Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: More For Less

Buying a smartphone is undoubtedly a herculean task nowadays. With the presence of so many brands and models in the market, it has become really difficult to choose the best phone for your needs within your budget. Things are not as clear-cut as going out and buying a Nokia phone anymore. Each brand is now putting its best foot forward in order to keep the edge. Still, after all this time, however, Samsung is one brand that has managed to keep its edge when it comes to Android phones. The brand still makes the best smartphones on the planet and has its own brand image that is simply unparalleled. However, the best phone on the planet doesn’t come cheap. And that is why the brand came up with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.

I’m sure that most Samsung fans would be well aware of what this phone is. After all, it is the phone Samsung brought out specifically to make the S21 lineup available to those who cannot afford the hefty prices of the original editions. FE here stands for the Fan Edition and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a cheaper version of the original that still does pretty much all the same stuff, but with a few corners cut here and there to reduce the overall cost of manufacturing the smartphone. It brings you the power of the S21 and does so at a price that is far more reasonable.

Now you must be wondering what it is that Samsung has done to reduce the price of the smartphone so dramatically. So without any further dawdling, let us get right into it.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: The Fan Edition

The first thing that you need to understand about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is that while it is a slightly cut-down version of the original phone, it doesn’t mean that it is any lesser in performance. The Fan Edition phone still uses the same processor as the original flagship and cruises along with anything you might throw at it in a pretty seamless fashion. Where the corners are cut though is the overall feel of the phone, as well as some of the more premium features. While the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE features mostly the same internal specification as the S21, it has a camera system that is a little weaker, a body that is made out of plastic rather than glass, and lesser amounts of RAM than the base model of the phone.

For those of you who are heavy users and are not concerned about photography a lot, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE doesn’t seem that much of a downgrade compared to the S21. But for those of you who simply want the best when it comes to camera tech, this might be somewhat of a dealbreaker. Also, the less premium body might turn some people off from the phone, but the truth is that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE feels amazing in the hand despite being plastic. In fact, the plastic body provides more structural integrity to the phone which a glass body simply can’t provide. So that is something that can go work either in favor of the phone or against it depending on where you stand between looks and durability. For most of us, we are going to slap on a cover at the end of the day, so it doesn’t matter much anyway.

One thing where the Fan Edition wins out over the original though is the version of Android that it runs. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE comes with Android 12 out of the box owing to its late release, whereas the original S21 comes with Android 11. This means that the Fan Edition smartphone should get one more year of updates and ideally get updated to Android 16. The same cannot be said for the original S21, however. Another department where the cut-down phone wins out again is the battery. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE comes with a bigger battery than the S21 and provides quite a longer battery backup.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: A Good Choice?

While all of this might make the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE look like a solid choice on paper, the truth is that it is not so easy to recommend this smartphone. And that is because of the time when it was released. Rather than being released with the rest of the S21 lineup, the phone was released much later in 2021 and has hence been succeeded by the S22 series. With a starting price of $699, it is really tough to recommend the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE over the S22 series because you simply get a lot more by increasing a small amount of the price.

Also, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is not that much cheaper than the original S21, with the difference coming out to be around a hundred US Dollars. This makes things really complex because the Fan Edition caters to a very specific type of smartphone enthusiast. So if you are someone who wants the best performance and an updated operating system at a slightly lesser price, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE might just be your pick. However, for all others, it might be worth looking into the newer S22 series.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Specifications

For those of you who are more tech savvy and appreciate getting a look at the internal specifications of the phone, we will go into a little more detail. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE sports a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED with an FHD+ resolution that goes up to a 120Hz refresh rate with a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. This results in quite a smooth and fluid experience across the board as everything feels responsive and nothing feels out of place.

Coming to the build of the phone, this is where Samsung has gone for a cheaper set of materials, although a more durable one. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE sports a metal frame, just like the original. However, instead of a glass back, the FE is fitted with a plastic back that gives it a lot more durability, while still feeling amazing in the hand. The phone is also protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus in the front and is immune to most daily scratches and falls.

On the performance side, the phone sports a Snapdragon 888 or Exynos 2100, depending on the model. Both of these are top-of-the-line chips and you won’t feel a hitch using the phone. While the chips have since then been superseded by newer models, they still remain an amazing choice for most consumers. The phone also comes with 6 GB of RAM paired with 128 GB of Storage for the base model and can go up to 8 GB along with 256 GB of Storage.

The phone comes with a slightly larger battery compared to the S21 and sports a 4500mAh battery that will easily last you the entire day. This is also paired with 25W wired charging and 15 Wireless charging tech that will allow you to easily charge your phones as well as charge other phones using reverse wireless charging. While this is not the best in the industry, it is a figure that you can still work with.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE also sports a triple camera system at the back, with a 12MP primary, a 12MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto with 3x zoom and OIS. The camera system, while not as robust as the original S21, is still respectable and holds its own in all scenarios. At the front, you are given a 32MP sensor that takes generally respectable shots in all situations.

The phone also comes running Android 12 out of the box which is an improvement over the original phone. Android 12 is the latest version of the operating system that is available on most phones out there right now, so you are covered on that base too. Samsung promises to provide 4 years of Software updates and even longer for security updates, so that is one thing you never have to worry about.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Final Words

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is an amazing phone for an amazing price. However, it is not for everyone and some might feel it better to go with a more expensive but premium-looking phone. Whatever the case might be, it all boils down to what you want. If a good battery and performance on a budget are what you’re looking for, then the S21 FE might just be the phone for you.

You may check out the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE at the following link:

Buy Samsung Galaxy S21 FE on Samsung

If there is anything that I have missed, let me know about it in the comments down below. Also, let’s talk about the latest offering by Samsung in the lineup. Which one will you purchase? Let me know in the comments down below.

As usual, stay tuned in to the Franchise Hound for the latest technology updates.