Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Review: Price Drop is Coming
Aiming to provide enthusiast consumers with flagship-level smartphone capabilities at mid-range costs, Samsung developed the “Fan Edition” or FE line of smartphones. With the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Samsung has hit the nail on the head, and there isn’t much space for improvement. We have the Galaxy S21 FE 5G in this year’s lineup, which Samsung believes will be another runaway hit in the FE smartphone category. Even though, as I’ve previously said in my first impressions of the phone, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a minor upgrade that doesn’t significantly improve the FE experience, it will be a crucial addition to Samsung’s portfolio once the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is phased out. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has all the makings of a superb bargain flagship, but is it the perfect moment to invest in one of the most advanced smartphones available?
Design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Technology
When comparing the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G to its predecessor, the design is the most visible difference between the two. Because of the ‘contour-cut’ design of the back camera module, this phone seems to be a continuation of the Galaxy S21 line of smartphones. However, in contrast to the S21 series, the cameras’ cladding is made of plastic rather than metal, and it does not extend beyond the metal frame of the cameras. In addition, my Graphite color unit has a matte surface, making it seem tedious, but I’m confident the Olive, Lavender, and White trimmings will brighten things up a little. Overall, this phone seems to be of high quality, and while the rear panel is still plastic, it should be more resistant to cracking if dropped than glass.
Another difference that isn’t immediately noticeable is weight. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G weighed 190g, while the Galaxy S21 FE 5G weighs just 177g, which will be welcomed by many customers who are used to lighter smartphones. When combined with a thin 7.9mm profile and rounded corners on all sides, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G is an enjoyable phone to use and operate with one hand. The body is made of aluminum, and the buttons along the right side give a satisfying tactile feel to them. On the bottom of the phone, you’ll find a twin Nano-SIM tray as well as a USB Type-C connector, but there’s no headphone jack or microSD card slot. The Galaxy S20 FE 5G did allow for storage expansion via a microSD card, but this is not the case with this model, which is regrettable. Considering how many mid-range phones have dropped support for expandable storage in recent years, I’m not shocked. However, Samsung does offer a higher-capacity 256GB model for individuals who want even more storage space. On the other hand, some people are likely to be dissatisfied with the experience.
The AMOLED display on the 6.4-inch device is brilliant and offers an excellent degree of brightness. It boasts a max refresh rate of 120Hz and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for added durability. The glass is flat, which makes it much simpler to use, but the edges of the front panel are very gently curved to meet the sides and back of the device, which increases the comfort of holding it in one’s hand. An in-display fingerprint sensor and facial recognition are available for biometric identification on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Unlocking this phone using a fingerprint is the fastest method available. However, face recognition is a little sluggish and doesn’t function well in the dark unless you hold the phone very near your face to activate it. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G’s packaging has also been lightened since the company no longer includes a charger in the package with the smartphone. A SIM eject tool and a USB Type-C to Type-C connection are the only accessories included, fitting for a flagship. It will be possible to rapidly charge the Galaxy S21 FE 5G at up to 25W using a high-wattage USB PD power converter. It is not very fast compared to what is currently achievable, but it is enough.
Specifications and Software for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
An update to the SoC often accompanies a new smartphone model, and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is no exception, sporting the same Exynos 2100 SoC seen in the company’s top S21 series. It’s a strong SoC that has performed well in previous Samsung models, and it does a commendable job running Android 12 on the Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Alternatively, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor is used in certain worldwide varieties of this phone, which we were expecting to see in the Pakistani editions. However, some disappointed fans will be due to this decision, as has been the case in previous years. The Exynos 2100 supports many 5G bands, which will be helpful when 5G becomes widely available in Pakistan. It also supports standard wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, and NFC for Samsung Pay, among other things. This phone also has a wireless Dex mode, which allows you to share material to a bigger screen and use it much like a computer.
With dual speakers that support Dolby Atmos, IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, and wireless charging, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a powerful smartphone. The phone is powered by OneUI 4.0, built on top of Android 12. The playback of the HDR10 video is supported. Google’s material may be found in traces. Although you may see your design language in the menus and widgets, the overall experience is still very much One UI and nothing like the Android sharing experience you’d get on a Pixel smartphone.
The software performed well, and the whole experience was typical of Samsung, with lots of shortcuts and customizations to experiment with. Although I didn’t detect any bugs, I did note that the interface’s frame rate would sometimes fall, making motions and animations seem choppy. After a time, the situation would right itself. During my first assessment of the phone and after implementing the first OTA update, I saw it a few times. This might be a problem with my particular equipment, so we’ll have to wait and see whether other folks have this problem.
The Performance and Battery Life of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G are Excellent
Since I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G, I’ve found it to be precisely what I anticipated — a no-nonsense bargain flagship that does everything you ask of it and does it very well. One of the things I enjoyed the most was how light it was, which made it incredibly pleasant to carry in my pocket or in my hand. People who often carry two phones will undoubtedly enjoy this much more as a result. The matte surface on the back of the phone and the glossy display did gather some fingerprints, but not many of them were noticeable. There were no scuff marks on the body, even without a case, which is a positive indicator. Outdoors, the display is readable, and the phone’s touch responsiveness is responsive. It was sometimes tricky for the auto-brightness to adjust to the surrounding light, but this wasn’t common in my experience.
The multimedia performance was also excellent. This capability is recognized by applications such as Netflix, compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G’s HDR10 playback capability. The games performed well, with smooth frame rates and visually appealing graphics. Even though the game’s frame rates were steady even at the highest graphical option available, Call of Duty: Mobile was a lot of fun to play! The same may be said about Asphalt 9: Legends. After 15–20 minutes of constant gaming, the back of the phone began to feel a bit hot to the touch. However, the dual speakers provide excellent sound quality, both when gaming and viewing films. In addition, the benchmark statistics were terrific. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G achieved 7,28,951 points in AnTuTu and 1,087 and 3,245 points in Geekbench 5’s single and multi-core tests. The device also scored well in AnTuTu and Geekbench 5.
This leads us to the subject of battery life. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has the same 4,500mAh battery capacity as the Galaxy S20 FE 5G; however, it did not do well in our HD video battery loop test as the Galaxy S20 FE 5G. Compared to the Galaxy S20 FE 5G with the Snapdragon 865 SoC, which operated for more than 18 hours, the phone only lasted 11 hours and 44 minutes. In our loop test, the 4G version of the Galaxy S20 FE, which was powered by the Exynos 990 SoC (the flagship of the S20 series), had a much shorter lifetime of fewer than 13 hours, which was coincidental. On the other hand, the phone performed well in a variety of situations, and I was able to go through a whole day on most days with a single charge. This includes some gaming, social media applications, and the shooting of photographs. It’s worth noting that charging the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is not the fastest we’ve seen, but it is respectable. OnePlus WarpCharge 65T power brick, which is capable of 45W USB PD charging, was employed in this experiment. As a result, the device charged this phone to 83 percent of its capacity in one hour.
Cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G’s camera specifications are almost identical to its predecessor, the Galaxy S20. In terms of imaging, there’s a 12-megapixel primary camera with optical stabilization and an f/1.8 aperture on the back and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 32-megapixel selfie camera on the front of the phone. There’s also a 3.5-inch touchscreen display on the show. Its camera UI and shooting options are similar to those seen on previous Samsung flagship devices. One thing to remember is that there is no macro option since there is no specialized macro camera and because the ultra-wide camera lacks focusing, it cannot photograph extreme close-ups.
On the phone’s display, images taken throughout the day seemed rich and colorful. The level of detail is excellent, the colors are rich and saturated, and Samsung’s post-processing did a fantastic job clearing out the noise. The primary camera also did close-ups quite well, producing a beautiful background blur. In addition, the autofocus was responsive and adaptable. It is possible to capture a single shot by pressing the shutter button quickly, recording a video by pressing the button repeatedly and shooting a burst of photos using the right-swipe motion (when holding the phone in landscape).
The ultra-wide camera caught fewer details than the standard camera, but it is essential since it allows you to capture some intriguing viewpoints of your topic. However, the quality of the telephoto camera diminished significantly once the digital zoom was increased past 10X. With this camera, you may get a maximum hybrid zoom level of 30X. When there was insufficient light, the camera app’s scene optimizer automatically switched to Night mode, which produced a brighter picture. When shooting in low light, objects in the viewfinder were grainy, but the final processed picture was far better. I was even able to get passable images with the ultra-wide camera while using Night Mode.
The selfie camera-generated excellent results when used throughout the day and in low light. The quality of the details and the accuracy of the colors were superb. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G delivers a commendable job in video recording as well. Stabilization was excellent during the day and night, with just slight jitter visible in the footage. The audio in the recordings was likewise excellent. In addition, this phone’s front and back cameras can capture films at up to 4K 60 frames per second, which is rather astounding. Generally speaking, the general camera experience is comparable to that of the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, which is to say that they are pretty reliable.
Final Thoughts
By itself, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a beautiful bargain flagship from Samsung, and it deserves to be recognized as such. Although the price has increased, it is still one of the few phones in this class to provide premium features like wireless charging and IP68 waterproofing, despite the improved performance and feature set. The Galaxy S21 FE effectively kills the Galaxy S21, which does not represent a significant value proposition at its current pricing. There were a handful of areas where I believed Samsung might have done a better job with the Galaxy S21 FE 5G. They were the following: While having the ability to extend storage would have been fantastic, having a charger included would have been even better, and battery life, particularly while watching videos, could have been improved. If any of these minor annoyances are a source of frustration for you, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is the device to consider. Because the price of this phone is at an all-time low of Rs. 36,999, there has never been a better opportunity to get this device.
If you haven’t already taken advantage of the launch deal and purchased the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, I’d argue that the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is a significantly better value at the time of writing. It’s almost identical to the current model, so you’re not missing out on anything by not upgrading. Although purchasing the Galaxy S21 FE 5G will make more sense once its price decreases and the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is taken off of the market, I’d advocate purchasing the older model instead until that time comes around.
