JOIN USSamsung Galaxy S20 FE review: Gateway to premium S series
Last week, Samsung launched the new Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) in India. It comes with top-end features seen in the premium S20 series, but costs Rs 49,999 much less compared to the premium S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra models.
Starting today (October 16), as promised, the Galaxy S20 FE is now available for purchase at Samsung online store, Flipkart, and other authorised stores across India.
If you are planning to buy this phone, read this review now. This will help you make an informed decision to invest your money in the Galaxy S20 FE.
Design, build quality, and display
The new Galaxy S20 FE keeps most of the design aesthetics of the expensive S20 launched earlier this year. It has the big curved rectangular camera module at the top left corner, but have to say, the protrusion is much less compared to the original and this is good, as the phone can slip into the pocket hassle-free.
Also, Samsung has done really the job of using the translucent polycarbonate material for back enclosure with a frosty glass finish and the Cloud Mint color of the shell blends beautifully with the sturdy aluminium frame. It exudes the premium hand-feel experience and looks gorgeous in the sunlight. Also, most importantly, the back panel repels sweaty fingerprint smudges to a great extent compared to glass panels in other S20 models.
Also, Also, it comes with an IP68 rating, meaning the user can take the S20 FE for a dip in the swimming pool and take photos. It can survive up to 1.5 meters (around five feet) underwater for close to 30 minutes.
On the front, unlike the other S20 models, which come with a dual-curved edge screen, the Galaxy S20 FE has a flat panel and uniform bezel offering a good viewing experience.
Also, in phones with curved screens, there is a problem of accidental touches, unnecessarily triggering the app launch, but with the S20 FE, users will not face any such issues.
The Galaxy S20 FE sports a bright 6.5-inch full HD+ (2400 × 1080p) super AMOLED screen. It has a pixel density of 407ppi (pixels per inch). Having used the top-end S20 series phones and this S20 FE, I have no hesitation to say, there is no other who can make such wonderful displays for a phone than Samsung in the industry. During the testing period, I had no trouble viewing contents under direct sunlight and I loved browsing the internet and watching HD videos on the Galaxy S20 FE.
With support for 120Hz display refresh rate (only when Motion smoothness set to High), you are assured of a delightful time playing graphics-intense games on the new Samsung S20 series phone.
Also, it comes with an in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. During the testing period, it consistently responded fast and accurately recognised the thumb impression most of the time.
Performance:
It has Samsung proprietary 7nm class 2.7GHz Exynos 990 EUV octa-core processor backed by ARM Mali-G77MP11 GPU, the same configuration as we see in the premium Galaxy S20 series. It runs Android 10-based One UI 2.5 with 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. It works smoothly in terms of launching apps, switching multiple apps, operating the camera, playing power-intense games, navigating through social media platforms, and other day-to-day activities.
Though the Galaxy S20 FE turns warm (around the camera module) a bit during long gaming and internet browsing session, it never got beyond my comfort level.
On Geekbench, it scored an impressive 840 and 2,705 points on single-core and multi-core tests.
Also, it offers the same productivity features such as the DeX support (wireless) connection with Windows-powered PC, and however, you have to have a Microsoft account linked to the Samsung account. So, that you can enjoy real-time data sync for the continuation of work from the phone to the PC and vice versa.
Camera:
The Galaxy S20 FE boasts a feature-rich camera module--main 12MP (with f/1.8 aperture, PDAF: Phase detection Auto Focus, 1.12μm Pixel Size, 79-degree FOV: Field-Of-View, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation), backed by an 8MP Telephoto lens (with 32-degree FoV, f/2.4 aperture, Dual Pixel AF, 1.8μm Pixel Size, PDAF, OIS) and a 12MP 123-degree ultra-wide sensor (with 1.0μm Pixel Size, f/2.2 aperture) with Tracking AF, 3X Optical Zoom, up to 30x Super-Resolution Zoom and LED flash.
During the testing, it took pretty good images like the premium phones; the Galaxy S20 FE is a bit aggressive in terms of adding punchy and rich colours to the subject particularly flowers and plants.
Even the dull green looks fresh and visually good to the eyes. Most importantly, it does a decent job of capturing details even in the shade.
The night mode, ultra-wide-angle shots are really impressive and on par with the original S20 series.
On the front, it features a 32MP camera with an 80-degree wide-angle lens and f/2.0 aperture. The selfies are good and with AR (Augmented Reality) filters and skin smoothening bring value addition to the overall photography experience.
Battery life
Samsung's Galaxy S20 FE houses a 4,500mAh cell and it consistently delivered a full day's battery life under normal usage. I am not a gamer, but for testing, I tried Asphalt 9 series mobile game for 20-25 minutes a day, watched a few videos mostly recently released trailers and a 20-minute TV series episode, while the rest of the day I used the device to view emails, browse the internet, and do other day-to-day activities. Rest assured, it will last the whole day.
It comes with a 15W charger and it takes close to two hours to fully power up the phone from zero to 100%. Also, it supports a 25W charger, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible), and Wireless PowerShare feature to power up other phones wirelessly on the back of the phone.
Final thoughts:
Previously, when I reviewed the Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 Plus, I loved the latter as Samsung did a fine job of keeping most of the premium camera specifications, processor, and rightly priced it. Now, with the arrival of the Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung has once again shown, it does listen to the consumers' feedback and has offered the right balance of features, and has kept it under Rs 50,000 tab. This is an aspirational phone not only for the Samsung patrons who have owned Galaxy A-series but also for others wanting to experience premium Galaxy S-series mobile.
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