A solid smartphone, but for whom?

With the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, the South Koreans have introduced another member of the series almost a year after the start of the S21 series. MobileGeeks has tested the smartphone in everyday life.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: finish and screen

Like the S21, the Galaxy S21 FE has a plastic back, which is rather unusual in this price range. Many manufacturers rely on a glass back, which some customers recommend as higher quality. I personally see the pros and cons in both solutions. Glass backs definitely feel premium, but they also make a device heavier, more slippery, and can break. However, the plastic of the S21 FE feels higher quality than some other smartphones that I have tested in the last year. The frame is also made of plastic, but the buttons are easy to press.

The highlight of the device for me is the display. This did not surprise me as Samsung smartphones have without a doubt the best displays in the smartphone market. The device has a 6.4 inch small Full HD Plus AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hertz. Content looks razor-sharp and beautiful, and content can be read without problems even in daylight. The display is not an LTPO display like the panel of the Pixel 6 Pro, S21 Ultra or similar, it only regulates between 60 and 120 Hertz. The only piece of glass on the device is the display, which is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus. What should please some: The display is flat, not rounded on the sides. A film is not pre-installed, but easy to apply thanks to the flat display.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: performance and connectivity

Samsung promises flagship performance with the S21 FE, i.e. no compromises. The Snapdragon 888 sits in the device with 6 or 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 or 256 gigabytes of internal memory. The everyday performance is now identical for almost all smartphones from 300-400 euros, of course the device with the 888 runs a little more smoothly. Due to the 6/8 gigabytes of RAM, almost all apps remain open in the background and multitasking is possible without any problems.

Games like COD Mobile or emulation were possible with the S21 FE without any problems, but the device got noticeably warmer. Due to the weight of only 177g and the 6.4” display, the device feels a lot better in the hand than some flagships. I see that as an advantage, but some other customers are happy about a larger display. The smartphone has connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6 as well as NFC and Bluetooth 5. I connected a smartwatch every day and tried LTE and 5G. Bluetooth ran without any problems, initially the LTE reception in the basement was worse than with other smartphones. It was better after a restart, but this could be fixed with a software update. The fingerprint sensor sits under the display and is not an “ultrasonic” compared to the S21, but an optical sensor. It’s still fast and reliable, especially compared to the Pixel 6. The device has IP68 protection against dust and water.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Sound

The S21 FE 5G has two speakers, one at the bottom of the frame and one earpiece. These ensure a good, loud, but not premium sound. The sound is better than average but not on par with comparable Xiaomi phones. However, the speakers already reach the level of the S21 series. The same applies to the microphone, my conversation partners could understand me well and voice messages can also be listened to for a long time. But for professional recordings I would buy an external microphone.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Camera

The Galaxy S21 FE has three cameras on the back. A 12-megapixel main camera with F1.8 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera (capturing 123-degree shots) and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens (for 3x optical zoom).

The photos are comparable to those of the Galaxy S21, but the smartphone is already a year old. Compared to the Google Pixel 6, the recordings of the S21 FE are clearly behind the device. Samsung’s image processing tends to smooth out image noise, resulting in bright colors and bright, vibrant images. This was also the case with the S21 series, but not as strong due to the larger and better sensors. Nevertheless, the shots with the wide angle are more than usable, sometimes even very good. Samsung has also made the night mode more reliable, which is now displayed more frequently and therefore has to be activated less manually.

The ultra wide angle takes good photos, but the less light, the stronger the image noise effect at the edges of the pictures. Not only Samsung struggles with this, Google’s photos also have an image noise effect at the edge of the images. However, Google’s AI gets a little more out of the recordings than Samsung.

Meanwhile, the telecamera takes mediocre photos. It is advertised with 3x optical and 30x digital zoom, but photos with a maximum of 10x zoom are really useful. The photos become soft very quickly, since not many details are captured with 8 megapixels. But better a telephoto camera than no telephoto camera (like the Pixel 6, for example).

The front camera takes good photos, but the viewing angle is relatively narrow at 81 degrees. If you want to take selfies in a group, you need a long arm. There is also no autofocus compared to the Galaxy S21 series, but portraits look good.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Software

Samsung’s OneUI 4 based on Android 12 is already preinstalled on the Galaxy S21 FE. The manufacturer promises three upgrades and four years of security updates, so you will get at least Android 15. Samsung has its own app for everything, so in addition to the Play Store you also have the Galaxy Store, in addition to Google Messages you also have Samsung SMS, etc. Some prefer the Samsung cosmos, I just found it annoying at times. But Samsung is not alone in this, BBK (Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo) and Xiaomi just don’t do it that extreme.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Battery

My great praise for the S20 FE at the time was for the battery, because the Snapdragon 865 was a lot more energy-efficient than the Exynos model. This also applies to the 4500 mAh battery of the S21 FE, with which I achieved a battery life of approx. 4 hours “display on time”. But a lot has happened on the smartphone market since then, especially in terms of battery charging speed. I’m a lot more flexible when I’m on the road if I can briefly recharge. Other manufacturers in this area in particular deliver a lot more than just 25 watts of charging, as Samsung does, which sell the quick-charge adapter separately for “environmental reasons”. The device can charge wirelessly with 15 watts, the integration of “reverse charging” is commendable, with which other devices such as headphones can be charged wirelessly on the back of the smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: release and availability

My main point of criticism, however, is the release of the device. Because unfortunately it came too late. The technology would have been excellent for the planned launch in August 2021. Because the Pixel 6, for me my biggest competitor, was not yet on the market and the S21 was still too expensive. For 479 euros at the time, you would have made a very good deal and the price would have been more than justified. And now? The S22 is just around the corner and the S21 is already a lot cheaper and better than the FE. Therefore, at the time of writing this article, the price of the FE is in free fall. In some cases you can get the device for less than 650 euros, so after a week it is already 100 euros cheaper than the RRP.

The Galaxy S21 FE is available in the colors: grey, green, purple and white for 749 and 819 euros respectively.

Photos: GadgetMatch