Samsung created the “Fan Edition” or FE series with the goal of providing enthusiast users with flagship-quality smartphone features at mid-range costs. With the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Samsung hit the mark perfectly, leaving little space for improvement. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G, a follow-up FE smartphone that Samsung is hoping would be yet another smash hit, was released this year. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G, as I’ve already noted in my initial thoughts on the device, is an incremental improvement that doesn’t really improve the FE experience by much, but it will still be a significant phone in Samsung’s lineup until the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is phased out.
Even though the S21 FE has a contour-cut camera module, it resembles the Galaxy S21 only somewhat. The plastic back of the camera easily blends into a camera island, the display is flat with a thin metal frame, and the cladding surrounding the camera is made of plastic. The back is constructed of plastic and has a smooth matte feel. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it also doesn’t attract smudges. It should be noted that you do not receive a protective case out of the box, and because of the slick back, using a protection is advised. The Galaxy S21 FE is available in a variety of stylish colours, including White, Lavender, Graphite, and Olive, and is made for fans of all stripes.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]Like its other S21 siblings, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a punch-hole notch in the middle. It has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection and a 120Hz refresh rate. A fingerprint sensor is likewise integrated into the display; it is optical this time. It is quicker and more responsive than Samsung’s ultrasonic approach, but less secure.
When compared to the previous generation, the Galaxy S21 FE’s cameras haven’t seen a significant hardware change. Similar to the S20 FE, the new phone has a 12MP main camera that is complemented by a 12MP ultrawide lens, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP telephoto lens with a 30x Space Zoom capability. Even the three lenses’ apertures are the same as they were for the S20 FE.
The Galaxy S21 FE has the same set of internal core components as the normal S21, including the 5nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage for your apps, photographs, and personal videos. Although the S21 FE’s battery has the same 4,500mAh capacity as the others, it has the lowest endurance. The S21 FE comes in three hours behind the S21 and nearly five hours behind the iPhone 13 in our video rundown test, finishing at barely 15 hours and 42 minutes.