Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: what are the differences?

The Samsung Galaxy S22 series has been announced and the S22 is the entry-level model of the three smartphones in total. Recently, Samsung also launched the Galaxy S21 FE, a phone that comes very close to the S22 in terms of specifications and suggested retail price. Are you curious what exactly the differences are between the two? You will find out in this comparison.

Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 FE in early January, just before the launch of the Galaxy S22 series. Strategically, that was not a very good time for Samsung, although they probably couldn’t do anything about it because of the worldwide chip shortages. For consumers, it does have advantages to compare the cheapest of the S22 series, the Samsung Galaxy S22, next to the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.

Specifications

Screen, housing and design

As you can see in the table of specifications, the S21 FE is the larger of the two with a larger screen and also a larger housing. As a result, this Fan Edition is also slightly heavier, despite its plastic back. The Galaxy S22 has a glass back, which is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+, but is nevertheless susceptible to falls.

Both screens are almost the same, only the S22 has a slightly higher pixel density due to the smaller screen. This will result in a slightly sharper image. In appearance, both are very similar, because the front and rear are almost the same. Only the color options differ.

Samsung Galaxy S22 in different colors

Performance and battery

The S21 FE is powered over the powerful Snapdragon 888 that Qualcomm announced in 2020. Samsung has provided the S22 series with its own Exynos 2200 chipset, which was presented in January. We can’t say yet how the Exynos 2200 will fare in terms of performance because that chipset is so new. We can see from the specifications that it offers better graphics performance, and is more modern and more energy-efficient thanks to the 4nm baking process. At least that’s what Samsung says. Our review of the S22 will have to show that.

The Galaxy S21 FE has a 4,500 mAh and the S22 a smaller 3,700 mAh. The S22 has a smaller screen and a smaller battery would suffice. Both can fast charge with 25W and can also be charged wirelessly. In addition, they can charge other products such as earbuds via reverse wireless charging. In terms of RAM, you have more choice with the S21 FE, namely 6 GB or 8 GB. The storage memory is the same.

Cameras

There are a number of differences in the camera area. Both have a 12MP main camera, but the S22’s selfie camera, wide-angle camera and telephoto camera have more megapixels. That does not mean that the camera necessarily takes better pictures, because the size of the sensor also influences this. You will notice the difference if you print the photos at a larger size, or if you want to post-process the photos in Photoshop.

Software and others

Samsung’s One UI 4.0 software shell is based on Android 12 and the S22 series runs on its latest variant, One UI 4.1. That version comes with a number of new features as you can read here. Samsung also came with good news for these Galaxy devices. They will receive an additional year of updates. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE also benefits from this new update policy and, like the S22, will receive an update to Android 13, Android 14, Android 15 and Android 16 and at least five years of security updates. That’s because both phones were announced in 2022 and will run on Android 12.

The S21 FE still runs on One UI 4, a version older than the S22, but we expect the Fan Edition to run on the same software version in the near future.

• Three new Android updates † Four new Android versions
• At least four years of security updates † At least five years of security updates

• Three new Android updates † Four new Android versions
• At least four years of security updates † At least five years of security updates

The choice is yours

So there are indeed some differences between the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. The S21 Fan Edition has a larger screen and runs on a slightly older processor. The cameras of the S22 have more megapixels, and the housing is made entirely of glass. This makes this device more sensitive to damage, but luckily we have nice covers for that.

The S22 is also more expensive to purchase, and the S21 FE has already dropped significantly in price. You can buy this phone with 128 GB for less than 700 euros. The variant with 256 GB storage is already available for less than 800 euros. The choice therefore depends entirely on your wishes and your budget. Which of these two phones appeals to you the most? Let us know in the comments below this article.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S22

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy S22 in the colors Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green or Pink Gold. You can choose from the storage options below. The Galaxy S22 will hit stores on March 11.

• Buy Samsung Galaxy S22 (8 GB/128 GB) – Mobiel.nl, Samsung, Belsimpel, MediaMarkt, Coolblue, Bol.com, Vodafone, T-Mobile, KPN, Tele2 – 849 euros
• Buy Samsung Galaxy S22 (8 GB/256 GB) – Mobiel.nl, Samsung, Belsimpel, MediaMarkt, Coolblue, Bol.com, Vodafone, T-Mobile, KPN, Tele2 – 899 euros
• Buy Samsung Galaxy S22 with subscription
• Buy Samsung Galaxy S22 separate device

Buy Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is available in the colors Green, Lavender, White and Graphite and you can buy it from 749 euros at the stores below.