It also starts at a hefty PHP 36,990
Samsung, after months of leaks, has finally revealed the FE series of devices. These include the Galaxy Buds FE, Galaxy Tab S9/S9+ FE, and of course, the Galaxy S23 FE. Originally, “FE” stood for “Fan Edition” and it started after the Galaxy Note 7 saga wherein a refurbished variant of the phone, named Galaxy Note FE, was released. In many aspects, the phone is similar to the Galaxy S23 series, excluding the Ultra.
For this article, we’re going to discuss the Galaxy S23 FE. The latter three will be for another.
The Galaxy S23 FE serves as the replacement of the Galaxy A7x line as that has been discontinued since the A73, most likely for streamlining reasons. It features a similar, if not exact, design as the Galaxy S23 Plus. It does feel a little different than what the Galaxy A series offers. One difference is that this phone is treated like a flagship instead of a midranger.
Its main feature is the 4nm Exynos 2200 chipset. Though in the US, it uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Both of these have quite a few problems on their own, mostly related to optimization. Both chipsets are fabricated in-house by Samsung and at this point, the Exynos chips have become the laughingstock of the phone community due to issues regarding heating and that it performs much more poorly than its competitors. The phone comes with 8GB RAM and a choice between 128 or 256B storage.
The phone has a legitimate triple camera system. This includes the same 50MP OIS camera as with the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, a 12MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto camera with OIS and 2x optical zoom. In turn, the selfie camera is on the weaker side, if we’re going by specs. It’s only 10MP after all.
It uses a 6.4-inch 2x Dynamic AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and FullHD+ (2340x1080px) resolution, a similar display is seen on the Galaxy S23.
Finally, the battery. The phone’s battery has a 4500mAh capacity, typical for almost all smartphones. It comes with 25W fast charging which is Samsung’s standard rate. It also has wireless charging with the same rate. The phone has 5G connectivity, an IP68 rating, NFC, and non-expandable storage. It also runs on OneUI 5.1 based on Android 13, and just like its more powerful siblings, it will also be treated with the 4+3 Android upgrade system. (4 years of security updates, 3 years of Android upgrades).
The phone is designed to be a watered down version of the Galaxy S23. The Galaxy S23 FE, for instance, uses a weaker front camera without autofocus features. There is minimal between difference between this and the regular Galaxy S23. At least both phones use USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, unlike the iPhone which uses a dated USB-C 2.0 standard.
There are four colour choices for the FE: Mint, Cream, Purple, and Graphite. In the Philippines, the phone is initially priced at PHP 36,990 (8/128). The 256GB variant is priced at PHP 39,990.
SPECS:
- 6.4″ FullHD+ (2340x1080px) 2x Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
- IP68 dust/water resistance
- Samsung Exynos 2200 (4nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, OIS, AF, UHD (8K@24fps) video
- 12MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2
- 8MP (Telephoto), f/2.4, 3x optical zoom, 30x digital zoom, OIS
- FRONT: 10MP, f/2.4
- OneUI 5.1 based on Android 13
- 4500mAh, 25W fast charging
- 25W fast wireless charging
- USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, In-display fingerprint scanner
- 5G services, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.3, Stereo Speakers
- Mint, Purple, Cream, Graphite
- PRICE:
- 8/128: PHP 36,990
- 8/256: PHP 39,990
The Galaxy S23 FE would be available for purchase on October 20th. You know what else is available on October 20th? The new iPhone 15 series! Samsung has a high level of bravery for releasing a phone at the same time as the iPhones.
Source: Samsung