Happy new year!
I have not even gotten used to writing ‘2022’ at the back of the date yet (I sometimes still write 2021 by mistake!), yet here we are, unboxing the first mobile phone we got this year, courtesy of Samsung Malaysia.
Incidentally, this is also Samsung’s first mobile phone launch in 2022 and as the title had suggested, I am talking about the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) 5G.
The S21 FE is the successor of the highly-celebrated S20 FE, dubbed the flagship killer when it first launched due to its flagship-level matching specs and a lower price tag. In some ways, the S21 FE does inherit some of the launch traits of the S20 FE like having its specs matching that of the flagship model it’s mirrored after, the Galaxy S21.
On the price tag department, the S21 FE comes in two variants, each with a different price tag; RM 2899 and RM 3099, whereas the flagship S21 is selling at RM 3199, a mere RM 100 higher than its FE counterpart.
What’s in the box?
Samsung’s minimalistic approach to in-the-box items hasn’t changed and the box only comes with the phone itself, a USB TYPE C-TO-TYPE C cable, and the tool pin to eject the SIM Card slot.
The power brick for charging has to be brought separately, or if you still have one from your previous galaxy phones that supports Fast Charging (25W) then you can use it for your S21 FE as well.
Design
The unit we received from Samsung is the White colour variant. The phone is also available in 3 other colours, namely;
- Olive
- Graphite
- Lavender
The white looks stylish and I really like it. Despite the fact that the cover material is made of plastic, it didn’t feel cheap.
The advantage of the material also meant the phone is very light (only 177gram) to hold. The weight factor, coupled with the fact that this phone comes armed with a 4500 mAh battery makes it ideal for gaming and entertainment use. That’s on-paper, of course.
Performance-wise, that remains to be seen. I’ll talk about the performance in the full review at a later date.
Price Tag
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G comes in 2 variants with a different price tag for each.
- 6GB RAM / 128GB – RM 2,899.00
- 8GB RAM / 256GB – RM 3,099.00
Overall Specs for the specs gods.
Dimension (in mm): 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9
Weight (in gram): 177
Body: Aluminium Frame, Plastic Back, Glass Front (Gorilla Glass Victus).
Protection: IP68 for Dust and Water Resistant up to 1.5m for 30 minutes.
SIM: Single SIM NANO or Dual SIM NANO SIM, DUAL STAND-BY
Memory Card Slot: No
Memory: 6GB RAM @ 128GB or 8GB RAM @ 256GB
OS: Android 12, One UI 4
Chipset: Exynos 2100 (For Malaysia)
GPU: Mali-G78 MP14
Battery: 4500 mAh fast charging 25W, 50% in 30 Mins
Wireless Charging: Yes. 15W
Display Size: 6.4inches
Display Technology: DYNAMIC AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+
Display Resolution: 2340 x 1080 (FHD+)
Colour Depth: 16M
Max Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Rear Cam Resolution (Multiple): 12MP + 12MP + 8MP
Auto Focus: Yes
F Number: F1.8, F2.2, F2.4
OIS: Yes
Zoom: Optical Zoom at 3x, Digital Zoom up to 30x
Flash: Yes
Front Cam Resolution: 32MP
Auto Focus: No
F Number: F2.2
Video Recording Resolution: UHD 4K (3840 X 2160 @ 60FPS)
Slow Motion: 960FPS @ HD, 240FPS @FHD
The impression so far.
I’ve just started to use the phone for my day-to-day for lesser than 48 hours now so I can’t say much. But so far, everything has been progressing smoothly for me except for one minor discomfort;
The volume button on the right is somehow stretched higher than the Z Fold 3 phone that I’ve been using up to now, and that means my finger now have to reach up higher to find the Vol+ button and this will take some time to get used to.
The lightweight of the phone is a definite plus, but then again I am shifting from the Z Fold 3 to a common sedan phone (anything lighter than a brick is considered featherweight to me!), so I might have appreciated the weight factor more than I should.
I look forward to stressing the phone more with my day-to-day usage as the working weekdays start again tomorrow (It’s a Sunday when I wrote this), and of course, take it on a spin or two in some mobile games.
Stay tuned for the full review! I’ll share more of my findings real soon!.
