Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Review 2022

 The last example of special products that Samsung calls "Fan Edition" was the Galaxy S21 FE , which was introduced at the beginning of 2022. The release time of this phone, which was stated to offer the most popular features of the flagship S21 series, which was released at the beginning of last year, at a relatively affordable price, was interesting. Because it was introduced about a month before the announcement of Samsung's 2022 model Galaxy S22 series and was released just before the new generation products.. Now that we are talking about the S22 series, it can be argued how interesting a phone from the S21 is. However, let's say from the beginning that there are features that are worth waiting for "fans". In the Galaxy S21 FE review article and video, we share our impressions and experiences after about a week with this new Samsung phone.

Galaxy S21 FE review: Design

It would not be wrong to say that the Galaxy S21 FE is placed between Samsung's basic Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy A72 , one of the top class A series phones of last year, in terms of design . Its metal frame brings it a little closer to the A-series, while the matte plastic body of the back gives it a slightly more Galaxy A-series phone feel. By the way, it should be noted that the plastic is of good quality. Samsung used the same polycarbonate material it used in the base Galaxy S21 model. This contributes to the quality feel and impression of the Galaxy S21 FE, while allowing reverse wireless charging and wireless charging capabilities to exist.

While the thickness of the S21 FE is the same as the base S21 model, it comes with a slightly larger surface area due to its slightly larger display at 6.4 inches. The bezel surrounding the screen is kept very thin, which contributes positively to the ergonomics of the phone. The body thickness of 7.9 millimeters is also the same as that of the entry-level version of last year's flagship series, namely the S21. It wouldn't be wrong to say that we loved the Galaxy S21 FE as soon as we got it. The dimensions and thickness of the phone are well adjusted, the matte and slightly rubbing surface of the back will prevent the phone from slipping out of the hand. It also successfully reflects that it is a solid and quality phone.

On the bottom edge we see the USB-C port, microphone, speaker and nano SIM card tray. On the top edge is the second microphone. The handset and the second speaker are located in a very thin and long hole at the top of the screen, where the windshield meets the metal frame. It's pretty hard to spot where, Samsung has hidden it well here.

Volume keys and power button are placed on the right side. These are placed a little higher than normal. Still, both keys are not difficult to access in a right- or left-handed hold. However, you may feel the need to move the phone slightly in your hand to access the bottom or top button. The keys are easily found by hand, the depth is not much, but the hardness is well adjusted.

Looking at the back, we see that the three cameras are lined up on the vertical axis. There is a camera module format, similar to what we saw in last year's S21 series phones. However, the camera module has the same polycarbonate surface as the rest of the back, only a slight elevation. The Flash, on the other hand, is positioned in a place independent of these three, right next to them. Although the design of the camera module carries traces of the Galaxy S21 series, it resembles the Galaxy A72 in appearance and feel. This supports the statement we made at the beginning.

Samsung included the water-resistance feature in last year's models of the Galaxy S21 series. We see that the same feature is also included in the S21 FE. Within this durability, which is documented with an IP68 rating, the phone can stay in water up to 1.5 meters deep for half an hour with nothing. In this way, you can carry this smartphone in the rain, by the sea or by the pool in summer without any worries.

Galaxy S21 FE review: Display, Performance and Battery

One of the important points that Samsung carries traces from the main members of the S21 series is the screen. Samsung, which used Super AMOLED screen in Galaxy S20 FE model, preferred to use Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen in S21 FE. Well done. The 6.4-inch screen has Full HD+, that is, 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution. At the top of the 20: 9 aspect ratio screen, there is a screen hole where the selfie camera is placed.

On the screen features side, almost all of the features we see in the base model of the Galaxy S21 are also available on the screen of the S21 FE. There is a variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz, which we see in the fluency of the user interface. Of course, it will be possible to make a difference in games as well. It also has HDR10 support. You can see the difference of HDR supported content in applications such as Netflix and YouTube. Above-average brightness makes it more enjoyable to watch. In addition, this screen promises a high visual experience for surfing the web, looking at photos or other tasks. The screen brightness is also sufficient for outdoor use. The AMOLED screen also affects good visibility in the outdoor environment. In addition, it provides the opportunity to take advantage of the always-on display feature.

On the audio side, the line of the S21 is attached with stereo speakers. The speakers at the bottom and above the screen are balanced in terms of sound output, thus giving a good stereo sound effect. The volume is loud, the basses and trebles are balanced, there are no loud booms or any distractions. Even if you turn off the bottom edge speaker while playing games, the speaker on the top of the screen will provide sufficient sound output for you. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack. If you have a USB-C headset from your old phone, you can use it. But the best would be to get a Bluetooth headset. Galaxy Buds 2 can form a good pair with the S21 FE in this respect.

Galaxy S21 FE, like other S21 series models, has two different versions. In Turkey, Samsung design comes with Exynos 2100 based on 5nm architecture. Various comments that we saw after the Galaxy S21 series came out last year showed that phones with Exynos 2100 processors were lagging behind their Snapdragon 888 counterparts in terms of performance figures. To be honest, we didn't have much trouble in terms of performance on the Galaxy S21 Ultra with the Exynos 2100 processor, which we have been using for a long time . In daily life, when we compare it with the Snapdragon 888 processor Galaxy Z Fold 3, which we experienced later, we did not feel that it was left behind. As a result, both processors manage to deliver the high performance expected from a flagship phone.

We can say that the same is true for the Galaxy S21 FE with Exynos 2100 processor. This phone also performs at the level we see in a flagship phone. The octa-core Exynos 2100 handles day-to-day tasks, meeting the needs of most users. This phone performs well in tasks such as surfing the Internet, using social media applications, watching YouTube videos, listening to music in Spotify and similar applications. We only encountered a problem while logging into the Vodafone Yanımda application, which we think is related to the application. Some restrictions imposed by Samsung for battery optimization may limit performance. However, you can access the highest possible performance by turning off the optimizations by going into the battery settings.

In terms of gaming, the Galaxy S21 FE meets the needs. It is possible to play a benchmark game like PUBG Mobile easily and fluently. Apart from that, you can easily play games that do not require much system resources at the average level that most users will prefer on the S21 FE.

There are different options on the storage side. You can choose between 128GB and 256GB. There is no microSD card slot. If you think you are going to take a large amount of photos or videos, it would be better to go for the 256 GB option. 8GB of RAM is standard on both options. In this respect, it is on the same level as the base model of the Galaxy S21 series. When it comes to using multiple apps at the same time, the S21 FE performs well.

Galaxy S21 FE has a higher capacity battery than the S21 with 4500 mAh due to the size advantage brought by a larger screen. This battery easily takes a day of normal use. The phone has 25W fast charging support, but there is no power adapter out of the box. If you have used a Samsung phone before, you can use it if you have a 25W power adapter at hand. If not, we recommend purchasing it separately. In this way, you can reach the battery charge of up to 50 percent in half an hour, which Samsung is talking about. We have proven this to be true in practice with Samsung's 25W power adapter. On the wireless charging side, there is fast charging support up to 15W. You can use accessories that support Qi wireless charging. Like Wireless Power Share, ie reverse wireless charging,

Galaxy S21 FE review: Software and Security

Galaxy S21 FE comes with Android 12 installed. Above that is the One UI 4 user interface. Samsung also started to offer this update to existing members of the S21 series. We even showed the One UI 4 innovations on the Galaxy S21 Ultra before . We recommend you to take a look at our video and article to see Samsung's innovations on the user interface side.

The S21 FE's big and bright screen makes the user interface look pretty cool. Large controls and application icons make it easy to use with one hand. Samsung; It offers various applications such as Spotify and Netflix pre-installed. It also has its own applications and tools. Let's not forget the Google and Microsoft apps that we see on every Samsung phone. Samsung's Smart Switch tool makes it very easy to transfer data from your old Samsung phone to other Android phones or iPhones. Instead of re-installing the Samsung phones that came for review recently, we transfer data, applications, other information from a Samsung phone that we used in the first installation via Smart Switch. If you are considering purchasing the S21 FE, we recommend using this tool.

On the security side, there is a fingerprint reader placed on the screen. The difference from what we've seen in other members of the S21 series is that it's an optical sensor rather than an ultrasonic one. Despite this difference, it is very easy to unlock the screen by scanning the fingerprint. For those who wish, face recognition is also available with the help of the front camera. However, the entire time we experienced the S21 FE, the fingerprint reader did the trick and we didn't look for facial recognition.

Galaxy S21 FE review: Camera

The Galaxy S21 FE also has three cameras on the back, just like the basic S21 model. The 12-megapixel main camera is the same as the S21 with its features. There are features such as Dual Pixel phase detection autofocus, optical image stabilization, f / 1.8 aperture. The 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, on the other hand, has a smaller sensor and pixel size, but keeps the aperture value at f / 2.2. The 64-megapixel telephoto camera on the S21 leaves its place to an 8-megapixel camera. It has a smaller aperture with f/2.4. However, the optical image stabilization feature remains in existence. On the front, there is a higher resolution camera with 32 megapixels. It should be noted that this camera has features such as f / 2.2 aperture and larger sensor.

S21 FE's Camera app comes with an easy-to-use interface. Modes such as Single Shot, Photo, Video, Portrait are in the foreground. In the More section, there are modes such as Ultra Slow Motion, Pro Video, Portrait Video, Pro. With the Visual Intelligence feature, color and light settings are made automatically according to the scene. When this mode is on, the photos you take will look brighter and more vivid. It is also possible to automatically select night mode in low light.

The Galaxy S21 FE takes bright, clear and vibrant photos under adequate light conditions. In cases where the light intensity starts to decrease, the results obtained in the photos taken vary. Especially when shooting in low light and with Night mode on, it would be better to hold the phone as still as possible or use a tripod if necessary. Prolonging the exposure time in dim environments increases the brightness of the photos, but brings with it blur and decrease in sharpness. We also see that Samsung has applied smoothing to low-light shots to reduce the noise effect. Considering that most photos are shared on Instagram or similar media, at not very high resolutions, this will not be disturbing.

In portrait shots, the Galaxy S21 FE performs satisfactorily. The front camera is also good in this respect, although there are slight border flaws, overall the S21 FE shows good graphics when it comes to blurring the background. Macro shots are also good, but when you get too close to the subject, you may find that the focus is not at the level you want. We see that the ultra-wide-angle camera is consistent with the main camera in terms of color and brightness. The telephoto camera can zoom up to 3x without compromising the quality. However, the low aperture value brings the noise effect, especially in environments where the light is not enough. This phone can zoom up to 30x. Although the quality is not at the desired level,

The front camera also does well for selfies. The high resolution helps maintain good brightness even in low-light environments. However, we see that the smoothing that Samsung applied to the rear camera is also applied to the front camera in low-light shots. Still, you can easily take photos with enough quality to share on social media with the 32-megapixel front camera.

On the video side, we see that the S21 FE cannot reach the level of 8K video recording like other members of the series. 4K video recording at 60 frames per second is the pinnacle. Apart from that, it is possible to shoot at lower resolutions or at different frame rates. Although the effect of motion is felt in 4K shots, we can say that generally successful shots are made. By using the Super Steady mode, which can be shot at a maximum resolution of 1080p, you can shoot more still, a little more professional camcorder-like footage. The front camera can also record 4K video. However, when compared to the rear camera, the vibration caused by hand movements is felt more. As for sound recording, we see that the Galaxy S21 FE performs well.

Compared to the Galaxy S20 FE model, Samsung has made the S21 FE closer to the flagship class and has more features that will make it the reason for preference. The screen is an important factor at this point, it would be appropriate to choose the Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology screen. On the processor side, the line of last year's flagship series is adhered to. In terms of performance, the phone meets expectations. On the camera side, although the telephoto lens has a lower resolution, it closes the gap with the selfie camera, taking pictures with the quality expected from a flagship phone. The video side is also good in general, maybe not your primary choice, but on special occasions the S21 FE works as a good tool.

In fact, the S21 FE matches the base model of the S21 series in many respects. Although the S21 looks more like a flagship phone in appearance, the FE model is also a stylish and solid phone. It is also a preferred model for those who want a slightly larger screen. If you are considering a phone with a larger screen and prefer not to go overboard with the budget, the S21 FE may be the model you can choose. The Galaxy S21 FE will also be a good affordable alternative to the S22 series, which we expect to enter at a slightly higher price point, and will attract the attention of those who want the Samsung brand.