While you might be stuck waiting for the next official release in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S-series, the company isn’t holding back on a new affordable release. After nearly two years, the Korean smartphone giant is bringing back its Fan Edition series with the long-rumored, long-awaited Galaxy S23 FE. Launching asidea handful of other FE-branded products, this phone looks to rekindle the magic of 2020’s Galaxy S20 FE, while avoiding the pitfalls seen with that device’s successor.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 FE looks to combine everything that made its last couple of flagship phones great with an all-new lower price. If you’re okay giving up sacrificing performance for a couple hundred bucks in your pocket, the Galaxy S23 FE might be the phone to beat as we head towards the holiday shopping season.
Quick history lesson for those unfamiliar with Samsung’s Fan Edition lineup of smartphones. Although the branding has been used in other spaces — most infamously as arebranded Galaxy Note 7in select markets — its modern usage starts in the middle of the pandemic. On the heels of an expensive smartphone series that saw amassive sales slump, Samsung retooled theGalaxy S20 lineup with the S20 FE, a $600 variant that paired the best of its bigger brothers with a cheaper price.
The phone was a hit with consumers and critics alike — it sold over ten million units worldwide — but when it came time to do it all over again, the market had changed pretty drastically. Not only did theGalaxy S21 FEsee a massive delay, placing its release date just a few weeks shy of the Galaxy S22 lineup, but the $100 price increase left the phone in a weird spot. Why buy this model when you could pick up a standard Galaxy S21 for practically the same price on sale?
This is, of course, to say nothing of thePixel 6, which had entered the market a few months earlier to fill that $600 price point perfectly. This misstep seemingly left Samsung without a plan for the series moving forward, and after months of will-they-won’t-they rumors surrounding theGalaxy S22 FE’s fate, the phone was quietly snuffed, never to be heard from again.
But it’s a new year and a new generation, and just hours before Google is rumored toraise the price of its own Android flagshipsacross the board, Samsung is here to steal a little bit of the spotlight. The Galaxy S23 FE is a more affordable take on theGalaxy S23 series, with a screen size that fits perfectly between the regular and Plus-sized variants of those phones. With a $600 price tag, it could be set to replicate the success of the Galaxy S20 FE from three years ago, though consumers may have to put up with some mighty big compromises to save a couple hundred bucks.
I spent some time with the Galaxy S23 FE during a content capture event in New York last week, and I’ll say this: bezels aside, I don’t think most people will tell the difference between this device and the more premium Galaxy S23 series. That’s not to say I had any issues with the 6.4-inch display on this phone; rather, the bezels are what they are. The combination of an aluminum frame and the Gorilla Glass 5 back feel excellent, even if I wish this device used a matte finish like Samsung’s standard flagship lineup.
Despite utilizing the Galaxy S23’s branding, this phone’s specs feel more in line with the Galaxy S22 from 2022. That means pairing that excellent 6.4-inch 1080p 120Hz screen with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (or an Exynos 2200 in international models) and 6GB or 8GB of RAM. That’s unfortunate — neither of those chips are exceptional in either way, and while the issues with Exynos are well known, Qualcomm fixed a lot of problems with its mid-cycle Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. We’ve seen that chip in other budget smartphones this year, including the ThinkPhone from Motorola. Whether the Galaxy S23 FE will suffer from similar efficiency concerns as the Galaxy S22 remains to be seen, but I’d approach it cautiously.
We’ll have to wait on specific camera specs from Samsung, but based on what the company provided with us prior to today’s announcement, it seems like the sensor lineup here is similar to what’s on thestandard Galaxy S23. The 50MP f/1.8 primary lens sounds pretty similar on paper, though the 12MP F/2.2 ultrawide and 8MP F/2.4 3x telephoto lens seem like slight downgrades. Obviously, we’ll have to try them out to really see how each sensor compares to the mainline S23 series.
In my brief hands-on time, I walked away from the Galaxy S23 FE cautiously optimistic. It doesn’t seem like this device is going to blow anyone’s mind, but in a year where Google is likely just hours away from stepping outside the budget flagship space for something a little more premium, it’s great to see Samsung taking another shot at it. If you can get by with a hotter, less efficient processor, this phone might bring back the feelings of the S20 FE from three years ago.
The Galaxy S23 FE comes in four standard colors — mint, purple, cream, and graphite — along with Samsung.com exclusives in indigo and tangerine. It’s available starting October 26th from T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and UScellular. You’ll also be able to find it at the retailer of your choice.
Samsung’s newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S23 FE packages together power and performance to bring you the latest, and most affordable smartphone in the S23 lineup. With a smart battery, optimized camera, and seamless connectivity, the Galaxy S23 FE provides you with everything you need, at a great price.
