4 reasons to buy the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE — and 3 reasons to skip

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4 reasons to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE — and 3 reasons to skip

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

With the Milky way S21 Iron, Samsung hopes to recapture the magic of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE launch from 2020. That phone offered many of the aforementioned features plant in Samsung'southward flagship phone, simply for hundreds of dollars less. It'south no wonder the phone proved so popular — Samsung says it sold x one thousand thousand Galaxy S20 FE models in a picayune more a yr after its release, making it i the best-selling Galaxy phones e'er.

The Galaxy S21 FE looks to repeat that by using the same formula. A lot of the features found in the standard Milky way S21 are on display here, and the cost is lower, also. With Galaxy S21 Iron deals currently available, it would be very tempting to snap upward the phone right now.

But concur upward before you mash that buy button. At that place'due south also proficient reason to agree off on that Galaxy S21 FE purchase — at least for a lilliputian while — if non skip information technology entirely.

Here are the arguments for and against the Milky way S21 Fe, if you lot're because whether to purchase or skip Samsung's new smartphone. And exist sure to check out our Samsung Milky way S21 FE vs Milky way S20 FE comparison to pause down the differences.

Samsung Milky way S21 FE: Reasons to buy

You lot don't accept to sacrifice much to salvage

We've simply got two previous Iron models to become by, but clearly Samsung tries to keep these phones every bit close to their flagship counterparts equally possible. In the case of the Galaxy S21 Iron, in fact, you can count the major differences from the residue of the Milky way S21 lineup on one paw.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Galaxy S21 FE doesn't have as much RAM as the other phones in the S21 lineup, and while that will have some implications on performance, information technology won't be plenty for yous to notice a real world difference.

The telephoto lens on the Galaxy S21 Iron isn't as sharp — it'southward 8MP to the 64MP telephoto camera on the Milky way S21, Only and then there are some phones in the Galaxy S21 Fe's price range that don't take a telephoto lens at all. (And with that, we await pointedly at Apple'south iPhone 13.)

Probably the biggest thing you lot surrender by opting for the Galaxy S21 Fe over one of the Samsung's pricier flagships is the lack of an adaptive refresh rate. While the S21 FE'south screen can support a 120Hz refresh rate, it'south a characteristic yous have to toggle on and off, rather than one that adjusts dynamically.

As you'll see in our Samsung Milky way S21 FE vs. Galaxy S21 comparison, some differences work in the FE'southward favor. Yous'll become a larger screen and bigger bombardment with the Galaxy S21 Fe over the regular S21.

The Galaxy S21 FE'southward Snapdragon 888 system-on-bit

Fifty-fifty with simply 6GB of RAM in the this new phone, you won't spy much of a performance gap between the Galaxy S21 FE and last year's flagships from Samsung. That's considering Samsung is using the same Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip in the S21 FE that powers its top 2021 handsets.

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

In the Geekbench 5 full general performance test, the Galaxy S21 Atomic number 26 posted single- and multi-core results of 1,101 and iii,199. That'due south in line with the standard Galaxy S21's respective results of 1,048 and 3,302. Both phones besides produced around 34 frames per second in 3DMark'southward Wild Life Unlimited exam for graphics. In fact, wait at any Snapdragon 888-powered telephone (relieve for the best gaming phones that come packed with RAM), and the Galaxy S21 FE'due south performance results will be in the same ballpark.

The bottom line: buy a Galaxy S21 FE and you'll get flagship-quality performance in a midrange-priced device.

The Galaxy S21 FE has nifty cameras

Apart from the sensor on the S21 FE's telephoto lens, it has the same camera setup as the standard Galaxy S21. And considering terminal year's Samsung flagship were amid the all-time camera phones we tested, you lot can imagine that the Galaxy S21 Iron produces some strong images, too.

(Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

In fact, for our Milky way S21 Iron review, we ran photo face-offs between the Galaxy S21 Fe and ii pinnacle photographic camera phones that cost about the same — the iPhone 13 and the Pixel six. The S21 Iron more than held its own with those ii phones, even topping them in some tests. The Milky way S21 FE took better low lite shots, for example, and equally you might expect, that telephoto lens produces zoom shots the iPhone and Pixel just can't replicate.

It helps that Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S21 Iron with the camera capabilities you'd get on the regular S21. That includes helpful additions like Zoom lock for keeping your camera still when you lot zoom in on a subject, Single Take for simultaneously capturing shots from all of the S21 FE's cameras, and dual recording to capture video from both the forepart and rear cameras.

You get Android 12

The Galaxy S21 Fe was supposedly set to debut last yr, but the launch got pushed back, reportedly because of supply concatenation issues similar to the ones dogging other tech companies. There'due south a silvery lining to that delayed launch, though — information technology gave Samsung enough fourth dimension to send the Galaxy S21 FE with Android 12 preinstalled.

(Image credit: Samsung)

That means no waiting around for the latest version of Android or for Samsung's new Ane UI 4 interface. It also extends the life of the Galaxy S21 FE, equally Samsung promises three years of Android software updates for Galaxy South devices. That means you'll still be enjoy Android updates into 2025 if you lot buy this phone.

Samsung Milky way S21 FE: Reasons to skip

The Galaxy S21 Atomic number 26's design is not premium

Pick the up the Galaxy S21 FE, and you're definitely non going to confuse it for a premium flagship. With its plastic back, the S21 Iron does piffling to mask its origin story equally a lower-price device.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Admittedly, that won't matter to bargain hunters who favor value over aesthetics. But in that location is a practical business organization nigh the materials and pattern of the Galaxy S21 Iron — the phone's a little slick and difficult to hold on to. You lot'll definitely want to to consider one of the best Samsung Milky way S21 Atomic number 26 cases to improve its grippiness.

The cost difference between the Galaxy S21 and S21 Fe isn't that huge

Look, $100 — the difference in price between the Milky way S21 and Galaxy S21 FE — is nothing to sneeze at. For some people, keeping an extra $100 in their wallet makes all the deviation. But part of what made the Milky way S20 FE and then appealing was that it toll $300 less than the standard S20, and there's no denying that gap has shrunk.

The major reason the price difference is then much smaller this time around is that Samsung responded to user criticisms of Galaxy S20 pricing and lowered the cost of its Galaxy S21 models by $200. Samsung deserves credit for that move, but it does make the value argument for the Milky way S21 FE a tougher sell than before.

The Galaxy S22 is coming soon

There'due south always a new phone lurking around the corner, but in the case of the Galaxy S21 Fe, that corner is just a few steps away. The Milky way S22 is supposed to launch in February — at to the lowest degree if rumor sites are to be believed — and that makes information technology hard to buy any Samsung phone right now. Unless you need a phone right away, it makes sense to run across what Samsung has planned for this year's flagships.

(Paradigm credit: Unbox Therapy)

In the case of the Milky way S22, nosotros're expecting a more than powerful processor like the Snapdragon viii Gen 1, camera improvements and other features that could arrive worth your while to pay up for the flagship instead of a device based on terminal year's acme features.

Much will depend on the Galaxy S22 price, of course, and whether it retains the S21'south $799 starting point. If the new phone costs the same, but delivers more features, that $100 savings for the Milky way S21 FE volition expect like chump change.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has strong opinions about Apple tree, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/opinion/galaxy-s21-fe-reasons-to-buy-and-skip

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