This one is for the fans – the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a remix of the S20 spec sheet that has been adjusted for a more affordable price. Starting today you will be able to pre-order one on Samsung.com. Sales start on October 2, then the phone will also be available through carriers and retailers.
The price in the US is set at US$ 700 –
that’s US$ 300 less than the 5G version of the vanilla Galaxy S20. Speaking of 5G,
the FE also comes in LTE and 5G varieties. Note that you can also get up to US$ 450 credit with a trade in. The chipset has been the biggest question mark
since we first heard about the FE. Samsung (as always) is reluctant to name
chipsets, but looking at the CPU clock speeds we can make an educated guess.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G is powered by
the Snapdragon 865 (non-plus) chipset, the same as the original S20 trio. Alas,
the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G gets a plain Exynos 990, except this time it is
hooked up to an LTE modem, so no 5G connectivity here.
Moving on, three more things have changed
from the original S20 models: the screen, the camera and the battery. Let’s
look at the screen first. At 6.5”, this Super AMOLED display sits right between
the S20 (6.2”) and S20+ (6.7”). The resolution is 1080p+, however, while the other
two models boast 1440p+ panels. Still the screen is HDR10+ certified and runs
at 120Hz as do the S20 and S20+, but only if you drop to 1080p rendering.
Note that despite being 0.2” smaller in
diagonal, this display is flat so the Galaxy S20 FE is about the same size as
the S20+ - two millimeters shorter and one wider, plus a fraction thicker. The
body of the phone is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. The triple
camera on the back sees the return of the excellent 12MP main cam from the S20
with its large 1/1.76” sensor and 1.8 µm pixels with Dual Pixel AF. This module
also features Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).
The telephoto cam is new – it has an 8MP
sensor (1.0 µm pixels) and OIS. The f/2.4 lens offers 3x optical zoom and up to
30x Space Zoom. The 64MP sensor of the S20/S20+ is gone, which means that the
FE can’t record 8K video. The third module on the back, the 12MP ultrawide cam,
covers 123° field of view. The selfie camera is different too, featuring a 32MP
sensor (0.8 µm pixels) with 4-in-1 pixel binning. This cam appears to be the
one we’ve seen in some A-series models.
The Galaxy S20 FE draws power from a 4,500
mAh battery, the same capacity as the S20+. It also supports 25W fast charging
(USB Power Delivery 3.0 with PPS), however you’ll have to get another charger
if you want to take advantage of that as the retail package includes only a 15W
power brick. Fast and reverse wireless charging are still on board. This model
features an in-display fingerprint reader that can be used to secure Samsung
Pay. Speaking of which, the Samsung-exclusive MST feature (which works with
terminals that don’t support NFC) is available Another S-series staple,
AKG-tuned stereo speakers with Dolby audio technology is available as well.
The phone will be available in single SIM
and dual SIM versions. There’s a microSD card slot, but that will take the spot
of SIM2 – an eSIM may be enabled in some markets, which will solve this issue.
The Galaxy S20 FE has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage as standard (but there's a
256 GB option). Note that the 5G version supports sub-6 networks (both Sa and
NSA), the US is also getting a Galaxy S20 FE 5G UW with mmWave - this one will
go up on Verizon.com on October 2.
The S20 FE is no slouch as the LTE Cat. 20
modem can deliver download speeds of up to 2.0 Gbps. Also, both versions
support Wi-Fi 6, wireless screen mirroring (1080p @ 30 fps0 and DisplayPort (4K
at 60 fps). At launch the following colors will be available: Cloud Red, Cloud
Orange, Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud Navy and Cloud White. Note that some
colors may not be available in all countries and for all configurations of the
S20 FE.
There are some pre-order goodies too. In
the US, you can get a US$ 70 credit to spend on a case or or a wearable from
Samsung.com and the Shop Samsung app. In the UK, you can pick between a MOGA
XP5-X+ Game Controller or a Galaxy Fit2 Fitness Tracker. As a reminder, Galaxy
flagships with 5G get 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free.
