Is the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Worth Your Money? A Detailed Review
The ‘Fan Edition’ or FE series from Samsung has consistently aimed to provide enthusiast users with flagship-grade smartphone features at more accessible prices. The Galaxy S20 FE 5G was a resounding success, leaving little room for improvement. Now, Samsung has released the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, hoping to replicate that success. While it’s an incremental update that doesn’t drastically improve the FE experience, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G is still poised to be a key player in Samsung’s portfolio once the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is eventually phased out. But is this the right time to buy the Galaxy S21 FE 5G?
Let’s dive into a comprehensive review to uncover its strengths, weaknesses, and whether it truly stands out in the crowded smartphone market.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Price in India
Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 FE 5G in two variants:
- 128GB storage: Rs. 54,999
- 256GB storage: Rs. 58,999
Both variants come with 8GB of RAM. Currently, Samsung is offering a cashback of Rs. 5,000 along with various trade-in offers, making it even more attractive.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Design
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G, compared to its predecessor, boasts a revamped design. It echoes the Galaxy S21 series with its signature ‘contour-cut’ rear camera module. However, unlike the S21 series, the camera housing is crafted from plastic instead of metal, and it doesn’t seamlessly extend from the metal frame. The matte finish of the Graphite color option, while offering better resilience to cracks, might feel a bit dull. Thankfully, the Olive, Lavender, and White trims offer a more vibrant look.
Overall, the phone has a sleek appearance. Though the back panel remains plastic, its added durability against drops is a welcome change. The weight reduction is another significant improvement. Weighing just 177g, the Galaxy S21 FE 5G is significantly lighter than the Galaxy S20 FE 5G (190g), making it remarkably comfortable to hold and use one-handed. With a thickness of just 7.9mm and rounded edges, the phone feels exceptionally ergonomic.
The aluminum frame houses tactile buttons along the right edge. While the phone lacks a headphone jack and microSD card slot (a common trend in mid-range phones), it features a dual Nano-SIM tray and a USB Type-C port at the bottom.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Specifications And Software
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G boasts the same powerful Exynos 2100 SoC as found in the flagship S21 series. This chip, known for its excellent performance, effortlessly powers Android 12 on the Galaxy S21 FE 5G. It supports a multitude of 5G bands, ensuring future-proofing, and incorporates popular wireless standards such as Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, and NFC for seamless Samsung Pay transactions. Wireless Dex mode allows you to mirror your phone’s display onto a larger screen, transforming it into a PC-like experience.
The phone features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, and wireless charging. It ships with OneUI 4.0 based on Android 12, supporting HDR10 video playback. Hints of Google’s Material You design language are sprinkled throughout the menus and widgets, but it undeniably remains deeply rooted in Samsung’s OneUI aesthetic, distinct from the native Android 12 experience on Pixel devices.
The software runs smoothly, offering the typical Samsung experience with a wealth of customizable shortcuts and settings. However, it suffers from a noticeable bug – the UI framerate occasionally dips, causing gestures and animations to appear jerky. This issue, which was reported to persist even after the first OTA update, could be isolated to specific units, but further investigation is necessary.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Performance And Battery Life
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a solid value flagship, delivering on every expectation. Its lightweight design makes it incredibly comfortable to carry. The matte finish and glossy display attract fingerprints, but not excessively. The phone handles everyday tasks effortlessly, with a very responsive touchscreen and a display that remains readable even in direct sunlight. While the auto-brightness can be slow to adjust to ambient light at times, this isn’t a frequent occurrence.
Multimedia performance is excellent. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G supports HDR10 playback, recognized by streaming services like Netflix. Games run flawlessly with smooth framerates and visually stunning graphics. Popular titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends deliver a fantastic gaming experience, with stable framerates even at the highest graphics settings. The phone does experience a slight warmth on the back after extended gaming sessions. The stereo speakers offer impressive audio quality for both gaming and video content. Benchmark scores are equally impressive, with the Galaxy S21 FE 5G achieving 7,28,951 points in AnTuTu and 1,087 and 3,245 points in Geekbench 5’s single and multi-core tests respectively.
Battery life is a bit of a mixed bag. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G retains the same 4,500mAh battery capacity as its predecessor, but unfortunately, it didn’t perform as well in our HD video battery loop test. It managed just 11 hours and 44 minutes, significantly less than the Galaxy S20 FE 5G (equipped with the Snapdragon 865 SoC) which achieved over 18 hours. Similarly, the 4G version of the Galaxy S20 FE, which utilized the Exynos 990 SoC, also showed a lower runtime of under 13 hours in our loop test. However, the phone holds up well under mixed usage scenarios. On most days, a single charge was sufficient for extended use, including gaming, social media browsing, and photography.
While charging isn’t the fastest available, it’s still respectable. Using a OnePlus WarpCharge 65T power brick (capable of 45W USB PD charging), the phone reached 83 percent charge within an hour.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Cameras
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G mirrors its predecessor’s camera specifications. It features:
- 12-megapixel primary camera: Optical image stabilization, f/1.8 aperture
- 8-megapixel telephoto camera: 3X optical zoom
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera
- 32-megapixel selfie camera
The camera interface and shooting modes resemble recent Samsung flagships. It’s important to note that there’s no dedicated macro mode, and the ultra-wide camera lacks autofocus, limiting its capabilities for extreme close-ups.
During daylight shots, the phone’s display presents vibrant and richly detailed images. The level of detail is excellent, colors are saturated, and Samsung’s image processing effectively minimizes noise. The main camera captures stunning close-ups with a captivating background blur. Autofocus is rapid and responsive. The shutter button allows quick single shots, video recording with a long press, and burst shots with a right-swipe gesture (in landscape mode).
The ultra-wide camera captures slightly less detail but is still useful for capturing unique perspectives. The telephoto camera delivers serviceable results at up to 10X digital zoom, though quality degrades rapidly beyond that point. The maximum hybrid zoom reaches 30X.
In low-light conditions, the camera app’s scene optimizer automatically engages Night mode to brighten the image. While objects appear grainy in the viewfinder, the final processed image shows a remarkable improvement. Even the ultra-wide camera with Night mode produces usable results.
The selfie camera produces consistently good photos both during the day and in low light conditions. Details are sharp, and colors are faithfully rendered.
Video recording is also impressive. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G features excellent stabilization (both during the day and night), with minor jitter in the video. Audio quality in the recordings is consistently good. This phone can shoot videos at up to 4K 60fps with both the front and rear cameras, which is truly commendable. The overall camera experience is on par with the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, meaning it delivers reliable and exceptional results.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is a compelling value flagship in its own right. It excels in performance and features, and despite the price increase, remains one of the few phones in this range offering premium features like wireless charging and IP68 waterproofing. It effectively surpasses the Galaxy S21, which no longer offers competitive value at its current price.
While the Galaxy S21 FE 5G delivers impressive quality, there are a few areas where Samsung could have done better:
- Expandable Storage: The lack of expandable storage can be a significant drawback for some users.
- Bundled Charger: The absence of a bundled charger is a growing trend, but it’s still a missed opportunity for a phone at this price point.
- Battery Life: Battery life in video playback scenarios could have been improved, despite solid performance in general usage.
If these shortcomings are dealbreakers for you, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G might be a better option. Its price is currently at an all-time low of Rs. 36,999, offering remarkable value considering its similarities to the Galaxy S21 FE 5G.
Unless you’ve already taken advantage of the launch offer and purchased the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G presents a significantly better value proposition. The differences between the two models are minimal, so you won’t be missing out. The Galaxy S21 FE 5G will become more appealing once its price drops and the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is discontinued, but for now, the older model is the more budget-friendly choice.
