Galaxy A52 5G, it’s one more addition to an already crowded spot in Samsung’s lineup.
The Galaxy S21 FE gives a 6.4-inch show, barely bigger than the S21’s 6.2-inch panel. Outdoors of that measurement distinction, the S21 FE has an entire lot in frequent with the S21. Its display is a 1080p OLED panel with 120Hz just like the S21’s. Even the design language is constant, with the digicam bump mixing into the cellphone’s facet rails.
The FE features a flagship-worthy 5nm chipset (Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 within the US, Samsung’s personal Exynos elsewhere) and a 12-megapixel f/1.8 essential digicam with optical stabilization, similar because the S21. It even does one higher on battery capability, with a 4,500mAh cell in comparison with the S21’s 4,000mAh (although its barely larger display probably evens out battery efficiency). Quick 25W wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging, an IP68 weather-resistance ranking, and each flavors of 5G (sub6-GHz and speedy mmWave) are all carried over from the S21.
So what does paying extra for the S21 get you? Extra RAM — 8GB within the base configuration versus the S21 FE’s 6GB — and a higher-res telephoto digicam. Except for the beforehand famous display and battery measurement variations, that’s about it. The Galaxy S21 FE will promote for $699 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or $769 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It ships with Samsung’s Android 12-based One UI 4.0 put in.
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Samsung Galaxy S21 evaluate: good for the value
I’ve had the S21 FE in my arms for a couple of days, and it feels to me like a tool that rides the ever-muddled line between a flagship and a midrange cellphone. The again is composite plastic with a matte end, which feels midrangey to me, however the display is huge and brilliant with all of the buttery smoothness of its 120Hz refresh charge — flagship territory for positive. General efficiency feels flagship-worthy, too, except for somewhat lag within the digicam’s portrait mode dwell preview. Oh, and there’s no charger within the field, which is a flagship factor now, too.
Samsung launched the S20 FE final yr as a lower-cost, full-featured various to the S20. Additionally priced at $699, there was an even bigger hole between it and the $999 base mannequin S20, which made it a heck of a deal. Issues are somewhat completely different this time round, with the S21 coming down in worth to $799. There’s additionally the Galaxy A52 5G, one in every of Samsung’s higher-end funds telephones for $499. And don’t neglect that Samsung lowered the value of admission for its foldables — with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 priced at $999, it’s a part of the dialog, too.
It’s greater than somewhat complicated, but it surely’s not a brand new technique for Samsung. As Dieter famous in his overview of the S20 lineup, Samsung takes this “a cellphone at each worth level” method as a result of it may possibly. It additionally occurs to be actually good at mixing and matching options for various worth factors, and a stable assist coverage backing most units makes its funds and midrange telephones robust to beat. With the S21 FE, Samsung is taking one more minimize right into a market that it’s fortunately slicing thinner and thinner.
