The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a smartphone with near-flagship specs and a $699 starting price, which makes it… about $100 cheaper than a phone with nearly identical specs that launched a year ago.
In a nutshell, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a slightly cheaper Galaxy S21… which would have made a lot more sense if it had launched months ago, as expected. But instead it’s launching at a time when you can often find the Samsung Galaxy S21 on sale for below its list price… and at a time when the phone’s Snapdragon 888 processor is no longer the hot new thing (perhaps literally).
Anyway, the phone has a slightly larger, slighter lower-resolution display than the original Galaxy S21, has an entry-level configuration with just 6GB of RAM instead of 8GB, and features a similar camera system except that the telephoto camera has a lower resolution on the S21 FE, while the selfie camera captures four times as many pixels.
The Galaxy S21 FE keeps a lot of key features including a 120 Hz AMOLED display, IP68 water resistance, support for 25W fast charging and 15W fast wireless charging, and picks up a slightly larger battery which could lead to longer run time.
Possibly the best thing about the phone though, is that it’s a year newer than other members of the Galaxy S21 family. Since the new model ships with Android 12 and should receive major Android updates for at least three years, that means that it should be supported at least until Android 15 is available, while the other phones in this series could end their lives running Android 14.
Here’s how the new Galaxy S21 FE stacks up against other members of the Galaxy S21 family:
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE | Samsung Galaxy S21 5G | Samsung Galaxy S21 5G | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G | |
Display | 6.4 inch 2340 x 1080 pixel 412 ppi AMOLED 120 Hz | 6.2 inch 2400 x 1080 pixel 421 ppi AMOLED 120 Hz | 6.7 inch 2400 x 1080 pixel 394 ppi AMOLED 120 Hz | 6.8 inch 3200 x 1400 pixel 515 ppi 120 Hz |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888Â (US) Samsung Exynos 2100 (global) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888Â (US) Samsung Exynos 2100 (global) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888Â (US) Samsung Exynos 2100 (global) |
RAM | 6GB 8GB | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB 16GB |
Storage | 128GB 256GB | 128GB 256GB | 128GB 256GB | 128GB 256GB 512GB |
Rear cameras | 12MP primary (f/1.8) 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) 8MP 3X telephoto (f/2.4) | 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8) 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) 64MP telephoto (f/2.0) | 12MP wide-angle (f/1.8) 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) 64MP telephoto (f/2.0) | 108MP wide angle (f/1.8) 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) 10MP 3X telephoto (f/2.4) 10MP 10X telephoto (f/4.9) |
Front camera | 32MP (f/2.2) | 10MP wide-angle (f/2.2) | 10MP wide-angle (f/2.2) | 40MP wide-angle (f/2.2) |
Battery | 4,500 mAh | 4,000 mAh | 4,800 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
Charging | 25W fast (wired) 15W fast (wireless) Wireless PowerShare | 25W fast (wired) 15W fast (wireless) Wireless PowerShare | 25W fast (wired) 15W fast (wireless) Wireless PowerShare | 25W fast (wired) 15W fast (wireless) Wireless PowerShare |
Connectivity | 5G WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 NFC | 5G WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 NFC | 5G WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 NFC | 5G WiFi 6E Bluetooth 5.0 NFC |
S-Pen support? | No | No | No | Yes |
Colors | Olive Lavendar White Graphite | Grey White Pink Violet | Silver Black Violet | Silver Black |
Dimensions | 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm | 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm | 161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm | 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm |
Weight | 177 grams | 171 grams | 202 grams | 228 grams |
List Price (at launch) | $699 and up | $799 and up | $999 and up | $1199 and up |