Samsung is hosting another Unpacked event next week, but will the rumored Galaxy S21 FE make an appearance?
The Galaxy S20 FE made its debut last year, offering a balanced combination of handy features for a reasonable $699 starting price. And its successor, the Galaxy S21 FE, could be on its way soon. Samsung is scheduled to host its Galaxy Unpacked event next week on Oct. 20, but we’ll have to wait and see if the rumored Galaxy S21 FE makes its debut.
Samsung showed off the expensive foldable Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 at its August Unpacked event, and although upgrades to other phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup are also on their way in the near future — here’s what we know about the Galaxy S22 so far — Drew Blackard, Samsung Electronics America’s vice president of product management, previously said in an interview with that they’re not a threat to the Galaxy FE or Note.
There have been a few leaks and other tidbits floating around regarding the Galaxy S21 FE’s possible specs and availability, so let’s dive into what we know so far. We’ll keep updating this as the release date approaches and we learn more.
Galaxy S21 FE specs
The Galaxy S21 FE’s specs list reportedly appeared on China’s TENAA Certification site (via MyFixGuide). According to the listing, the phone would have a 6.4-inch screen with 2,340×1,080-pixel resolution, a 4,370-mAh battery, three cameras (a 32-megapixel main lens, a 12-megapixel and an 8-megapixel), a 12-megapixel front-facing camera, an in-display fingerprint sensor and support for 45-watt fast-charging. The phone would also include 8GB of RAM as well as 128GB and 256GB storage options.
If true, a 6.4-inch screen would make the phone a bit taller than the 6.2-inch screen on the higher-end Galaxy S21, while being slightly smaller than the 6.5-inch screen on last year’s Galaxy S20 FE. However, this camera would be both a step up from the Galaxy S20 FE’s main 12-megapixel lens and a step down from the S21’s 64-megapixel camera.
More rumored specs were reportedly spotted on the Google Play Console analytics tool, according to MyFixGuide, including 6GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 888 chip.
The phone could also include four free months of YouTube Premium, as SamMobile reports that Samsung France’s website briefly listed that perk as coming with the purchase of a Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus or Galaxy S21 Ultra.
A leaked user manual for the Galaxy S21 FE, obtained by SamMobile, supported some of the previously rumored features, including an in-display fingerprint sensor. It also showed the new phone could offer reverse wireless charging support, IP68 dust and water resistance and Dolby Atmos support. The manual didn’t mention a microSD slot, which appeared on last year’s Galaxy S20 FE.
What will the S21 FE look like?
Noted leaker Evan Blass tweeted out various purported Samsung renders in July, which included a possible look at the Galaxy S21 FE. Blass later revealed what he said were 3D renders of the upcoming smartphone on Twitter in August.
According to the renders on his account, the phone could have a similar appearance to the Galaxy S21, including a punchout for the front-facing camera and three cameras on the back.
The similarity to the S21 makes sense: The Galaxy S20 FE kept much of the S20’s design language while making cuts to the screen resolution and cameras that likely helped bring down the price. And according to a leak reported by SamMobile, the S21 FE will reportedly come in at least five colors.
The leaked user manual for the upcoming phone, also from SamMobile, showed that the Galaxy S21 FE would come in white, black, green and purple.
We may have gotten a sneak peek at the Galaxy S21 FE in a back-to-school promo image briefly posted to Samsung’s official Instagram account in August. The phone is shown in a backpack beside a laptop and a pair of Galaxy Buds Pro. It looks similar to the Galaxy S21 from behind, but is shown in a lilac color that isn’t currently one of the color options for the Galaxy S21. The post has since been deleted from Samsung’s account.
What will the S21 FE cost?
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE’s price started at $699 in the US, which was a substantial discount from the Galaxy S20’s $999 starting price. That price also undercut rival OnePlus 8T’s $749 starting price.
However, the Galaxy S21’s starting price of $800 was notably lower than the Galaxy S20’s, and it seems unlikely that a Galaxy S21 FE would receive a similar $300 discount — as the Galaxy A series of phones occupies that sub-$500 price range.
While we don’t have any concrete information on price, a report from GizChina hypothesizes that the S21 FE line could launch with a starting price of $699, the same as the starting price at launch for the Galaxy S20 FE. That price would still put it about $100 lower than the Galaxy S21, positioning it as a higher-end value option.
When will it be announced and released?
Although the Galaxy S21 FE was not unveiled at the August foldables event, it’s possible that it will follow last year’s pattern of getting a stand-alone announcement, if it gets announced at all.
The Galaxy S20 FE had its own Unpacked event in September 2020; the phone’s reveal was touted as “a tribute to its Galaxy fans.” That phone’s release, however, was very close to the release of the Z Fold 2, which also took place in September. Perhaps this year’s big phones will get a similar amount of space. A September report from Front Page Tech’s John Prosser suggests that the Galaxy S21 FE’s launch date will be in October. The smartphone will be scheduled for preorder on Oct. 20, according to the report.
Despite previous speculation from South Korean publication DDaily saying the company has canceled its October Galaxy Unpacked and considered canceling the Galaxy S21 FE, Samsung announced it will hold its fourth Unpacked event of the year virtually on Oct. 20. But, we’ll have to wait and see if the Galaxy S21 FE makes an appearance.
Following the cancellation rumors, as mentioned above, Samsung reportedly removed the support pages for the Galaxy S21 FE. The company previously added support pages for the smartphone under its model number, SM-G990B, but it has been reported that Samsung has removed the pages for its Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa websites. A message saying the “link is now unavailable” now pops up instead of the support pages.
Leaker @IceUniverse has said that it’s “reasonable” for Samsung to cancel the Galaxy S21 FE if the company releases the Galaxy S22 in December.
