Download Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G First Impressions: Riding the Wave for free

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S20 FE 5G were huge hits for the company, with Samsung reportedly having sold more than 10 million units worldwide to date. Obviously, Samsung wants to continue this wave, and what better way to do it than to follow suit with a new version.

Samsung just launched the Galaxy S21 FE 5G in India, a highly anticipated smartphone that follows the same formula as before – with flagship-level specs and features similar to the premium S21 series, but long after theirs Introduction and without the premium price. . Samsung sent us a device for review, and while that is underway, here’s what to expect from Samsung’s newest flagship.

The premium experience starts with the packaging, a minimalist, sleek box similar to that of this phone’s siblings. Inside, you get the phone, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, and a SIM eject tool. In modern flagship fashion, there is no power supply in the box, as with last year’s FE models.

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G doesn’t really change the game, especially since the previous phone was already packed to the brim with features. Instead, we get a couple of evolutionary changes like the design and SoC.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a contour cut design for the camera module, just like the Galaxy S21 series, but this part is made of plastic instead of metal and is not an extension of the frame. The back is also made of plastic, but the display has Gorilla Glass Victus for better protection against scratches. The metal frame feels sturdy and you’ll find the power and volume buttons on the right and the USB port and dual SIM tray on the bottom. There is no headphone jack.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a fingerprint sensor in the display

The S21 FE 5G is quite slim at 7.9 mm and, at 177 g, certainly lighter than the 190 g of the Galaxy S20 FE 5G. The graphite color unit I have makes the design a bit bland, but luckily there are also lighter shades of color like olive, lavender, and white. The phone comes in two storage options, 128GB and 256GB, with the same 8GB of RAM in both. However, the Sim Tray isn’t the hybrid type we saw in the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, so you won’t be able to expand the internal storage.

On the front we have a large and bright 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The screen is flat on all sides and also has relatively thin bezels. There is a 32-megapixel selfie camera in the cutout and an optical fingerprint sensor in the display. The screen looks great in the short amount of time I have been using it, with good colors and sharpness. The fingerprint sensor also works well and the high refresh rate makes it quick to use.

The next big change is the SoC. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is equipped with an Exynos 2100, the same chip as in Samsung’s flagship of the S21 series. We were hoping to see the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC in the version of this phone sold in India as this is included in some of the global variants, and in particular since the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is based on the Snapdragon 865 SoC. Nevertheless, the Exynos 2100 is still a flagship SoC and we will put it to the test in an extensive test.

On the software side, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G comes with OneUI 4, based on Android 12. The new version has minor adjustments to the interface and menus, but overall it looks and feels familiar.

The barebones bundle of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G illustrates the modern unboxing experience of the flagship

Many of the features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G have been carried over to the Galaxy S21 FE 5G. There’s an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, stereo speakers, Samsung Pay with NFC, and Wireless Dex mode. It even has the same 4,500mAh battery capacity, with 25W fast wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.

It is similar with the cameras. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has three rear cameras with the same resolutions as the Galaxy S20 FE 5G. These are a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. There’s still a lot to test, but so far the cameras seem to be quite capable.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G doesn’t feel like a big step up from its predecessor at first, and as far as I can tell so far, the only big changes seem to be the design and SoC. Removing the microSD card support is also a bit of a letdown. The official price for the Galaxy S21 FE 5G is Rs. 54,999 for the 128GB variant and Rs. 58,999 if you want 256GB of storage, but Samsung has announced a limited-time cashback offer that beats Rs. 5,000 off these prices if you use HDFC bank cards, which makes calling a little more attractive. But how does the Galaxy S21 FE 5G compare to its competitors, the largest of which is the Galaxy S20 FE 5G? We’ll answer these and many other questions in our detailed review, so stay tuned.

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