Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, a special edition of the flagship. A bit late but still curious

The first edition of the smartphone with the mysterious “FE” note was released in September 2020 – it was the Galaxy S20 FE. Everyone wondered what the strange abbreviation came from. The solution to the puzzle turned out to be simple – FE to Fan Edition, a smartphone designed especially for fans of the brand.

Time has shown that the S20 FE does not have to be a device for fans at all, but rather is a phone for people who would like to have a (almost) top Samsung smartphone, but do not want to spend a fortune (although they are still able to spend a lot). It may be the same with his successor.

This is the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. A strong proposition not only for fans

The presented Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is also a very strong proposition. The smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip, so the flagship processor for 2021. In addition, we have 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of data space, a set of communication modules (of course there is support for 5G, but e-SIM support is missing) and a 4500 mAh battery with the option of wireless charging. You can only complain about the average 25W wired charging. Although it is rather a standard for Samsung.

The screen is also supposed to make an impression (and this is what Koreans are famous for because of their great panels). The Galaxy S21 FE display has 6.4 inches (Full HD +) and is made in the Dynamic AMOLED 2x technology. Of course, there was support for 120 Hz refresh, and a fingerprint reader was hidden under the surface of the panel.

The cameras are almost identical to last year’s Galaxy S20 FE. So we have three webcams, the specification of which is as follows:

• main camera 12 Mpix, f / 1.8 with optical image stabilization,
• 12 Mpix ultra wide angle camera, f / 2.2 with a field of view of 123 degrees,
• 8 Mpix tele camera, f / 2.4 with 3x approximation.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE photo: Samsung press materials

There is no point in commenting on the design. It is typically “Samsung”, and the housing strongly refers to the flagship Galaxy S21 shown in January 2021. Of course, it is waterproof (IP68) and finished in pastel colors. Samsung does not write it directly in the messages, but it is also probably (traditionally) plastic.

No revolution, and way too late

Well, the perceptive ones have probably noticed that almost exactly a year has passed since the premiere of the Galaxy S21 – which the designers of the Galaxy S21 FE modeled on. Quite a lot, especially as soon we can expect another flagship, probably marked with the number 22. So it was a bit ugly on the part of Samsung that it made us wait so long for the special edition dedicated to fans. Especially since the S21 in the “for fans” edition is no breakthrough and there is nothing that we could not find in other flagship Samsung smartphones.

However, this is not the only reason why the Galaxy S21 FE is – at least in my opinion – long overdue. The basic edition of the Galaxy S21 has dropped significantly and now we can buy it for less than PLN 3,000. And it is in the version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of data space. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE in an almost identical configuration costs … PLN 3499, but it has only 6 GB of RAM on board. This is not enough by today’s standards. It is worth paying extra for the version with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB for data, and this one costs PLN 3849. The same memory configuration of the flagship Galaxy S21 is currently an expense of PLN 3200.

In this situation, it is not very clear who the Galaxy S21 FE is intended for. Especially since it costs a lot, and it is coming out now, a year after the premiere of the flagship. It can be suspected that Samsung fans are already waiting for the next generation of smartphones from the Galaxy S line, which should appear … in a month.