Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Review

With Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup due out in only a couple days, I’m sitting right here questioning: What precisely is the purpose of the corporate’s new Galaxy S21 Fan Version? There appears to be no component of fan service to it in anyway, and I can’t think about what devoted Samsung consumer would pull the set off on this cellphone at this time only for a barely lower cost.

The Galaxy S21 FE 5G isn’t a nasty smartphone by any means. But it surely does really feel such as you’re scraping the underside of the barrel (a pleasant barrel, however a barrel nonetheless). Some individuals is likely to be OK with that, however with the smaller Google Pixel 6 providing a greater digicam for $100 much less, it’s important to actually need a Samsung cellphone to decide on this “fan version.”

A Completely Wonderful Design

If I can respect one factor about Samsung’s gadgets, the {hardware} at all times feels premium even when it’s decidedly not. Samsung’s designs stand out from the ocean of Androids, and the Galaxy S21 FE continues in that vein with a stacked rear triple-camera array, which rumors inform us we’re going to lose with the subsequent era of Galaxy telephones.

Regardless of its “fan version” moniker, this model of Samsung’s flagship appears cheaper than the opposite Galaxy S21 fashions. There’s no fancy trim across the smartphone’s edges, and the again cowl appears like only a mere plastic shell. On the very least, it’s matte-like, so the cellphone isn’t slipping and sliding round just like the OnePlus 9 and Pixel 6 smartphones when it’s on a desk. The S21 FE is available in a number of colours, together with purple, olive inexperienced, and white. I examined it in black, although it seems darkish grey in individual.

The Galaxy S21 FE 5G has all the identical options because the Galaxy S21 in the identical locations. The quantity rocker and energy button are each on the fitting facet of the machine, and the speaker grill and SIM tray are on the backside. The entrance facet includes a practically edge-to-edge 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED show, which makes it the goldilocks of Galaxy gadgets in case you thought the Galaxy S21+’s 6.7-inch display screen was too huge and the Galaxy S21’s 6.2-inch display screen was too small. There’s solely a tiny sliver of bezel, so your cradling thumb isn’t activating the display screen. There’s additionally an in-display fingerprint sensor. It really works advantageous, although it appears to be explicit about the way you place your thumb.

The Galaxy S21 FE additionally has a 120Hz refresh fee, which makes issues look good and clean. I like watching movies on this smartphone—even my 720p TV exhibits look good on the Galaxy S21 FE. The stereo audio system are loud sufficient to listen to the dialogue on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 one room over.

Sacrifices Add Up

Nowadays, you’ll be able to sometimes gauge how good an Android smartphone is by its specs. The Galaxy 21 FE 5G sports activities Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor, the chip that powered most of 2021’s Android flagships. However now we’re in 2022, and new processors are coming by means of the pipeline—for Android, that’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In case you purchase this cellphone now, ask your self in case you’re okay with residing with final 12 months’s {hardware}.

The opposite factor to contemplate is that the Galaxy S21 FE solely comes with 6GB of RAM. That’s mid-range residing in case you’re an Android consumer, and there’s a barely noticeable efficiency distinction within the day-to-day between this machine and the OnePlus 9 I take advantage of day by day, which has the identical processor paired with 8GB of RAM. It’s minimal, however the distinction crops up in minuscule methods, like whether or not an animation is stuttering or fluid in intensive apps like Pokémon Go.

On artificial benchmarks, the Galaxy S21 FE’s numbers had been on par with Samsung’s foldable telephones, which have the identical processor. So whereas it’s succesful, there shall be instances when it received’t really feel as snappy as in case you had extra reminiscence reminiscence. As for its battery efficiency, the Galaxy S21 FE lasted 13 hours and 29 minutes in our rundown take a look at. The 4,500 mAh battery presents loads of battery life.

Don’t Zoom In Too A lot

The Galaxy S21 FE has a triple-lens rear digicam array: a 12-MP wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture; one other 12-MP ultra-wide digicam with an f/2.2 aperture, and an 8-MP telephoto digicam with an f/2.4 aperture. There’s a 32-MP selfie digicam on the entrance with an f/2.2 aperture, which I nonetheless suppose is just too excessive decision for a digicam that’s alleged to seize your face.

The photographs I took with the Galaxy S21 FE had been advantageous. The cellphone saved up with my toddler in the course of the daytime and captured broody night photographs with its low-light capabilities. However I’m critically contemplating the purpose of the rear zoom lens, because it induced me probably the most hassle throughout testing.

Samsung swapped out the 64-MP macro sensor on the Galaxy S21 for this 8-MP one, so photographs taken with its 3x optical zoom aren’t very sharp—and that was with the help of a tripod. Something zoomed in previous the optical size appeared too grainy to share publicly. I examined it towards the Pixel 6 Professional with a 48-MP lens and a 4x optical zoom (a lens that’s not on the cheaper Pixel 6).

I’ve at all times been somewhat miffed with Samsung’s cameras, normally due to the overprocessing of the ultimate product. The Fan Version isn’t any completely different.

Pictures taken within the daylight had been crisp and clear however tackle a blue tinge on extraordinarily sunny days. It’s particularly obvious with the identical image taken by the Pixel 6 Professional, which tends to downplay the colour in favor of bumping up element. In some instances, the Galaxy S21 FE photograph of a scene would have extra blown-out components than the one shot with the Pixel 6 Professional.

I additionally noticed this overprocessing come into play whereas zooming in to a rapidly-moving object. I took two subsequent photographs of a flag flapping within the wind, and each instances there was a blob of what appears like unprocessed pixels floating across the scene. It appeared like anti-aliasing, and it was not one thing I may crop out of the photograph.

The nighttime capabilities of the Galaxy S21 FE had been additionally common when it comes to efficiency, as a result of it doesn’t have the Pixel 6’s smarts. The Pixel 6 digicam system routinely switches into an prolonged publicity mode when it senses it’s on a tripod, which helps seize detailed photographs at evening. You have got guide capabilities with the Galaxy S21 FE inside its digicam app to do the identical, however you don’t have entry to the identical algorithms.

Within the digicam instance above, the Pixel 6 Professional’s digicam stayed open for 4 minutes and captured a ton of element. You possibly can even see a aircraft flying by within the distance and texture within the hills. The Galaxy S21 FE’s evening mode stopped in need of that element. The result’s a darker evening shot tinged with inexperienced.

Not Precisely Made for Followers

One bonus is that Samsung presents the most recent model of Android proper out of the field, with Samsung’s One UI 4 layered on high of Android 12. Samsung has promised as much as 4 years of safety updates on its smartphones, so in case you can dwell with the Galaxy S21 FE’s digicam for that lengthy, it has that going for it.

One UI does have its personal quirks. You received’t have entry to the Materials You theming capabilities that Google debuted on Android 12, for instance. Nonetheless, there are different little options you would possibly like (or hate), together with the slide-out dock that hides within the nook of the display screen the place you’ll be able to pin apps and issues. There’s additionally a function that permits you to hyperlink your Home windows PC together with your Samsung machine.

The Galaxy S21 FE 5G could also be for Samsung super-fans, but it surely’s arriving manner too late and with too few options to make it price shopping for. With the Galaxy S22 launching quickly with a a slew of recent options, together with what’s going to most likely be higher nighttime photo-taking skills, you’re higher off ready a short while longer than spending $700 on this repackaged however in the end underwhelming flagship.