Samsung Galaxy S20 FE hands-on: For the masses?

Every year Samsung increases the price of its Samsung Galaxy S series by a considerable amount. From the S10 to the S20 alone, the standard model rose from USD 899 to USD 999 and the S10 Plus on the S20 Plus from USD 999 to USD 1199. That is a lot.

Your other options from Samsung include the Note, Z Flip, and Z Fold series, which cost $ 1,000 or more each. Otherwise, you have the A-series, which is typically less than $ 400. This leaves a pretty big void in the $ 500 to $ 1,000 market segments aimed at people who want something premium but don’t want to spend $ 1,000 on it.

Enter the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

What is different with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE?

The “FE” in Galaxy S20 FE stands for “Fan Editon”. Supposedly, this means that it is intended for people who are fans of the Samsung brand but haven’t had the option to purchase an S20 at launch for price or other reasons. While the Galaxy S20 FE retains many of the same features as the regular S20 series, Samsung has made some improvements to bring the price down to $ 699.

The S20 FE looks strikingly similar to the standard S20 series, but the first thing you’ll likely notice is that it comes in one quantity more colors. There are six colors in total, each of which is quite eye-catching. Because of the advertising, Samsung is targeting the millennial crowd with this device, although I have a feeling someone would like the colors. I’m a big fan of the Cloud Orange color scheme, but Samsung has sent Android Authority the Cloud Navy color, and I think it looks great too.

However, with these new colors come some material changes to keep costs down. While the case of the original S20 was made of glass, the S20 FE is made of plastic (or as Samsung likes to call it, “glasstic”). Even so, I think it feels better than the glass on the Galaxy A51. The frosted material Samsung uses for this device makes it pretty high quality, although you know it’s cheaper just because it’s lighter than most high-end phones.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a larger display than the standard Galaxy S20, but a smaller display than the S20 Plus. It’s 6.5 inches tall and unlike the standard Galaxy S20, it has a chin at the bottom. Samsung also reduced the resolution from QHD + to FHD +. A flat panel display is also used opposite the curved panel on the S20. I really like flat displays, and this one looks and feels nice, but you might be disappointed if you like the curved display on the Galaxy S20.

The S20 FE also reduces the RAM to 6GB instead of the 8GB and 12GB models we saw in the S20 series.

The cameras are also a little different

The cameras have also changed in the S20 FE. This time we have three cameras on the back and one in the hole in the front. There is a standard 12MP lens, a 12MP wide angle lens, and a 64MP telephoto lens grouped in four to give an 8MP image. This isn’t the same as the S20’s optical telephoto lens, and it needs more light to get a similar looking image, but it’s nice to see the versatility here nonetheless. The front-facing camera is now 32 MP (versus 10 MP), but it loses the dual-phase detect autofocus we saw on the standard S20.

Since the main camera is a 12MP sensor, the S20 FE cannot record videos in 8K. To get that you will need around 33MP. Even so, the S20 FE still has many of the same camera functions from the S20 series, such as: B. Single-take mode, which takes a variety of different still images and video clips with one tap.

What’s the same with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE?

Given that Samsung is marketing this device as a cheaper alternative to the S20 series, you are probably wondering how much of the S20 you get in the S20 FE.

Probably the most important spec that the S20 FE maintains is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. This means that the performance of the S20 FE should increase just like the standard devices of the S20 series. We need to see if 6GB of RAM is enough to keep apps in memory as it bypasses the 2020 minimum for RAM capacity. In terms of overall performance, the S20 FE should perform roughly the same. Look forward to our independent tests soon.

Samsung has also kept the refresh rate of 120 Hz on the S20 FE. This is a big deal for people who want a phone that is fluid to the touch. It also uses a 4,500 mAh battery that matches the capacity of the S20 Plus. Given that this phone has a smaller, lower resolution display compared to this device, we hope the battery life will be even longer. We’ll have to wait one more time for our full review to confirm this.

In terms of storage, Samsung added 128GB of internal storage as the only option, but kept the expandable storage option up to 1TB.

They also have a lot of little things like IP68 water and dust resistance and wireless charging that are still not found in every device in this price range. That’s nice to see.

Does the value match the price?

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is priced at $ 699. While this isn’t exactly cheap, it fills the void Samsung left when its flagship devices crept over $ 1,000. While the low-end and ultra-premium markets are pretty busy right now, Samsung has room in the upper midfield to hold its own, and the S20 FE slots are quite well represented there.

I think the most uncomfortable thing about the S20 FE is the timing. Samsung devices rarely stay at full price for long, and now that the S20 series has been out for seven months, the price of these devices has come down significantly. At the time of publication, you can get a brand new Samsung Galaxy S20 unlocked for $ 672 on Amazon. This is cheaper than what Samsung is asking for the S20 FE. It would have made a lot more sense to bring this device out alongside the S20 series, as Samsung did with the cheaper Galaxy S10e last year.

Of course, the S20 FE has advantages. There are far more color options, battery life is likely to be better than the standard models, and Samsung’s trade-in offers when purchasing the device can be very tempting. Samsung gives you up to $ 500 off the device when you trade in the right phone. This can make the switch much more seamless. However, if you’re planning on getting one of these at full retail value, you might be better off grabbing an original S20 for less.

Pre-orders are now possible

If you want to get your hands on an S20 FE, pre-order it now. It will be available from October 2nd. You can unlock it at Samsung and other retailers, or go to your carrier’s store to grab one. Verizon will have an exclusive variant of the phone called the Galaxy S20 FE 5G UW, which costs $ 50 more.

In the UK, there will be both a 5G variant and a 4G-only variant. The 5G model costs £ 699 (~ $ 890) while the 4G model costs £ 599 (~ $ 763). In Europe, the 4G Galaxy S20 FE costs only 659 euros, while the 5G version costs 759 euros.

The real value of a device depends on its ease of use, of course, and we need to test the S20 FE a lot more before we can come to any conclusion. Look forward to our full review soon!