The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE was a MASSIVE hit for the company. It was the phone to go for if you wanted the best performance-to-value smartphone.
But last year, they decided NOT to release the Galaxy S22 FE. But now it is back…?!
This is the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and let’s find out if this is a hit or a miss.
Unboxing
Unboxing the S23 FE is a simple affair. Just rip the pull tab open the eco-friendly box, and there are two parts inside.
Over at the top half is a box that houses the USB-C to USB-C cable, warranty, and the information booklet, and the SIM ejector tool. Then the bottom half is the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE wrapped in an eco-friendly paper.
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S23 FE vs S23
Now, in case you did not know what FE means, it stands for Fan Edition, which means this phone is like your favorite band’s greatest hits album. That also means it’s supposed to have the flagship features that the general public loves in the original S23 package at a more attractive price point. It has to look the part as well.
Speaking of looking the part, here’s a quick dad joke: Why don’t phones ever go to the gym? Because they hate losing their bars…
As you can see, it looks very similar to the S23, except the phone and the screen are slightly bigger. This makes the size slot nicely between the S23 and the S23+ sizes. So if you think that the S23 is too small but the S23+ is too big, well, this right here is the “Goldilocks zone” for you.
Build Quality
But if you look closer, you’ll find more differences than the S23. At the back, the camera bumps are more prominent in the FE, which is more visible when you turn the phone to its sides. The Gorilla Glass 5 at the back is glossy, so it is more of a fingerprint magnet compared to the matte Gorilla Glass Victus 2 in the S23.
Then the rails are matte instead of aluminum on the S23, which adds quite a bit of weight to it as well.
In front, there is now a silver ring around the selfie camera. Not sure why it’s there, probably Samsung just did this to differentiate between the two phones more, and the bezels are also thicker on the FE.
The overall build is very Galaxy-like, as expected, though it may be leaning towards the previous generation’s look and feel. So, yeah, there are quite a few differences indeed.
Major Differences
Instead of talking and listing out all the specs one by one between these two phones, I will tell you the significant differences between the S23 and the S23 FE because some are not so good and some are really good.
First is the difference in the processor, where you get the Exynos 2200 on the FE instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Second is the fingerprint sensor, which is Optical instead of Ultrasonic like the S23.
Third would be the peak brightness, which is lower at 1,450 nits compared to 1,750 nits on the S23.
Speaking of brightness, here’s another dad joke for you: Why did the smartphone need glasses? Because it has lost all its contacts…
The fourth thing you should know is that the cameras are similar in both, but you do lose out on the dual-pixel autofocus for the ultra-wide and the selfie cameras. And the telephoto and the selfie camera lose out on 2MP each.
But based on my several shots taken on the phone side by side, I would say that they look rather very close when it comes to the image quality, even when you compare every single lens as well. The overall quality, of course, is very close to a flagship level, as seen on the S23 FE as well.
As for the video quality, it is also very much similar to each other. So, all in all, the cameras on both phones did perform very similarly.
As for the good news, you still get the adaptive 120Hz screen, and on the S23 FE, the battery is bigger at 4,500 mAh.
So, all in all, it seems like this S23 FE is losing out in a lot of areas, doesn’t it? Well, not really because if you really consider the main reason for this phone’s launch – which is the phone’s price.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE starts at RM2,999, which is about US$626.
But I even saw it online on Samsung’s official website going for RM2,699, which is about US$563 with some online rebates.
Compare that with the normal S23, which comes at a price of RM3,899 or about US$814. That is a sizable difference in price, if you ask me, and I’m sure you would agree too.
My Experience
So what’s my experience in using this phone? Well, I have been using this phone for several days, almost a week, and I have to say that I really like the phone a lot.
I just have to teleport myself out from the tech nerd head space to a more general consumer head space. This is where the phone really makes a lot of sense because not everyone wants and will spend on the fanciest advancements in technology because they don’t really need it.
Most people need a fast enough phone that is reliable with a good set of cameras, decent battery life, and sometimes it feels good to use in the hands. Most importantly, considering the general economy right now, it doesn’t cost a kidney to buy.
This phone definitely delivers on all of those aspects. Everything is smooth sailing so far, even with this Exynos chip, which has been getting a lot of slack lately, and games have been also performing quite well so far. Cameras are more than decent for everyday use, and heat management is also at a very optimum level where it doesn’t feel any hotter than any other smartphone.
But if I do have to knock off a few points, though, would be the thicker than average bezels, and of course, the optical fingerprint sensor is not as speedy as the ultrasonic sensor. Other than that, the phone has been pretty great.
But then again, this is only my first impression of the phone, and since I bought this phone, I will do my usual in-depth review of the phone in the coming weeks!
