The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has flagship specs at a mid-range price

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has flagship specs at a mid-range price
(Image credit: Samsung)

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is just weeks away, but even Samsung itself can't wait until then for some new phone action. Behold the Galaxy S21 FE. Like all FE (Fan Edition) models, it's essentially last year's flagship slightly tweaked and with a lower price.

Let's see what's changed.

The short answer: not very much. The S21 FE has a slightly larger screen than the Galaxy S21 (6.4 inches to 6.2), and is a little taller and wider to allow for it. It's a little heavier too, with a bigger battery that charges 50 per cent in just 30 minutes. It also has 6GB of RAM to the S21's 8GB.

Other than that, it's practically the same phone. It has the same AMOLED screen technology with a 120Hz refresh rate, simultaneous front and back photo capture and the same 128GB and 256GB storage options. It also has the identical killer camera set-up that earned lavish praise in our review.

It also ships with Android 12, and has a night mode photography feature that's more advanced than that on the S20 FE.

The S21 FE is available from 11th January and costs £699 / $699 / AU$999 – that's £70 (or $100 / AU$249) cheaper than the standard S21. But will the S22 be the better buy? There's not long to wait now...

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Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.