The Galaxy S21 FE 6.4 inch display with OLED technology (up to 120 Hertz).
Promotion: Galaxy Buds for S21 FE for free
Galaxy S21 FE at Media Markt including Galaxy Buds 2
Galaxy S21 FE at Saturn including Galaxy Buds 2
Galaxy S21 FE: design and size
Facts about the display: OLED with 120 Hertz
The S21 FE comes with a “Flat Dynamic AMOLED”, the display edges are weak as on the S21 and S21 Plus. Important: The S21 FE is waterproof. The refresh rate reaches up to 120 Hertz, but contrary to what we had hoped for, it is fixed. If 120 Hertz is activated, a higher power consumption can be expected. Because the display regulates the Hertz number, unlike the S21 Ultra, even if it only shows static content such as an eBook.
The Galaxy S21 FE is available in four colors.
Samsung S21 FE: More gaming speed and 5G
A highlight of the Galaxy S21 FE is the processor. It was speculated that the S21 FE would be equipped with either the Samsung Exynos 2100 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, depending on the region. The good news: The German model also comes with the Snapdragon 888. Because the Snapdragon processor is considered to be more energy-efficient and was at least the fastest processor in the Android world when the S21 FE was released in January 2021. In benchmark tests, the speed in individual areas was more than 30 percent higher than that of the Galaxy S20 FE 5G with Snapdragon 865. In particular, the CPU speed for basic applications that only use one core and for games (graphics performance) has increased enormously . In continuous operation, however, a clear drop in speed was registered in the 3DMark gaming benchmark (Wild Life Stress Test), presumably as a reaction to the CPU warming up. One advantage of the new CPU: 5G is always on board, there is no LTE version with a different processor.
In the Geekbench benchmark program, the S21 FE (right) showed clear speed advantages over its predecessor, the S20 FE (left).
Benchmark test 3D Mark: gaming performance of the S20 FE (left) and S21 FE (right) in comparison.
Galaxy S21 FE: long battery life, slow charging?
Camera in the S21 FE: Triple camera with triple zoom
When it comes to the camera equipment on its smartphones, Samsung is pursuing different strategies, especially when it comes to telephoto. In the standard models of the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S21, Samsung built a 12-megapixel sensor with large pixels in the main camera and a 64-megapixel sensor without optical magnification in the telephoto camera. An optical telephoto was only available in the Ultra versions – and in the Fan Edition, in the Galaxy S20 FE with triple optical magnification. Initial rumors suggested that Samsung could do without the optical telephoto in the Galaxy S21 FE. But now the all-clear follows: Samsung has also installed a real telephoto camera with triple optical zoom in the S21 FE. Like the main camera, it comes with an optical image stabilizer. Samsung relies on the same concept here as in the predecessor: An ultra-wide-angle camera, a main camera (both with 12 megapixels) and a telephoto camera (8 megapixels) follow from top to bottom. The main camera should take the best pictures thanks to a sensor pixel size of 1.8 µm, a dual-pixel autofocus and an aperture of f / 1.8. As with the predecessor and the other S21 models, optical image stabilization is apparently integrated in both the telephoto and the main lens.
Photo quality in the test
In the practical test, the camera performed well, similar to that of its predecessor. In daylight, all three cameras took very decent photos, but compared to the Galaxy S21, the S21 FE revealed slight weaknesses in difficult lighting conditions with different levels of brightness. With zoom shots, the quality during the day was at least as good as with the S21, the advantage of the triple optical telephoto, on the other hand, was clear in low light. Because when there is little light, the 64-megapixel sensor cannot use its maximum resolution and has to combine several pixels for good light output. The triple optical lens does not have this problem. The ultra-wide-angle camera, on the other hand, took darker shots than the S21 in low light.
Camera comparison S21 FE 5G vs. S21 + 5G: Photo of the Bremen town hall, during the day, without zoom.
Camera comparison S21 FE 5G vs. S21 + 5G: zoom recording at night.
Dual recording of the main and front camera
The selfie camera works with 32 megapixels – and videos can be recorded in which two camera images can be seen at the same time. For example, that of the main camera is large and faded in small, or a video next to it with the comment of the end of the film.
The Galaxy S21 FE is difficult to operate with one hand, but the size is still suitable for everyday use.
No memory card, no jack!
In one respect, the Galaxy S21 FE has deteriorated compared to its predecessor: Samsung has deleted the memory card slot! If you often film in 4K or save a lot of data on your smartphone, you could reach your limits with the smaller 128 gigabyte version. As with its predecessor and all current S models, Samsung has dispensed with a 3.5 millimeter jack socket for classic headphones and headsets with a cable in the Galaxy S21 FE. They can only be connected via a USB-C adapter, which is available from Samsung for around 10 euros.
Galaxy S21 FE: More expensive than its predecessor
The Galaxy S21 FE was presented on January 4, 2022, and has been available to order since then. The official release of the Galaxy S21 FE, i.e. the start of sales, is January 11, 2022, but apparently individual dealers are delivering the device immediately. The prices: 749 euros for the 128 GB version and 819 euros for the 256 GB version. This makes it more expensive than its predecessor: The S20 FE was available in the LTE version with 128 GB / 6 GB for 633 euros, with 256/8 GB for 719 euros. The 5G version with 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM cost 730 euros. There will be no pure LTE variant with the S21 FE.
Android 12 from the factory
Conclusion: is the Galaxy S21 FE worth it?
One difference between the Galaxy S21 FE 5G and its predecessors, the S20 FE and S20 FE 5G, stands out: the faster processor, which is particularly beneficial for gaming and all versions of 5G. The camera offers similarly good performance and is sometimes even superior to the normal S21 when it comes to zoom. So there are no revolutionary innovations, but there are disadvantages such as the lack of a memory card slot and of course the higher price. If you are looking for an inexpensive S model, you can currently buy the Galaxy S20 FE, which is available from around 450 euros without 5G and from around 530 euros with 5G (as of January 2022).