Samsung’s had a bit of a love-hate relationship with its Fan Edition devices. The company released theGalaxy S21 FEearly last year, which left no room for an FE variant of the Galaxy S22. Theglobal semiconductor shortagealso played a big role in the South Korean electronics juggernaut’s decision not to release an FE trim of theearly 2022 flagship. But things are different in 2023, with the company expected to unveil theGalaxy S23 FEany day now, while leaks over the past several months have provided us with the much-needed context about thismidrange smartphone. In another sign that the phone’s release isn’t too far away, India-based tech leaker Abhishek Yadav has come across a poster teasing the Galaxy S23 FE’s imminent arrival.
Yadav claims that Samsung sent this particular poster to promoters ahead of its launch while adding that the phone could reach the marketplace in October. However, some leaks have mentioned a late September release as well, so it’s up to anybody’s guess right now as to when the phone will actually be revealed.
There’s not much to glean from this poster that we don’t already know, including the vertically arranged triple camera layout akin to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+. However, the solitary LED flash could be positioned between the second and third sensors rather than the first one, at least as per arecent 360-degree videothat detailed the phone’s design in its entirety.
If you need more confirmation that the phone is indeed on its way, the Galaxy S23 FE has also passed through Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) for certification (viaTheTechOutlook). The version listed here features the model number SM-S711B/DS, with hardware attributes like 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC mentioned as well. The phone has previouslypassed through the FCC’s databasewhile also popping by Safety Korea forbattery certification purposes.
A 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display should greet customers based on the barrage of leaked renders. Some of these renders have indicated that the phone could be closer to theGalaxy A54 5Gin terms of appearance than any of its Galaxy S23 siblings. Meanwhile, an elaborate leak from last week revealed all the color variants of the Galaxy S23 FE, including ashade of Purple Lavenderthat I’m personally looking forward to.
As for the phone’s internal hardware, we learned a couple of months ago that the phone could use either theExynos 2200 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1chip for power. Given that this is a midrange offering, using an underwhelming processor isn’t particularly surprising.
Rumors also claim that a 4,500mAh battery will keep the device ticking, while customers should be able to find at least 8GB of RAM and 128GB of base storage. The presence of IP68-certified water and dust resistance is also pretty much confirmed, given that this is a common feature among many of Samsung’s phones, including the Galaxy S21 FE.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE broke cover in early 2022 and ticks all the right boxes for a sub-$600 midranger. Although it doesn’t feature the latest and greatest hardware, customers can be assured that the phone will be supported with software and security updates for a couple of years at least.
