The new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is the most affordable offering in the flagship lineup until the company announced the new S22 series. The smartphone has a top Snapdragon 888 chipset, a high-quality display and cameras. It is even difficult to call it a simplified version of the S21. But then the question arises: why two almost identical devices? Moreover, in the middle of 2021, there were even rumors that the model would be canceled due to the crisis in the semiconductor market, but skeptical expectations were not confirmed.

True, the release of the device was delayed: during this time, the prices for the Galaxy S21 have decreased, the new Galaxy S22 is about to be introduced – and here the Galaxy S21 FE goes on sale. However, Samsung has always had a large and diverse family of devices, so let’s not look for logic in cloning, but start testing.

Appearance

The smartphone looks like the Galaxy S21: the body is made of plastic, and an aluminum frame runs along the sides. Let me remind you that the more expensive S21 + and S21 Ultra use glass, but the base S21, like the S21 FE, also offers polycarbonate. It is good because it does not get dirty or scratched, wiped it once a day with a cloth – and the smartphone is like new.

If you use the phone without a case, you will feel the difference in sensations. You can’t confuse good glass with plastic, but if you hide a new device in a case immediately after purchase, then there’s no point in complaining about plastic, you still won’t notice it.

The smartphone, like other models of the S21 series, received IP68 protection against dust and moisture – everything is at the highest level. There are a minimum of connectors: a USB Type-C port on the bottom, next to it is a SIM card tray, and there are no holes for connecting wired headphones. The sound comes through stereo speakers, the quality is decent.

The dimensions of the Galaxy S21 FE are slightly different from the “simple” S21: it is slightly larger in height due to the increased diagonal. The difference in display sizes will be difficult to feel if you just put the S21 and S21 FE side by side. If the first one is 6.2 inches, then the second one will be 6.4 inches at the same resolution.

It remains only to add that the optical fingerprint scanner works quickly, but at times there are strange situations when it barely recognizes a finger or does not react at all. I solved the glitch by rebooting the phone.

Display

In terms of screen quality, the S21 FE is no different from the S21: the differences are only in the increased diagonal. Features like a flagship: support for 120 Hz, a resolution of 1080 × 2400 pixels, high brightness, excellent contrast and two ready-made color profiles: one is more realistic, the second is richly bright as usual.

Gorilla Glass Victus display without curved edges. This, for my taste, is more convenient and practical: there are no random mistakes when typing texts, it is easier to glue the protective glass. Although glass is not necessary: the coating is durable and does not scratch, as on the same iPhones, where the screen is very delicate.

I would also like to see a built-in function to reduce eye strain when using the phone in dark conditions: backlight flickering can be unpleasant. But on the plus side, you can add a convenient Always On mode with auxiliary notifications, which can be configured as you wish.

Filling

Unlike the Exynos-powered Galaxy S21, the Galaxy S21 FE has a Snapdragon 888 processor notorious for overheating. This is what the benchmarks prove: after four sessions of throttling, the results are depressing. But with this behavior, he does not differ from his colleagues with the same “three eights”.

In everyday use, the basic version with 6/128 GB is enough for fast menu operation and launching games with maximum graphics. But the smartphone can heat up during ordinary tasks like viewing stories on Instagram or chatting on Telegram.

I note that there is no slot for a memory card, so if you are used to carrying as much data as possible, then look towards the older version with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory.

In terms of communications, the set is usual: two physical SIM cards, modern Bluetooth 5.2 and fast Wi-Fi 6, everything is fine with navigation too. It is a pity that there is no eSIM support, but NFC is in place – pay with your phone wherever you want.

Camera

The camera block is designed in the same style as the Galaxy S21: it is a small platform with three holes located one above the other.

However, the cameras themselves in the smartphone are not from the S21, but from the progenitor of the S20 FE. So the quality of shooting is still not up to the flagship of 2021. However, the camera is still good and the pictures are an example of this.

For starters, here is the main camera at 12 MP, f / 1.8:

This is how a wide-angle camera shoots:

Well, a telephoto portrait camera with a threefold optical zoom:

The front camera also did not let us down, and the portrait mode works neatly:

In general, the shooting quality of the Galaxy S21 FE is very good, but at the same time it is strange that the cameras in the smartphone are from a device of the previous generation. If you do not go into details, then most often we get a consistently decent result in almost any shooting conditions: the pictures are bright, saturated, with natural colors and good detail.

autonomy

I liked that the background discharge is minimal – if you do not leave the phone to charge overnight, it takes only 1-3% for 8-10 hours of standby time.

The smartphone received not only an enlarged screen, but also a battery of a higher capacity. We get 4500 mAh for S21 FE versus 4000 mAh for S21. In practice, the difference in operating time is insignificant – until the end of the day, a smartphone on a single charge most often survives, but in terms of energy saving, nothing of the kind.

Alternatively, you can try switching from 120 Hz to 60 Hz mode, but in my case, I did not notice much difference in autonomy.

Charging by wire at a power of 25 W cannot be called super-fast, so the smartphone takes 1.5 hours to complete the cycle from 0 to 100%. There is also wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Price

At the start of sales, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is sold for 59,990 rubles. Moreover, after the announcement of the novelty on the Samsung website, you can get a discount of 5,000 rubles. But against the background of the usual Galaxy S21 for 59,990 rubles, the choice is in favor of the flagship, given the slight difference in price. But this is if we talk about official retail prices. If you look at the “gray” devices, then S21 can be found for 47,000-49,000 rubles, there is nothing to discuss here.

Moreover, when the Galaxy S20 FE came out, the price difference between it and the Galaxy S20 was about ten thousand rubles, then the younger model looked more interesting. To date, the smartphone is still on sale, it costs about 40,000 rubles in official retail. Well, the minimum prices on the Internet do start at 32,000 rubles. Also an interesting option.

Conclusion

In the world of Samsung smartphones, it’s easy to get confused: sometimes the company gathers its courage, launches new series or models for a clear purpose, but then suddenly goes astray and devices like the Galaxy S21 FE are born. I can’t say that it’s bad, no – it’s just that against the background of the “ordinary” Galaxy S21, its successor Galaxy S21 FE is lost. Therefore, we are waiting for prices to drop, unless, of course, another crisis breaks out in the semiconductor market and nothing happens to the ruble at the same time.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

• Screen: 6.4″, 1080 × 2400, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz;
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G;
• Memory: 6/128 or 8/256 GB;
• Cameras: main 12 MP (f/1.8) optical stabilization, wide-angle 12 MP (f/2.2), telephoto 8 MP (f/2.4), frontal 32 MP (f/2.2);
• Communications: USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC;
• Sound: stereo speakers;
• Battery: 4500 mAh, fast charging 25 W, wireless charging 15 W, reverse charging;
• Dimensions: 155.7 × 74.5 × 7.9 mm;
• Weight: 177 g.