Galaxy S23 FE hands-on: A no-nonsense Fan Edition phone!

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We've used the Galaxy S23 FE in Graphite for about a week now, but from the first moment we got our hands on it, we were surprised by the elevated build quality. The phone uses Samsung's design language for 2023 to the full extent, but it's a few steps above the Galaxy A54. It uses flagship-grade materials, including an aluminum frame, and it feels sturdier, partly because it is heavier than previous FE handsets.

The Galaxy S23 FE's Exynos 2200 SoC is a non-issue

You'll find a lot more details about the Galaxy S23 FE in our hands-on video above, but we feel like stressing one thing: the Exynos 2200 SoC is a non-issue.

Leading up to the Galaxy S23 FE unveiling, social media platforms have been buzzing with criticism aimed at Samsung for using the Exynos 2200 SoC, which doesn't have the best reputation. But we're happy to report that the Exynos-powered Galaxy S23 FE unit we've used for roughly one week works surprisingly well.

The Galaxy S23 FE offers a smooth One UI experience with no hiccups whatsoever, and it gives us the impression that Samsung fixed whatever used to be wrong with the Exynos 2200 SoC last year. Of course, if you buy the Galaxy S23 FE in a Qualcomm-specific market, you'll get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, which should be even better. But even if you don't, the Exynos 2200 chip seems to be doing its job well, especially considering that our pre-release unit runs on older firmware.

One last thing worth knowing is that the Galaxy S23 FE offers a solid camera experience, complete with features such as 2x portrait cropping, Nightography, and a full-fledged Director's View. Oh, and the phone will receive four OS upgrades up to Android 17.

Samsung says the Galaxy S23 FE will go live in select markets on October 5 for $599. Buyers can choose from four standard color options (Mint, Cream, Graphite, and Purple) and two online-exclusive colors (Indigo and Tangerine).