The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE goes official with 4G and 5G versions, 6.5" 120 Hz OLED display

2021-04-09

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 $700 – that’s $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 $450 credit with a trade in.

Here are the pricing details so far:

	Germany	UK	US
Galaxy S20 FE (128 GB)	€633	£600
Galaxy S20 FE (256 GB)	€719
Galaxy S20 FE 5G (128 GB)	€730	£700	$700
Galaxy S20 FE 5G UW			$750

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 $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.