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Samsung S20 FE in 2021 – An Aussie’s Perspective

If you are looking for the perfect entry-level phone in the world of flagships, Samsung’s got you covered. Introducing the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE), a special edition of the Galaxy S20 series that’s more affordable but with all the best features of the Galaxy S20 range. It is the Frankenstein of the range offering flagship tier features at a lower price point. The Samsung S20 FE price in Australia at Phonebot, Jb HiFi, Officeworks starts from $649 AUD. Do you think this is the phone for you? Let’s explore some of the aspects that make the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE special.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE: Display

The display is the biggest point of difference between the S20FE and standard S20. But that doesn’t make the FE any less superior. It comes with a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display which is bigger than the 6.2-inch display on the Galaxy S20. It has a 120Hz refresh and HDR10+ functionality for buttery smooth operation, crisp animations, and impressive gameplay. This OLED panel also offers silky smooth motion for watching movies and playing games, and there are few phones on this side of the budget that will give you a better experience.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE: DESIGN

At a glance, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a true Samsung. It borrows the design of its sibling and stands out for having a choice of six colours white, mint, lavender, orange, navy, and red. While the colour might vary with the carrier, all these colours are available on the refurbished market or through outright purchase. That said, some concessions had to be made to bring the overall price of the phone lower than the rest of the phones on the Galaxy S20 range. For one, the rear swaps a glass back for a polycarbonate one but Samsung has made it look and feel as premium as the other devices. The bezels are also thicker than those of the normal Samsung Galaxy S20, but the display is still a full-screen experience. It still retains IP68 water and dust resistance ratings from the Galaxy S20 range.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE: Performance

It comes as a reprieve for many that Samsung went for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G and Samsung’s in-house Exynos 990 on the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. Both are impressively robust and high-performing chips that make the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE a true beast for games app opening, multitasking, scrolling, and other high-power duties. There is a 128GB variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB and 256GB variants with 8GB RAM. Storage is also expandable via microSDXC. 

Out of the box, your Samsung Galaxy S20 FE will run on Android 10, but you can upgrade it to the latest Android 12. Samsung’s OneUI also looks excellent on it and includes features like system-wide dark mode, bubbles in messaging, and digital wellbeing tools.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE: Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE comes with a triple rear camera set up. It comprises 12 MP, f/1.8 wide, 8 MP, f/2.4 telephoto, and 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ ultrawide lenses with an LED flash. These cameras support auto HDR and panorama, but more impressively, they can shoot 4K video up to 60fps. The camera offers plenty of customization options with many useful camera modes. 

While these specs may look inferior on paper, their image quality is impressive, thanks to Samsung’s effective AI scene optimization. The ultrawide shooter gives twice as large a scene as the main camera, which means you can capture more details or cram many people into one shot. The telephoto cameras permit 3X optical zoom and up to 30X digital zoom. This means you can take photos at a considerable distance without losing the features. Samsung has added a feature that gives you a preview of a scene whenever you are zoomed into it. This means that you don’t get lost when you over zoom into a scene. The impressive point and shoot capabilities in single take photography mode is impressive, but you will love the panorama, night mode, live focus, two slo-mo modes, and live focus video, among other modes.

The Front-facing 32MP f/2.0 shooter is also impressive. To take full advantage of the pixels, take wider shots because it is paired to a wide-angle lens. It makes for fantastic solo and group selfies without the need to have many lenses on the front of the phone.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE: Battery Life

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE spots a fairly decent 4500mAh battery that should last you through the day on a single charge. It can support 25W fast charging via cable and 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. You can expect features like the 120Hz refresh rate, 5G connectivity, and always-on display to hog your battery, but you can rely on fast charging to get back in action quickly.

Final Words

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was made to be a more affordable spin on the Galaxy S20, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a flagship that undercuts the newer entries and is an overall good choice. Given that it’s not the latest device in Samsung’s impressive line-up, you can get massive deals and great value on it if you buy it today. You could get even better value and discounts if you bought a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S20 FE in Australia.

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