Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G review: The sequel is never as good
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
RRP $699.00
"The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is the able successor to the S20 FE, but comes at a bad time with the S22 around the corner, making it harder to justify its value."
benefits
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Powerful Specs
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Solid cameras
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Stunning 120Hz display
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Well priced for a flagship
disadvantage
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Touch screen issues
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Battery just ok
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Too much competition at its price
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a lot to offer. Last year, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was among the best Android smartphones of the year. The combination of specs and value made it an easy recommendation for people who might want to play in the Samsung space, and even the Samsung flagship space, but don't want to spend a four-digit number on it. Fast forward to today, and Samsung is trying to do the same, but something doesn't seem right. Actually, many things seem to be wrong. Let's start with the time measurement.
A long-awaited phone
Adam Doud/Digital Trends
The Galaxy S20 FE debuted in September 2020, approximately seven months after the Galaxy S20 series and four months before the Galaxy S21 series. Yes, there was a Note release, which is noteworthy (no pun intended) but not significant. This time, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G comes out almost a year after the launch of the S21 series and just a few weeks before the launch of the S22 series. Not ideal, but consider the competition.
In the past, in the budget flagship space you typically had the OnePlus line of phones, an LG version or two, maybe a Moto "flagship" and the Pixel. OnePlus has achieved full flagship status, LG is out of the game, and Motorola, to put it politely, is targeting a different kind of demographic. But the Google Pixel 6 changed the game in late 2021 and remains one of our favorite phones of 2021. It's also $100 less than the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G.
Suffice it to say that there are many question marks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G.
In 2020, the Galaxy S20 series was launched for $999 and up. The Galaxy S20 FE launched for $699, a whopping $300 cheaper than its closest flagship sibling. In 2021, the Galaxy S21 series launched at $799, making the S21 FE just $100 less and, as mentioned, $100 more than the Google Pixel 6.
Suffice it to say that there are many question marks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G. I've spent the last 10 days on T-Mobile's 5G network, putting it through its paces. In short, I wanted to find out if, despite the imminent launch of the S22, the phone cuts the right rough edges to bring it up to the same value as its predecessor.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends
design and hardware
In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G doesn't really break the mold compared to its siblings. The camera bump on the back feels less intrusive, but that might be because my comparison device is the Galaxy S21 Ultra. As with the other flagships, the camera hump blends naturally into the back and side of the phone, but it lacks the S21's dual-tone approach and instead opts for a single body. It's prettier because there are no seams, but more boring when it's just a single color.
On the sides are a power button and volume rocker on the right, a single speaker port, a USB-C port, and a SIM tray. On the front, you get a gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED panel, which I'll detail below. There's a single punch at the top for the 32-megapixel selfie camera, and at the bottom is the same reliable under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
Inside the phone is a Snapdragon 888 processor. My review unit has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but you can opt for 8GB/256GB if you prefer. There's a 4,500mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging or 15W wireless charging. All in all, these are all respectable specs for a 2021 flagship. The only (barely) outdated hardware is the processor now that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip is available. I don't blame Samsung for sticking with the Snapdragon 888, but I give it less of a pass since the S20 FE came out with the top-of-the-line processor back then.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends
display
One area Samsung hasn't skimped on is the display. This is a 6.4-inch 2400 x 1800 Dynamic AMOLED panel that's just a touch smaller than the previous generation but retains the same 20:9 aspect ratio. The phone is comfortable to hold and use with one hand, but I wouldn't mind if Samsung shaved off another third of an inch or so.
The display itself is beautiful, with amazing viewing angles and color reproduction. It's a 1080p panel, so not the highest resolution out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as a lower resolution will significantly increase battery life, especially when the phone is running at a 120Hz refresh rate. Personally, I can rarely tell the difference between a 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate; it just doesn't impress me when it's there, nor does its absence bother me. You can (and probably will) have a different preference and more power for yourself.
I usually turn up the brightness so I can capture the rich detail of the games I'm playing or the movies I'm watching, but with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G that just wasn't necessary.
In a surprising twist, I hadn't noticed how bright the display was until I was on day five or six of my review and realized I hadn't turned the brightness up at all, for nothing. This is unusual for me. While I typically use around 70% brightness on a phone, it's not uncommon to crank it up to 100% when watching videos or gaming. I usually turn up the brightness so I can take full advantage of HDR10+ and capture the rich detail of the games I play or the movies I watch, but with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G that just wasn't necessary.
One aspect that Samsung continues to struggle mightily with is touch rejection around the edges of the screen. This is a flat screen, but accidental touches on the edges are annoying and render games like Call of Duty Mobile virtually unplayable. Only after adding a case does the situation improve, but it doesn't go away completely. Granted, my chubby sausage fingers are probably to blame, so your mileage may vary, but I'm sure I'm not the only one having the issue.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends
While I complain about the over-sensitivity of touch on the phone, allow me to also complain about the lack of touch sensitivity on this phone. This mainly occurred in gaming, but I found small touch targets extremely difficult to press, like buttons in Call of Duty Mobile or even small squares in games like Sudoku. Again, I know I have big fingers, but the Sudoku game in particular surprised me because I don't have this problem with any other phone.
Performance, battery life and connectivity
Overall battery life was below average considering the size. This is a 4,500mAh power cell, and I'd regularly go to sleep when the phone was hovering in the teens or single digits as a percentage. That's after a day of bouncing between four email addresses, Twitter, Discord, Reddit, Kindle, and the entire suite of Microsoft apps (Teams, Outlook, and more). This usually includes a lot of games on Call of Duty Mobile, Sudoku and other games here or there. This phone will get you through a full day's activities, but it can struggle in those final hours.
- PC Mark Work 3.0 Performance: 13711
- Geekbench (single/multi-core): 873/2284
- GFXBench Aztec Ruins OpenGL: 27fps
- 3DMark: 5062
In terms of performance, the phone packs a Snapdragon 888 with 6GB of RAM, which is enough to handle just about anything. I do notice very occasional stuttering during gaming sessions when I'm really picky, but overall I have no complaints. Connectivity seems really solid, or at least as solid as my phones in the T-Mobile signal dead zone where I live. I had no issues with dropped calls or spotty internet, neither of which manifested itself on my iPhone 13 Pro.
Adam Doud/Digital Trends
cameras and video
On the camera side, there's little difference between the S21 FE and the S20 FE. Both phones have three camera sensors for ultra wide, wide and telephoto lenses. The main and ultrawide cameras both have 12MP sensors, while the telephoto sits at 8MP. There are some subtle differences in what the newer cameras can capture, e.g. 1080p at 240 frames per second (fps), but overall you'll see little difference between the S20 FE and S21 FE on the rear.
Portrait mode is one of the best I've seen as it easily selects the edges of your subject while blurring the background.
In broad daylight, all cameras work quite well. One subtle difference I noticed was how the main camera seems to pick up brighter colors than the other two sensors at a warmer temperature. This is especially true for red wines, which tend to get oversaturated.
Portrait mode is one of the best I've seen as it easily selects the edges of your subject while blurring the background. If you look at pixels up close, you'll see that it's not perfect, but it's very good. This applies to both the 32-megapixel front camera and the back.
As for the video, it's pretty decent. There is no stabilization both during the day and at night. Especially at night you will see a little jerking when walking. The disappointing thing is that this feature is also present in the front camera. Previous Samsung phones I've reviewed two generations ago have always had rock-solid front-camera stabilization, making them ideal for vloggers who like to walk and talk to their camera. That's just not the case here and it's really disappointing.
You can definitely get some great snaps at night as long as there is ambient light. Both the ultrawide sensor and the telephoto sensor lose detail when you're looking at something that doesn't have sharp edges. This means that text is fine, but the texture of a statue is lost. That's not surprising given that low-light performance pushes most cameras to the limit, not just this phone. Video recording at night isn't great, but it's not terrible either. Useful footage will be the exception, not the rule, but you'll get lucky from time to time.
The zoom isn't great behind the 3x telephoto lens. The Galaxy S21 FE can zoom up to 30x hybrid, but you shouldn't use it unless you're looking for photos to use as models to practice your watercolor painting. The only exception to this rule is the moon. While the resolution isn't great for moon shots, Samsung's A.I. Scene detection can still give you a great handheld shot of the moon. It's a party trick, sure, but it's really impressive.
Overall, the Galaxy S21 FE's camera performance is slightly less capable than current competitors. Don't get me wrong, the cameras are still very good, but they fall short of the size found on the iPhone 13 or the Pixel 6.
software and features
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G comes with Samsung's One UI 4.0, which is based on Google's Android 12. For the most part, though, this is Samsung's show; Little here is recognizable as inherently Google. Yes, the software can make changes to the system UI based on your wallpaper, but most of the options available were muted blues and grays rather than the bright orange of the sunset in a photo I included in my wallpaper. It was a little unsettling.
It also lacks the animations that Google gives you when you turn your device on and off. In Android 12, when you press the power button to put the phone to sleep, the black swipe across the screen into the power button. When you wake up the phone, the opposite happens. It's just decorative, but I miss it when using phones other than my Pixel 6.
Much of the One UI is done right, however, with large labels for menus at the top of the screen and buttons accessible near the bottom; that's the default plan for One UI. One area that still needs improvement is the app drawer. It's a side-scrolling affair, which isn't bad in and of itself, but you can't scroll from the start of the menu to the end. Simply put, if you're on-screen with the ace and need to open Zillow, you've got a lot of side swipes in your future.
Of course, if you're like me and have all your apps organized in folders on the home screen, that's not a huge problem. One delightful feature Samsung is adding is the ability to add apps to folders in bulk, and everyone needs to copy that feature now! Some manufacturers do this; those who don't need to queue because it's a feature so incredibly useful it hurts to use phones that don't have it, including the Pixel 6.
Overall, I like One UI, but I prefer Google's approach over Android. From the animations to the theming to the app drawer, it just suits my style a bit more.
Our opinion
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is in such a strange place that I'm having a hard time grasping it. Above all. The question I ask myself is why? Why does this phone exist? The next generation of Galaxy smartphones will be unveiled in just over two weeks at the time of this writing. There are worse ways to spend $700 on a smartphone right now. But that's not really a confirmation. Depending on where the S22 series lands in terms of price and specs, this can be a good deal, or it can be a questionable buy where a little extra cash can get you a lot more phone.
To be honest, while this is a really good smartphone for its price, Samsung would probably have been better off not releasing it at all, or launching it right next to the S22 as a 'budget' alternative.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes. Both Android and iOS have better alternatives to this phone depending on your tastes. Neither the Google Pixel 6 nor the iPhone 13 Cameras have the optical zoom feature, so that's a point for Samsung. But both phones outperform the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G in many ways, including software, camera processing and design. This phone is just too little, too late.
How long it will take?
Samsung covers its phones with a typical one-year warranty. The Snapdragon 888 processor and plastic construction help it last through a normal 24-month phone cycle. While the plastic back doesn't feel as premium, it handles drops and bumps better. The processor and main memory should also be future-proof for at least that long.
should you buy it
No. Simply put, the Google Pixel 6 is a better phone in almost every way, and it's $100 less. If you prefer the iPhone, the iPhone 13 is no problem either. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good phone, but it comes at an odd time. The only reason you should buy this phone is if you absolutely want a Samsung flagship but don't want to buy a nearly a year old phone in the Samsung Galaxy S21, yet another more expensive brand new phone in the S22. That's an oddly specific set of criteria, but that's also Samsung's bread and butter – a phone for all budgets.
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