Samsung Galaxy S21 Fe Review: in the Shadow of Giants

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, the new "Fan Edition" phone, kicks off 2022 for Samsung and it has big shoes to fill. The previous S20 FE model was a runaway hit: it undercut flagships with its alluring $700 price, while at the same time offering the same high-end processor and mostly the same cameras as premium phones. But it also launched in different times when flagship models used to cost $1,000 dollars or more.

Fast forward to the Galaxy S21 FE, available in stores in January 2022 and... we have a totally different landscape!

The S21 FE keeps the $700 price of its predecessor, but the flagship models it competes with are no longer that expensive and even Samsung's own upcoming Galaxy S22 premium model is expected to only cost $800, a much smaller price gap. Also, the new S21 FE arrives with last year's Snapdragon 888 compared to a newer and more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 expected on the S22 and other premium phones in 2022.

That is why some people are saying that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE no longer makes much sense, but is that really so? And how good of a phone it really is? The Galaxy S21 FE still keeps a few surprising advantages and combined with Samsung's typically aggressive discount policy, it might be a sleeper hit. But let's dive deeper. 

The more expensive a phone gets these days, the less there is in the box that comes with it. That is exactly the situation we find ourselves in with the Galaxy S21 FE which is missing a charger in the box, much like the flagship Galaxy S21 series, and... that's not something to be proud of. There are also no headphones included either, at least in most markets (some countries like France have mandated a law requiring phone makers to include headphones in the box).

You do get a USB-C to USB-C cable, a user manual, and a SIM tool. It's a pretty slim box as we said.

What you might want to get with the phone is a case and/or a screen protector. Some phone makers like say OnePlus often include these in the box, but not Samsung and not on the S21 FE.

These are the most important specs for the S21 FE and how they compare against the previous generation model:

The new features revolve around a more refined design, which we find to be a big step up from the S20 FE, and also a new processor, more refined software, as well as camera improvements. The S21 FE has also lost a few signature Samsung features like a micro SD card slot, and the price hasn't changed as this phone starts at $700.

Galaxy S21 FE Design

It's made of plastic, but we don't mind

The Galaxy S21 FE has evolved from the previous model with thinner borders around the screen, more curves and overall way more polished look. It also comes in quite the variety of colors, with the olive green version being the one that stands out, but we have the graphite (black) one that also looks stylish, and then you have a light violet (lavender), white, and navy options available.

Still, it's a plastic phone, which doesn't quite have the premium feel of flagships, but plastic has two important benefits: it doesn't break like glass and it is much lighter, in fact this is one of the lightest phones in this 6.4-inch form factor.