Samsung Galaxy S21 FE finally unveiled at CES 2022: coming Jan 11 for $699
It has been one of the most highly-anticipated phone releases in years, but the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has finally arrived. The phone was originally expected to launch in the Summer of 2021, but for various reasons, Samsung was forced to delay the announcement.
CES 2022 is serving as the perfect place for Samsung to unveil its latest handset. So what does the Galaxy S21 FE have to offer?
Galaxy S21 FE Specs
- Display: 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
- RAM: 6GB / 8GB
- Storage: 128GB / 256GB
- Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.2
- Rear Cameras: 12MP, f/1.8, OIS (main) / 12MP, f/2.2, 123-degree FoV (ultra-wide) / 8MP, f/2.4, OIS, 3x optical zoom (telephoto)
- Battery: 4,500mAh w/ 25W wired charging
- IP Rating: IP68
- Software: Android 12
- Extras: Fingerprint scanner / 30x Space Zoom / 120Hz Refresh Rate / NFC / 5G / 15W wireless charging / Wireless PowerShare
As expected the Galaxy S21 FE retains the look and feel of the rest of the Galaxy S21 lineup. This includes the design of the camera hump on the back, along with the hole-punch selfie camera at the top of the display.
To help differentiate the S21 FE from the rest of the lineup, Samsung is offering a couple of different colors. In addition to the black and white options, we also now have lavender and green to choose from, which match up with the colors found on the Galaxy Buds 2.
Under the 6.4-inch display, Samsung is bringing the heat when it comes to power. The Galaxy S21 FE uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, the same processor found in many of 2021’s best Android phones. This has been paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage.
Moving to the cameras, there’s a triple camera setup on the back, headlined by a 12MP wide-angle lens. This is accompanied by a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view, along with an 8MP telephoto lens providing 3x optical zoom and up to 30x Space Zoom.
Samsung is also packing in some cool and useful features to help make the camera experience even more enjoyable. This includes better processing for Night Mode which will now provide more details while reducing the noise thanks to the multi-frame processing.
Similar to Google’s Magic Eraser Mode on the Pixel 6, Samsung is offering Object Eraser with the Galaxy S21 FE. You’ll be able to snap a picture and quickly remove any objects or people from stealing the spotlight.
Battery life should be more than adequate thanks to the 4,500mAh cell built into the phone. Unfortunately, you won’t find any major improvements to charging speeds, as the S21 FE maxes out at 25W when using wires and 15W when charging wirelessly.
All of the specs look pretty great with the Galaxy S21 FE, but the biggest question that everyone will have comes down to price. Samsung will release the Galaxy S21 FE on January 11th with a starting price of $699. This may seem like a head-scratching decision, but even with stiff competition in the space, the Galaxy S20 FE performed extremely well at the same price.
We’ll have to wait until we can get our hands on the Galaxy S21 FE to see how it stacks up against the competition. But it definitely looks like Samsung has another big winner on its hands, kicking off 2022 on the right foot.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will go on sale on January 11 through Samsung.com and all major service providers in North America and Europe.