Lab – Does Qualcomm’s choice succeed for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE?

A variation of the Galaxy S21 dating from early 2021, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE obviously looks like its predecessor. It deviates from it on a few points (the materials used in the design of the shell, the size of the screen and the battery capacity), but its most marked difference is the chipset that powers it. The Exynos 2100 of the Galaxy S21 gives way here to a Snapdragon 888, which also equipped the American and Chinese versions of the smartphone. Note that the Galaxy S20 FE, its predecessor launched at the end of 2020, was also equipped with a Qualcomm chip: the Snapdragon 865, but also that both have a fixed refresh rate of 120 Hz (set by default) , which allows the duo to offer the best possible display frequency during our tests. The Galaxy S21, it favors adaptive refreshing capable of also going up to 120 Hz.

The Snapdragon 888, used by the majority of smartphone manufacturers in 2021 for their premium models, has cut its teeth on products such as the ROG Phone 5 from Asus, the Xperia 5 III and 1 III from Sony, or the Mi 11 from Xiaomi. The SoC has eight cores, including one Kryo 680 at 2.84 GHz, three at 2.42 GHz and four at 1.80 GHz for common tasks, a 5G modem and an Adreno 660 GPU. It has proven its efficiency, conceding nevertheless a little heating on smartphones which are equipped with it.

The Galaxy S21 FE on the test

The chip hits the mark in the Galaxy S21 FE. The device, tested in a version equipped with 6 GB of RAM, has shown itself perfectly at ease in the field of multitasking. Its Viser rating of 96 is testament to its ability to run multiple applications without flinching, and its scores are comparable to the S21. The difference is nevertheless a little more marked in the field of gaming.

The index of 137 collected by the S21 FE should be put in perspective with that of the Galaxy S21, set at 112. Subject to the same game protocol, during which we evaluate the number of images displayed per second, the Galaxy S21 had been capable of displaying up to 90 fps while conceding rare drops to 11 fps. On average, it took 62.8 fps, which was a great score. The newcomer, for its part, is able to go up to 132 fps, although it does not keep this framerate a long time during long gaming sessions, requires heating. Still, it doesn’t drop below 55 fps and offers an average of 76.7 fps. What to play comfortably, therefore, without having to go through a dedicated “boost” or “performance” mode. Be careful, because despite its 4500 mAh battery, much more comfortable than the 4000 mAh of the Galaxy S21, the S21 FE suffers in return from a decrease in autonomy. Allow about 13 h 3 min of use, against 13 h 27 min for the Galaxy S21.

Autonomy in question

Should owners of a Galaxy S20 FE turn to the S21 FE without hesitation? In the field of performance, not so sure. The 2020 model is certainly content to display an average of 58 fps (between 71 and 38 fps on our protocol), a little less than its successor, but in return offers better management of the consumption of energy. Allow about 20 hours of use: a little more than 50% more time between two charges with similar batteries, this is not trivial.

To separate the Galaxy S21 FE from the S20 FE, but also from the S21, there are other strengths. We’ll be sifting through them in our full test, coming in a few days.