Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition)

Introduction

When Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 FE, it confirmed that a new “Fan Edition” variant will be released every year. The Galaxy S21 FE should have come out in 2020 but it didn't. The chip shortage was said to be one of the reasons why it was delayed.

Samsung has ultimately launched the Galaxy S21 FE in the first week of January 2022. The new device retains many of the great qualities that made its predecessor a success. The Galaxy S21 FE comes with updated internals, the latest software and a range of new color options.

Design

The Galaxy S21 FE looks similar to the base Galaxy S21 model. It has a metal frame that supports the polycarbonate body. The device does happen to be bother thinner and lighter than the Galaxy S20 FE. It is just 7.9mm thin and weighs 177g, 13 grams less than its predecessor.

All of the physical buttons are on the right side of the frame. The Infinity-O cutout is also present on the display. The Galaxy S21 FE's camera housing is not that different from the one on the base Galaxy S21 model.

Specifications

The Galaxy S21 FE will ship with the Snapdragon 888 chipset in most regions, including Europe. Other regions, particularly across Asia, will get the Exynos 2100 processor. The handset comes with 6/8GB RAM and 128/256GB storage options.

There's a 4,500mAh battery keeping the lights on with 25W fast-charging. The device doesn't ship with a charger in the box. There were rumors that the device might have a microSD card slot. That's not the case. The Galaxy S21 FE does not have a microSD slot.

Display

The Galaxy S21 FE ships with a flat display with thin bezels. It's a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O panel with Full HD+ resolution and HDR10+. There's an optical in-display fingerprint sensor as well.

Fans will be delighted to know that this display panel does have a 120Hz refresh rate for super smooth scrolling and animations.

Camera

There's a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera at the back accompanied by a 12-megapixel wide sensor and an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor that supports 3x optical zoom. There's also a 32-megapixel selfie camera in the Infinity-O cutout at the front.

Samsung has improved the camera software as well with features such as Night Mode, Zoom Lock, Dual Recording Mode, AI Face Restoration and Object Eraser.

Software

The Galaxy S21 FE is Samsung's first device in 2022 to ship with Android 12 and One UI 4.0 out of the box. This gives the device an edge over the Galaxy S21 series that launched with Android 11.

Samsung will release four Android OS upgrades for the device. This means that the Galaxy S21 FE is supported up until Android 16.

Availability and Price

The Galaxy S21 FE was announced on January 4, 2022 and set for release a week later on January 11. Prices start at $699 for the base model that comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device is offered in Olive, Graphite, Lavender and White colors.

Downloads and Resources

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