Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G hands-on review

07 January 2022


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • nHA
  • 08 Jan 2022

No expandable memory and still without a 3.5mm headphone socket. And all for the ludicrous price of GBP £699.

The "S" in "S21" stands for Shite.

    I went to the electronics store today and played with one. Mehhhh too expensive for what is offering. An S21+ offers more ram, better telephoto and ultrasonic fingerprint so...

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • iA4
      • 08 Jan 2022

      Meanwhile, you can get a Motorola G200 in Serbia for 450 euros! Samsung is absolutely nuts. A plastic back on a 750 euro phone? Jesus Christ...
      They're turning into Apple I swear.

        In UK it's already £549 when you trade in any other phone, working or broken... That price make more sense.

          • K
          • Kev
          • 0Za
          • 08 Jan 2022

          I made sure to try the phone in the shop. This is me coming from my daily driver P30 Pro and my family's iPhones (new or old):

          The S21 FE's initial looks are very sleek. I liked how it looked smoother than the industrial-looking black S21 Ultra they had on display alongside.

          However, the instant I picked it up, I was immediately greeted by a familiar feeling, which was't the nice kind. The phone is light, airy, and nice to hold, but expresses almost uncertainty due to how light it is. I frankly think that a heavy phone impresses you more and reminds you of the hardware inside. But the S21 FE's heft almost feels like my old plastic Androids that cost nothing. Which frankly isn't good. The S21 Ultra and an iPhone's heft feels much more impressive and reminds you of it as well. The P30 Pro of mine is somewhere between, eering on the heavy side. (Also, Huawei, I hope you fixed the slight hollowness to the back glass. I feel it resonating with the components inside when I knock on it.)

          One thing I absolutely loved about the phone was the camera app. The cameras themselves aren't as polished as an iPhone or unashamedly gritty and analytical like the Huawei, but the UI was great. It reminded me of the iPhone camera app, with a certain level of Samsung-ness to it, with the way everything looked. Definitely better than the S21 Ultra's app, which was a little difficult to navigate.

          Overall, the phone isn't made for me. It's simply a phone that's made to be light-hearted and fun, unlike other super nice phones that Apple and Samsung makes, which are all serious, and are designed with harshness and prowess to make you almost respect its value and power. The S21 FE doesn't cut it for me. But I feel that a casual person who wants a fun phone instead of an impressive phone will be satisfied.

          Side note. Price is gonna be a huge problem for this phone. The local retailers still have the S20 FE in stock (Both SD and Exynos) and they cost the same as an A52s 5G, about 400-500 depending on 4G or 5G. So it'll be interesting seeing how this phone sells.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • q{2
            • 08 Jan 2022

            In one of the photos, there's some rainbowing on the screen; are viewing angles compromised on the s21 FE screen panel? I'd just gotten a Google pixel 6 that suffers from atrocious viewing angles, and nobody seems to talk about it..is this screen also just as bad?

              Exynos sneak

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • LkB
                • 07 Jan 2022

                ALPHABOY17, 07 Jan 2022This phone is close to 900 euros in my country which is a b... more20 FE has a 4G version with exynos 990.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • LkB
                  • 07 Jan 2022

                  Jacksonzxop, 07 Jan 2022This is honestly a really decent phone and that's not ... moreIt is not, but way better than pixel 6.
                  As long it does not have screen issues of 20 FE.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • LkB
                    • 07 Jan 2022

                    This device should have been canceled.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • Meg
                      • 07 Jan 2022

                      In Finland you can get this phone for 499€. Plus as a pre-order bonus you get also the Galaxy Buds Live headphones for free.
                      https://elisa.fi/kauppa/laitetarjous?utm_source=asvi&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=samsung_s21_040122

                        • C
                        • Chixby
                        • yZf
                        • 07 Jan 2022

                        Considering the huge price gap, S20fe5G is a better choice IMO.

                          • M
                          • Magnificent Suleiman
                          • PH@
                          • 07 Jan 2022

                          The S21 FE is garbage. At this point an S21 is a much better alternative, not to mention cheaper too

                            • D
                            • AnonD-1033007
                            • g8K
                            • 07 Jan 2022

                            Jacksonzxop, 07 Jan 2022This is honestly a really decent phone and that's not ... moreTotally agree, if this was launched like in october/november it would be fine but now it's too late.

                              • D
                              • AnonD-1033007
                              • g8K
                              • 07 Jan 2022

                              Diegofnc, 07 Jan 2022Better chipset, better screen, better cameras (with a telep... moreOops yeah you're right, the real price for this would be AT MAX 600€ since S22 is coming soon.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • JKQ
                                • 07 Jan 2022

                                AnonD-1033007, 07 Jan 2022This device is 750€ in my country which is ridiculous. Lite... moreIt's nowhere near the same as A52S, it's way better but price should be 600€ max.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 8kP
                                  • 07 Jan 2022

                                  The best fail edition phone in 2022, small battery, without SD card, headphone jack, and tragic SD888 CPU.

                                    This phone is close to 900 euros in my country which is a big BS.
                                    So, from what I can understand from this review:
                                    -Smaller and more compact, something rare nowadays, but you HAVE S21 smaller than this one goddamnit!!
                                    -Dynamic AMOLED display
                                    -And 2021 flagship level SOC
                                    Everything is the SAME as S20 FE, maybe even worse, because you have SD865 on S20FE, which is way more optimal for standard use AND Micro SD too
                                    NO THANK YOU

                                      • c
                                      • cyber
                                      • S2D
                                      • 07 Jan 2022

                                      now everyone in europe who complained about exynos overheating will complain for same about snapdragon,next month will be s22 which undoubtly will heat like a jet engine just because amd will have something to do with it

                                        • r
                                        • romenick
                                        • d%v
                                        • 07 Jan 2022

                                        This phone is ready to be discounted. It has a support marketing campaign now and it comes with Buds 2 / Case / Travel Charger in the UAE. In 60 days this phone will cost 550 Euros max. I bought the S20FE after one month it came out for 450 Euro (1800 AED), no reason for this not to happen again with the S22 round the corner.