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Samsung’s Galaxy S21 The smartphone family – S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra – is expanding with a new entry point: the Galaxy S21 FE.
As it did with Galaxy S20 FE in late 2020, Samsung takes some of the best features from the S21 series and puts them in this smaller, more affordable device. Samsung will launch the S21 FE at CES 2022, a show it usually focuses on TVs and monitors.
The Galaxy S21 FE will be available on January 11 for $699.99 for the 128GB model and $769.99 for 256GB of storage. We were able to spend a weekend with the S21 FE and after that time we named it a finalist for Best Mobile from CES 2022.
The Galaxy S21 FE looks familiar, even though it’s a bit larger than the S21 without flashy design elements like metal rims. It is also highlighted with a camera that protrudes from the edge of the phone.
Samsung calls this a contoured frame, and the subtle design gives the back of the phone a uniform look. Frame of S21 FE is aluminum, although to be expected with this more affordable option, the back of the phone is smooth polycarbonate. It’s not glossy but shows some fingerprints. Weighing in at 177 grams, the S21 FE feels impressive in the hand and it comes in Olive, Lavender, White or Graphite color options.
The front of the device is almost all-screen with a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel and it’s nice to see minimal bezels at this price point. We also appreciate how well it handles colors and supports a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother images than you’ll find on many phones at this price point. Samsung also places a 32-megapixel selfie camera at the top, which is great for video calls and snaps. They have also included a fingerprint sensor integrated into the bottom half of the display.
Powering all of this is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, the same processor that resides in the rest of the series. Galaxy S21 family. That means photos are processed quickly, games can be played locally or from the cloud, and multitasking is made easy by flexibly moving between apps. However, the RAM memory is lower than in other S21s, and this can result in it running slower when performing more intense tasks or just leaving a bunch of apps open. The $699 S21 FE comes with 6GB of RAM (what we’ve tested) and the $769 variant comes with 8GB. The S21 FE comes with Samsung’s Android 12 and One UX 4.0 pre-installed.
Battery life was also very good throughout the weekend, likely thanks to the 4,500mAh battery inside. We easily got through the day on a single charge, being able to even get through two days with lighter usage. When it needs charging, you’ll need to plug in the included USB-C cable or place it on a Qi-enabled wireless charging pad. Samsung does not include a wall plug in the box, but we recommend the Anker Nano II.
While Samsung’s S21 FE comes with a bigger battery and faster processor inside, the main camera assembly on the back doesn’t get the same treatment. This is what the Galaxy S21 FE is packing.
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens: The ultra-wide lens offers a 123-degree field of view and is ideal for capturing a large area in a single photo. In our initial tests, we captured a lot of frames without seeing much blur or fisheye around the edges.
- 12-megapixel wide-angle lens: The main shooter on the S21 FE has admirable performance. It’s best for portraits and more traditional photos.
- 8-megapixel telephoto lens: This is the same zoom lens as on the S20 FE, and we’re surprised it hasn’t been improved upon. It’s an 8 megapixel lens with 3x optical zoom. Here 30x Spatial Zoom is supported, but no physical periscoping lens on S21 Ultra. It’s simply a combination of physical and digital zoom along with upscaling, which can lead to some serious distortion at the full 30x. We found the 10x zoom function to be the most practical.
Various Samsung modes are also included here – Night Mode, Single Shot, Portrait, Professional, Food, Portrait Video, Dual Recording, and Slow Motion, among others , and they all run fine (samples below). The single shot remains one of our favorites, allowing you to press the shutter button and move the phone around, then the S21 FE uses AI to figure out which shots to take and if it needs to apply. effect.
Camera performance here will be important, because Pixel 6 is only $599 and provides excellent imaging capabilities. You lose the physical telephoto lens there, but Google’s handling is second to none in the Android space.
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE is shaping up to be a brilliant new entry in the Galaxy S21 family. However, it will launch at an interesting time as we are only a few weeks away from the rumored successors to the Galaxy S21 family, aka Galaxy S22. However, for those wanting a more affordable Samsung device, the $699 S21 FE will likely fit the bill. As long as you’re stylish with a cheaper design and not the most impressive telephoto lens.
Galaxy S21 FE also caught the eye at CES as one of the few mobile phones launched at the show. Because of its feature-set and affordable positioning, it was a finalist for CES 2022’s Best Mobile Phone. We’ll share the full list of finalists at the end. This week, ahead of the top picks in each category.
Pre-orders will open on January 11 for the Galaxy S21 FE at $699.99 for 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM or $769.99 for 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Either way, you’ll find support for 5G mmWave and Sub-6, which is great news – especially if either network exists near you. Those looking for superfast speeds comparable to a home network will want to look for mmWave connectivity, although it’s not rolled out nationally. The Sub-6 is more popular, but doesn’t offer the insane speed boost.
We also recommend watching Standard Galaxy S21 or if you’re fine without a telephoto lens, even cheaper Pixel 6.
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