Samsung on Monday (January 10) launched the much-awaited Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) 5G, the company’s first smartphone of 2022 in India.
It comes in two variants— 8GB RAM +128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage— with prices starting at Rs 49,999.
DH has received the Galaxy S21 FE (with Exynos chipset) review unit and here’s our first impression of Samsung’s new premium mobile.
Design and display
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE olive green model looks good in the sunlight. The back has a matte finish that does a fine job in repelling fingerprint smudges.
On the front, the flat display panel is really bright and the browsing experience has been excellent so far. It flaunts a 6.4-inch full HD+ (2340 x 1080p) dynamic AMOLED Display. It supports a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate in Game Mode.
On the top, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus shield on top and also comes with an IP68 rating, meaning the device can survive underwater up to the depth of 1.5meter (around five feet). It also features an in-display optical fingerprint sensor and so far, it has worked fine with no false rejection as yet.
Camera hardware
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE features a triple-camera module-- main 12MP camera (with Dual Pixel AF, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation), f/1.8) + 12MP Ultra-Wide camera (f/2.2; Field-of-View: FoV: 123-degree) + 8MP telephoto camera ( f/2.4, PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus, OIS, 3X Optical Zoom, 30X Space zoom) with LED flash. On the front, it features 32MP (f/2.2, FOV: 80-degree).
It takes pretty good shots in the daylight. The colours, particularly red and pink on flowers bit too vibrant than natural, but I don’t complain as they look better and really worth to be shared on social platforms and messenger apps. I am very keen to test its capabilities in terms of low light and video recording. Be sure to return to DH for a full review next week.
Processor configuration
Samsung is offering one of the two Galaxy S21 FE 5G variants in select markets-- one with 5nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor and another with Exynos 2100 octa-core chipset.
In India, the company is shipping the Exynos silicon-based model. So far, it has worked smoothly without any issues. I have checked how the device fares while playing games and doing heavy-duty tasks such as 4K video recording.
The device runs the latest Android 12-based One UI 4 OS. It is clean and I haven’t noticed any bugs as such.
Samsung’s new phone comes with a 4,500mAh battery with a 25W fast charger, and also support 15 wireless charging and reverse power share feature.
As an introductory offer, customers can own 8GB RAM +128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage for Rs 49, 999 and Rs 53,999, respectively. The special launch offer includes Rs 5,000 cashback on HDFC bank cards.
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G will be available from January 11 on Samsung.com, Amazon, leading online portals, and select retail stores in India.
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