Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Learn more.
Fast Charge: Samsung should have skipped straight to the Galaxy S22 FE
In This Article
OPINION: After months of leaks, teases and even rumours of complete cancellation, Samsung unveiled theGalaxy S21 FEthis week atCES 2022.
I’ve been using the phone for a week or so now and I like it; I also think lots of other people who buy it will like it too. Samsung makes some of thebest phonesand the S21 FE fits that bill in a few areas. The screen is fast and sharp, the processor nippy and the cameras reliable.
Yet, it feels very much like a phone that should have come out last summer – a year on from the original S20 FE. The reported hefty delay that pushed the S21 FE into 2022 means that some features aren’t arriving with the buzz they would have done before.
The processor, for example, is the Snapdragon 888. If the S21 FE arrived last summer, this would have been a flagship chipset. Now though it’s been replaced by theSnapdragon 8 Gen 1and I wouldn’t be surprised to see phones launch with that silicon very soon that are the same price, or even cheaper, than Samsung’s effort. These will likely come from Realme, Xiaomi and OnePlus.
Then there’s the camera. Around the back you’ve got the same main camera from the S21, plus an ultra wide and tele camera. The pictures taken with the main 12-megapixel camera are good: bright, detailed and typically vivid like all Samsung’s phones. Yet, they’re not anywhere near as good as the snaps from thePixel 6– a phone that was released in October 2021 and costs £100 less than the S21 FE.
Having used both of these phones, I think I would recommend Google’s effort over Samsung’s to everyone except possibly those who can’t live without a 120Hz display.
And then there’s the Galaxy S22
Launching the Galaxy S21 FE now means that it’s coming out just a month before leaks have suggested Samsung will announce its next flagship range – theGalaxy S22. This is odd timing, and it might give the impression to buyers that the S21 FE is now outdated.
For me, the best approach would have been to turn the Galaxy S21 FE into an S22 FE and position it as the more affordable entry in the S22 line up alongside the regular S22, S22 Plus and the high-end Ultra model. This would give the S22 range broader price appeal, and allow the S21 line to be fully replaced rather than keep it around in a slightly confusing manner.
There have been so far no rumours surrounding the Galaxy S22 FE and at this stage we don’t know if one is in the works. As such, we don’t know whether it’ll keep the January release window or revert to the summer launch of the first iteration.
As I said before, the Galaxy S21 FE is a good phone, but its bizarre release timing makes it a little bit confusing.
You might like…
Max is the Editor of Trusted Reviews, and has been a mobile phone and technology specialist for over nine years. Max started his career at T3 straight after graduating from Kingston University. Max ha…
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
