The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is the latest installment in Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone lineup. The phone is designed with a very futuristic feel to it. This device comes with an ergonomic design and a beautiful screen, making it much more desirable than much of its competition.
The Galaxy Fan Edition smartphone started from the Galaxy Note FE in 2017. Since then, Samsung released the Lite version whose concept was “leading to flagship and affordable” before launching the Galaxy S20 FE, whose concept was “a flagship smartphone for our fans, which costs affordable.”
According to Samsung, there are several things that this smartphone carries, which is input from fans and users of the Galaxy Series. So, yes, as the name implies, there is an element of fan/fan in this “Fan Edition.”
Sales Package
The packaging/box of this smartphone is white, different from other flagship-class smartphone boxes from Samsung, which are generally black. The box is also relatively thin.
Contents:
- Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- Kabel USB Type C
- Document Package
- SIM Tray Ejector
The contents of this sales package are similar to some high-end smartphones / Samsung flagships that were present in 2021. There is no charger included by Samsung in this sales package for the Galaxy S21 FE 5G. Honestly, it’s a bit disappointing. Because fans should get extra. And, if we have to buy another charger, the charger comes in a box which is clearly not environmentally friendly. And, if we buy online, it will generally be wrapped in layered plastic, which, if thrown away, is also not environmentally friendly.
It should also be noted that there is no screen protector and no case in this sales package. So, in general, most of the users have to prepare: charger, screen protector, and case to use the S21 FE in their daily life comfortably.
Design
For design, this smartphone is quite similar to the Galaxy S21, with a contour-cut frame design. The body uses polycarbonate material with an aluminum frame. The back material of the body is not slippery, making us feel comfortable using it even without a case. The smartphone is available in Lavender like our test unit this time, with other color options being Graphite, Lavender, Olive, or White.
Phone Body
Dimensions : 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm (6.13 x 2.93 x 0.31 in)
This smartphone looks relatively compact and thin in size. It also weighs only 177 grams (6.24 oz). So, in use, this cellphone is comfortable to wear and operate. Not heavy, not too wide.
Samsung calls this smartphone an IP68 rating, which means it is water and dust-resistant. So, if you fall in the water or it rains, it’s safe. Even diving in the pool is safe. But it’s best not to accidentally take it swimming. At least, use an underwater case if you want to take it for swimming or even snorkeling, so it’s safer. Because, even if there is a little water that leaks into the case, this smartphone will not experience significant problems.
Right Side
The power button, Volume Up/Down button
Left Side
Empty
Top Side
Microphone
Bottom Side
SIM Tray (2 Nano-SIM), Microphone, USB Type C, Speaker
Front Side
6.4″ screen
- Dynamic AMOLED 2X, HDR10+
- FHD+ resolution, 19.5:9 . ratio
- Refresh Rate 120 Hz
- Rate of touch sampling up to 240 Hz
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Features :
- Eye Comfort Shield with AI-Based Blue Light Control
- Selfie Camera 32 MegaPixels, f/2.2 Aperture, 81° Field of view
- Video Recording up to 4K60
- There is an earpiece on the top bezel of the screen, which also serves as a speaker.
- At the bottom of the screen, there is a fingerprint sensor. This is an optical sensor, not ultrasonic like the S21 Ultra. However, it is pretty responsive.
Back Side
- Pro-Grade Camera – Triple Camera
- 12 MP Wide Angle Camera with f/1.8 Aperture, 79° Field of view, Dual-Pixel AF, and OIS
- 12 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera with f/2.2 Aperture, 123° Field of View
- 8 Megapixel Telephoto Camera with f/2.4 Aperture, 3x Optical Zoom, 30x Space Zoom, and Optical Image Stabilization
- LED Flash
- Video Recording up to 4K60 for Wide Angle main camera. The rest, 4K30
Features
- Portrait Mode
- Artificial Intelligence Photo Remastering
- Dual Recording, Object Eraser
- Night Mode
- Single Take
- Artificial Intelligence Face Restoration
Tech Specification
NETWORK Technology
GSM / LTE / 5G / HSPA / EVDO / CDMA
SoC
Exynos 2100 (CPU 1 x Cortex X1 + 3 x Cortex A78 + 4x Cortex A55; GPU Mali-G78 MP14), 5 nm fabrication
Chipset
- Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) – Version 1
- Exynos 2100 (5 nm) – Version 2
CPU
- Octacta-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680) – Version 1
- Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) – Version 2
GPU
- Adreno 660 – Version 1
- Mali-G78 MP14 – Version 2
Camera
Main Camera
Triple
- 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
- 8 MP, f/2.4, 76mm (telephoto), 1/4.5″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
- 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.0″, 1.12µm
Features: LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Video : [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60/240fps, [email protected], HDR10+, gyro-EIS
Selfie Camera
Single : 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.74″, 0.8µm
Features : HDR
Video : [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60fps, gyro-EIS
RAM/Storage Internal
- 128GB 6GB RAM
- 128GB 8GB RAM
- 256GB 8GB RAM
For what we use, the 128GB one.
Unfortunately, there is no option to add storage with a MicroSD. So, if you choose the 128GB version, just make sure it’s sufficient.
If you don’t play many big games, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Battery
The 4500mAh battery works with the power-efficient display and processor to last the day even on 5G.
Charging
- Rapid charging 25W, 50% in 30 minutes
- Fast wireless charging 15W
- Reverse wireless charging
- USB Power Delivery 3.0
Sound
- Loudspeaker Yes, with stereo speakers
- 3.5mm jack No
- 32-bit/384kHz audio
Sensor
Accelerometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Pressure Sensor/Barometer, Hall Sensor, etc
Connectivity
- WLAN: Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Wi-Fi Direct, Portable Hotspot
- Bluetooth : 5.0, A2DP, LE
- GPS (using A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS, and GALILEO)
- NFC: Yes
- Radio: Unspecified
- USB: USB Type-C, USB On-The-Go
Security
Fingerprint, Face Recognition
Operating Systems
OneUI 4, based on Android 12
The improvements from the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, especially the first S20 FE, are as follows:
- The screen uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Samsung only used Super AMOLED for the Galaxy S20 FE.
- Exynos 2100 SoC, aka premium SoC for Samsung’s flagship smartphone in 2021. Galaxy S20 FE uses a premium class SoC from the previous year/2020.
- OneUI 4 with Android 12 is available from the start, while on the Galaxy S20 FE, you will have to wait for the update to become available.
- 5G, this is one of the important features for today. The Galaxy S20 FE doesn’t offer 5G. For the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, Samsung says that it is compatible with cellular operators in Indonesia, for n1 (2100 MHz), n3 (1800 MHz), and n40 (2300 MHz).