Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: What we know (June 8)

Update, June 8, 2021 (1:40 p.m. ET): We have a slew of new leaked renders for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. They show off five unique color options for the device, which is certainly exciting. Read on for the latest!

Original article: In 2020, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (which stands for “Fan Edition”) surprised us at how good it was. In fact, it was so good that it won our 2020 Best of Android Editor’s Choice Award. With this kind of pedigree behind the phone, it’s no surprise that we’re really excited about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.

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The problem Samsung is facing this year is the existence of the regular Galaxy S21. It costs just $ 100 more than the Galaxy S20 FE and offers many very similar specs. It’s possible that Samsung painted itself in a corner and the Galaxy S21 FE could just be a Galaxy S21 with only very subtle changes.

With that in mind, below is everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE so far. Be sure to bookmark this page! We’ll update it with new rumors and confirmed information as we get closer to the launch date.

Name and date of publication

Samsung has not officially confirmed that it will launch a device called the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE this year. However, there was several pieces of information that make it a safe bet.

Initially, in 2020, Samsung committed itself to releasing “Fan Editions” of its most important flagships every year. Of course, the company could take that promise back, but that strongly suggests we’ll see a Galaxy S21 FE. Next, the Samsung website briefly referred to a phone with that name. Well this could have been a simple typo, but it adds weight to the idea that this phone is on its way.

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Finally, we’ve seen a leaked roadmap of Samsung’s plans for product launches in 2021, and the Galaxy S21 FE is on the list. The roadmap suggests that the start date could be August 19, 2021. That fits pretty well when the company launched the Galaxy S20 FE (September 23, 2020). Keep in mind that Samsung launched the main Galaxy S21 series much earlier this year than in previous years. Therefore, introducing the FE by a month makes perfect sense.

Right now it’s a very safe bet that we’ll be launching a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE this August.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: design

Last year, the Galaxy S20 FE looked very similar to the Galaxy S20 range. This year, we expect Samsung to do the same with the 2021 iteration.

Thanks to the reliable speaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks), we already have a solid idea of ​​what the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE could look like. And to no surprise, it looks very similar to the Vanilla Galaxy S21. Take a look at the pictures below for yourself:

In particular, it looks like the overall size of the phone is slightly larger than that of the Galaxy S21. At 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm, this phone should be comfortably between the sizes of the Galaxy S21 (151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm) and the Galaxy S21 Plus (161.5 x 75.6 mm) x 7.8 mm).

A few weeks after the Hemmerstoffer leak, serial leaker Evan Blass stepped in with a few more renderings. These show the different color options that may be available:

Note that the Galaxy S20 FE got six colorways and we’ve only seen five for the successor so far. As such, there might be a sixth colorway that we haven’t seen yet.

Aside from the color palette, the Galaxy S21 FE looks pretty much like the Galaxy S21 range (with the exception of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, of course). Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Samsung is bringing back the headphone jack, which is disappointing but not surprising.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: specifications

Rumors of speculation about the Galaxy S21 FE are hard to come by so far. Last year we got a look at the Vanilla Galaxy S20 and uncovered some obvious ways Samsung could trim down features to bring the price down.

This year, however, the Galaxy S21 is already $ 200 cheaper than the Galaxy S20 – and only $ 100 more expensive than the Galaxy S20 FE. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine how Samsung will cut out enough to land the Fan Edition at a much lower price tag.

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One thing we’ve heard, however, is that the Galaxy S21 FE may not get the same battery as this year’s Plus model, which it did last year. Instead, it looks like it could have a 4,500 mAh cell. This makes it 500 mAh larger than the Galaxy S21, but 300 mAh smaller than the Galaxy S21 Plus.

Other specs are currently unknown including whether or not the Snapdragon 888 processor would be included in the Galaxy S21 FE.

Finally, one curious rumor is the Galaxy S21 FE’s relationship with the Note line. Samsung confirmed there won’t be a Note phone in 2021, but Evan Blass believes the S21 FE could land in place of a Note. This could just mean that Samsung is putting the same resources behind the S21 FE that it would have for a Note phone. But it could also mean that the S21 FE is a pseudo successor to the Note 20. Lots of questions with this one!

Prices and availability

The price of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will be one of its most important features. It has to be cheaper than even the Vanilla Galaxy S21. With the Galaxy S21 starting at $ 799 – and the Galaxy S20 FE starting at $ 699 – Samsung doesn’t have much leeway this year.

We have seen a price-related rumor so far. According to The Korea Herald, Samsung could price the S21 FE in its home market at 700,000 to 800,000 won (approx. 630 to 720 US dollars). If so, it would be a significant drop in price from the Korean starting price of 899,800 won (~ $ 809). Of course, there is no guarantee that other markets could experience a similar price decline. Though it certainly suggests Samsung is doubling down on its value-based approach introduced last year.

If this rumor goes on, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE could be cheaper than the Galaxy S20 FE! That would certainly be exciting.

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As for availability, Samsung is usually very good at making its high profile devices available worldwide. We assume that is the case with this phone. However, it’s not clear if the company would offer a 4G-only version of the device in some areas, which it did last year. Recently, the company phased out the only 4G variants of the Galaxy S20 FE and introduced the normal 5G models instead. It’s possible we’ll see that from the start of this year.

Those are all the believable rumors we’ve seen about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE so far! Make sure to bookmark this page to keep up to date with the latest leaks.