All the rumours and leaks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Why you can trust Pocket-lint (Pocket-lint) — Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series hit shelves at the beginning of 2021 but despite nearly a year having passed, there are still plenty of rumours circulating about the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition, or Galaxy S21 FE. The Galaxy S21 FE would succeed the excellent Galaxy S20 FE, likely hitting the sweet spot between price and features once again. Here is everything we have heard so far. Release date and price 11 January 2022? Cheaper than Galaxy S21 The Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition model was revealed in September 2020 and made available in October 2020, though so far, no Samsung Galaxy S21 FE hasn’t been revealed despite numerous leaks. There has been talk of a CES 2022 launch, which takes place in January, and there’s also been the mention of 11 January, which is just after CES and appearing to be looking the most likely. In terms of price, we’d expect the Galaxy S21 FE to sit below the Galaxy S21 if it appears. The Galaxy S20 FE starts at £599 in the UK for the 4G model — it isn’t available in the US — with the 5G model costing £699 in the UK and $599 in the US, so we would expect a similar ballpark for the Galaxy S21 FE. Reports suggest the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will cost £699 for the 128GB variant, or €769, and £749 for the 256GB model, or €839. squirrel_widget_2682132 Design Similar to Galaxy S21 series Plastic IP68 rating likely 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE featured a design similar to the Galaxy S20 series, but made a couple of changes in order to reduce the price, like a plastic rear instead of glass. The Galaxy S21 FE is expected to do the same but with a design similar to the Galaxy S21 and S21+. Rumours claim it will come in grey, pink, violet, green, blue and white colours, with the violet having leaked by Samsung itself, as well as the Olive green colour. It’s likely to be water resistant, as the Galaxy S20 FE was and as a leaked user manual suggests, and we’d expect a flat display. Based on multiple leaked renders, the camera housing on the rear of the S21 FE will fall into the frame, as it does on the Galaxy S21, but it will be an overall more traditional and simpler design. The housing also appears to be the same colour as the rest of the rear rather than a different colour like the Galaxy S21. It’s also been claimed there is no microSD card slot and no 3.5mm headphone jack. Display 6.4-inches Full HD+ 120Hz refresh rate likely The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a 6.5-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution, though rumours claim the Galaxy S21 FE will have a 6.4-inch screen with a Full HD+ resolution (2340 x 1080). That still puts it in between the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ in terms of size though. Both the S21 and S21+ have a Full HD+ display too and both come with a variable 120Hz refresh rate. As the Galaxy S20 FE retained the 120Hz refresh rate of the Galaxy S20 series, it is likely the S21 FE will also offer the faster refresh rate, though it’s unclear if it will offer variable refresh rate. A flat display is also likely for the Galaxy S21 FE, along with a centralised punch hole front camera. It’s also likely to be a Super AMOLED panel. Hardware and specs Qualcomm Snapdragon 888,8GB RAM 128GB/256GB storage options 5G Rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will come in 128GB and 256GB storage options, like its predecessor. As mentioned, it’s been suggested the S21 FE won’t offer microSD support for storage expansion, which the Galaxy S21 and S21+ don’t either. Reports claim it will be a 5G device, which we’d expect, though it isn’t clear if there will be a 4G LTE model too as there is with the Galaxy S20 FE. It is also said to run on Android 11. Rumours suggest the Galaxy S21 FE will run on the Qualcomm Snapdrgon 888 or the Eyxnos 2100, depending on the region, like the Galaxy S21 series. There have been reports 6GB of RAM — a little less than the Galaxy S21 — 8GB RAM, and there’s been mention of 12GB RAM too. Battery capacity is claimed to be 4370mAh — although there’s also been a report of 4500mAh — and it’s said the S21 FE will offer support for 25W fast charging, though it’s not yet clear whether the charger itself will be included in the box. Camera Triple rear camera (32MP or 64MP + 12MP + 8MP) 12MP or 32MP front The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE featured a triple rear camera with the same main camera as the Galaxy S21+. It dropped the resolution of the telephoto camera and upped the resolution of the front camera. It also has the same resolution ultra wide camera as the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ but with smaller pixels.
