The Galaxy S21 FE updates the display with the S21’s screen panel, a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with native HDR10+ support and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The Galaxy S20 FE’s Super AMOLED was initially released with HDR 10 features, which was disappointing at the time, but these were enabled later in 2021. Next is performance, and quite predictably, the Galaxy S21 FE has the same hardware as the rest of the S21 series, namely the Snapdragon 888 or Exynos 2100 chipset.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Design
Samsung’s new S21 FE is a budget-friendly phone with a contour-cut camera module. It has a flat display, thin metal frame, and a plastic back that flows seamlessly into the camera island. The back is matte plastic with a soft finish, but it doesn’t feel cheap. ..
The Galaxy S21 FE is available in a variety of attractive colors, including white, lavender, graphite, and olive. Turning to button placement, the volume rocker and power button are on the right edge of the smartphone, the USB Type-C port, primary microphone, speaker grille, and hybrid dual-SIM tray on the bottom, secondary microphone on top.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Display
The Galaxy S21 FE is a 6.4-inch FULL HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display supporting 120Hz refresh rate and a central punch hole for the 32MP front camera. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus; unlike the S20FE, the S21 FE has evenly thin bezels on all sides. Next, you can choose to set the display to a 60 Hz refresh rate or leave it at 120 Hz (High); there is no support for adaptive refresh rates OneUI offers a variety of display settings to suit your preferences.
OneUI offers a variety of display settings to choose from, depending on your preference. The Galaxy S21 FE has an AMOLED panel that is known for its bright, vibrant colors and deep blacks. It is a great panel that is quite bright even outdoors and offers a great overall experience. ..
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Software
The software runs well and offers a Samsung-like experience with plenty of shortcuts and customization. However, the frame rate of the interface randomly drops and gestures and animations seem very choppy. This will be fixed after a while. This happened several times when we started reviewing phones and also after applying the first OTA update. We will have to wait and see if more people report this bug, as it may be an issue with my device only. ..
Hardware and Performance
The Snapdragon 888 is a well-known chip in the S21 FE phone. This chip delivers fast performance and supports features such as 4K video recording on all of the phone’s cameras. However, the S21 FE has only 6GB of RAM while the regular S21 has 8GB, which sometimes made the FE seem slower, such as when processing night mode photos.
The main difference between the iPhone SE and the newer iPhones is that the SE has a less powerful A12 Bionic chip, which means it can’t do as much as the newer iPhones when it comes to memory-intensive tasks, such as gaming or video editing. So if you’re looking for a phone that can do more with its limited resources, the 8GB model of the iPhone SE is probably not going to be enough.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Camera
The Galaxy S21 FE retains the 12MP main camera found on the Galaxy S20 FE, with an updated 12MP ultrawide lens and an 8MP telephoto lens. The latter offers a 30x space zoom, which is a significant improvement over the 20x space zoom of the S20 FE. ..
The Galaxy S21 FE has an 8MP telephoto lens, which is the biggest trade-off between it and the Galaxy S21 Plus. The S21 Plus had a higher-resolution telephoto camera, specifically with a 64MP sensor. However, the Galaxy S21 FE has a much smaller sensor, so photos taken with the telephoto lens on it will look a bit sharper than those obtained from the Galaxy S21 Plus.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Battery life
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a 4,500mAh battery capacity as the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, but unfortunately, the HD video battery loop test did not fare much better. We were unable to; the device ran for only 11 hours and 44 minutes, while the Galaxy S20 FE 5G with the Snapdragon 865 SoC completed over 18 hours.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE 4G has a significantly shorter runtime than the Galaxy S20 with the Exynos 990 SoC. This model can be used for a variety of purposes, but will last less than 13 hours in the loop test. This includes playing small games, using social apps, and taking photos. ..
Price and Availability
The Galaxy S21 FE is a really good phone that’s on sale now for just £699. It has a lot of features and is really powerful, so if you want a phone that can handle all your needs, this is the one for you.
The Galaxy S21 is a year old now, and it’s possible that it’s nearing the end of its life. However, at the time of writing this review, the Galaxy S21 seems to be out of stock at many retailers. As for contract pricing, the S21 FE starts at £35 a month with Carphone Warehouse.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S21 FE is a great phone that retains the best features of the flagship phones at a more modest price. The trade-off you have to make to save $100 is the biggest sacrifice, as it affects battery life. However, the lack of an adaptive display is not a major one, as it can affect battery life.
That said, the Galaxy S22 is a solid phone that offers performance on par with top Android flagships from a year ago and rivals some of the best camera phones we’ve tested. However, don’t just compare it to previous models; the Galaxy S22, as its name implies, is jet black. This casts a very large shadow that the Galaxy S21 FE cannot escape. Even at a $100 higher price, the Galaxy S22 is better value than the Galaxy S21 FE. ..
