The A54 is less ergonomic to hold in hand for me (this is quite important to me) and although the processing power is enough, I would welcome the extra juice of the S21 FE. In fact, I absolutely love every single thing about the S21 FE – camera, power, size, display, ergonomics etc.
My phone usage looks like this: Texting, online video streaming, web browsing, light apps, music, etc. Also, I do NOT want to cut corners like switching to 60hz at all times, or disabling bluetooth, mobile data, or such.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Good phone, wrong time
To me, fans are the people who are first in line, first to read all the related news and rumors, and most importantly, the first to check out the latest products from their favorite device makers. So when Samsung announced the $700 Galaxy S21 Fan Edition almost a full year after the original S21 came out, it felt long overdue. Elsewhere, the S21 FE essentially has the same design as its forebears, featuring a centrally located selfie cam in front, a power button and volume rocker on the right, and a USB-C port on bottom for data and charging. There’s a speaker grille down below that works with the phone’s earpiece to provide stereo audio, which sounds fine even if it’s a little light on bass for my taste.
Samsung makes the best phone displays in the industry, and even though the screen on the S21 FE isn’t quite as big or high-res as the S21 Ultra’s, there’s not much to complain about. Visually, this doesn’t have a big impact on the S21 FE’s overall UI and layout, though the extra personalization options do make it easier to customize your home and lock screens.
And because Samsung’s spin on Android has long included support for features like scrolling screenshots, the most important upgrade in One UI 4.0 is the new Privacy Dashboard. On the flip side, Samsung actually increased the resolution of S21 FE’s front cam to 32-MP (up from 10MP on the S21), which is nice if you like a lot of selfies or videos for social media.
But at the same time, I don’t really think this one upgrade is enough to change the overall impact of the device, leaving it feeling more like a nice bonus and less like a notable improvement.
It delivers speedy performance and helps support features like 4K video capture across all of the phone’s cameras (at 60 frames per second on the main wide-angle and front selfie cams and 30 fps for the rest). But for people who do a lot of memory-intensive tasks like gaming or video editing, the FE’s lower base RAM is probably the biggest reason to pay $70 to upgrade to the 8GB model or just opt for a standard S21 or S21+. It’s annoying for sure, but like Apple, Google and others, Samsung says not including a power adapter with its phones should help cut down on e-waste.
It’s still a solid phone, but the standard Pixel 6 shoots better photos, has a more attractive design, and if you get the unlocked model directly from Google, it costs $100 less, too. So even if you’re a huge fan of Samsung’s latest FE handset, at the very least, you should wait to see what the S22 has to offer before purchasing what is essentially a year-old phone. Instead of a repackaged year-old phone, why not make a premium remixed version sporting a microSD card slot and headphone jack? Not only would this be a welcome alternative to a lot of today’s flagships with minimal ports, but it’d also be a considerate nod to old-school Galaxy phone fans who may have felt betrayed when Samsung removed those features from the S20 in 2019.
411ppi, up to 120Hz Dimensions 6.13 x 2.93 x 0.31 inches / 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm; 6.24 oz / 177 g Processor, RAM and Storage Qualcomm Snapdragon 888;6GB DDR5 RAM;128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 storage Rear cameras 12MP f/1.8 wide, 1.2-micron pixels, 1/1.31″ sensor and f/1.85 aperture12MP ultrawide camera, 1.25-micron pixels, 114-degree FOV and f/2.2 Front camera 32MP, 1.22-micron pixels, f/2.2 Battery 4,500 mAh, 25-watt fast-charging, fast wireless charging Sensors and connectivity Under-display fingerprint sensor, single sim, NFC, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 Water resistance IP68
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G review
It still has the usual 1,080 x 2,400 px resolution (411ppi), supports a 120Hz refresh rate and Always-on features. This, with the combination of the Widevine L1 DRM support, allows you to stream Full HD HDR10 content from all popular services (we tried). Unfortunately, the 120Hz mode is not a dynamic one – 120Hz is always forced no matter the content on the screen – video, streaming, browsing, gaming.
This came as a surprise as we expected a dynamic refresh rate like on the rest of the Galaxy S21 devices. Once we reached the end of the slider (when manually adjusting), we captured 385 nits at point white. Then we readjusted it a bit and hit the end again, a warning appeared, and then the screen lit up as high as 792 nits. The minimum brightness we measured at point white was 1.8nits – an outstanding result. Display test 100% brightness Black, cd/m2 White, cd/m2 Contrast ratio Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G 0 792 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S21 5G 0 416 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Max Auto) 0 856 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 0 404 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Max Auto) 0 823 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G 0 459 ∞ Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Max Auto) 0 883 ∞ Apple iPhone 13 0 802 ∞ Apple iPhone 13 Pro 0 856 ∞ Xiaomi Mi 11 0 498 ∞ Xiaomi Mi 11 (Max Auto) 0 926 ∞ Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro 0 516 ∞ Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro (Max Auto) 0 837 ∞ Asus Zenfone 8 0 440 ∞ Asus Zenfone 8 (Max Auto) 0 800 ∞ OnePlus 9 Pro 0 525 ∞ OnePlus 9 Pro (Max Auto) 0.038 871 22921:1 Realme GT 5G 0 443 ∞ Realme GT 5G (Max Auto) 0 650 ∞
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G scored a good endurance rating of 92 hours on our battery life test.
The new FE does marvelously when handling calls and playing videos, while its web time stays above the average.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily.
Web browsing test done at the display’s highest refresh rate whenever possible. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage patterns check out our all-time battery test results chart where you can also find all phones we’ve tested.
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G supports up to 25W fast charging, but it ships without a power adapter. A full charge requires 1 hour and 15 minutes, another adequate time.
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G supports up to 15W wireless charging with compatible Qi pads. It can also wirelessly charge other devices such as earbuds, watches, and even phones – you just need to activate this from the battery settings and then put the power-hungry gadget on its back.
The two speakers are balanced very well if you are listening to music in landscape or portrait orientation. When compared separately, the bottom piece is a bit louder and slightly more bassy. Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones).
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) Battery test
We put the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) through our rigorous DXOMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in autonomy, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases. 6.4-Inch 1080 x 2400 120 Hz OLED display
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 82 battery 72
Charging Full charge 110 224 Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Best: Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) (224) Quick boost 95 212 Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Best: Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) (212) 80 Efficiency Charge up 112 205 Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro Best: Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro (205) Discharge 68 194 Apple iPhone 14 Pro Best: Apple iPhone 14 Pro (194) Key performances These key points are derived from the lab measurements during testing and do not figure into the overall score. 159th 159 Position in Global Ranking 1. Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) 147 5.
Realme GT Neo 2 5G 144 7.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon) 142 10. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 136 19. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 136 19.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max 134 29. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G 134 29. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 133 33. Realme GT Neo 3 129 47. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro 129 52. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro 127 55. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 121 70. Realme GT 2 Pro 117 83.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon) 111 107. Oppo Find X3 Lite 109 108. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon) 109 111. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon) 108 111.
Oppo Find X3 Pro 105 119. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) 103 123. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) 98 139.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) 93 152.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 82 159. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) 75 35th 35 Position in Premium Ranking 1. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) 130 4. Realme GT 2 Pro 117 16.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 82 35.
Pros Strong autonomy when calling on the go Very low residual power drain Cons 5% of power drained during the night in a typical usage scenario Poor autonomy recovered after a quick boost
Very high discharge current when gaming Impressive specifications on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset, a 4500 mAh battery and wireless charging, could not help the device overcome an overall poor performance. The autonomy is low, and the charging time is quite long, whether wired or wireless.
It stands near the last in our general database, as well as in its price segment. About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.) The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluation reports are available upon request.
The table below shows the battery capacity, tested charger, display type and resolution, and processor specifications for the comparison devices. Battery Charger Wireless Display Processor Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 4500mAh 25W
1080 x 2400 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Apple iPhone 13 3227mAh 20W i How Autonomy score is composed Autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Stationary, On the go, and Calibrated use cases.
Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios. Battery Life (moderate) 158th 158 Position in Global RankingBattery Life (moderate) 1. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max 69h 20. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 68h 24. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro 67h 25. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon) 67h 26.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 65h 35. Oppo Find X6 Pro 64h 40.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 62h 45. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G 62h 47. Realme GT Neo 2 5G 60h 54. Oppo Find X5 Lite 58h 63.
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) 55h 77. Realme GT Neo 3 52h 99.
Realme GT 2 Pro 50h 112. Oppo Find X5 Pro 49h 119.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 49h 122. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon) 48h 125.
Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) 48h 127. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) 47h 132.
Oppo Find X3 Lite 46h 136. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) 44h 142.
Oppo Find X3 Pro 44h 143. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) 41h 150.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 38h 159. Battery Life (moderate) 35th 35 Position in Premium RankingBattery Life (moderate) 1. Realme GT 2 Pro 50h 19.
Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) 48h 24. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 38h 36. i A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc.
— 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power. Typical Usage Scenario discharge curves i Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device
Autonomy for on the go use cases (full charge) i For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.)
Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power. Autonomy for calibrated use cases (full charge)
Charging 102 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 218 Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) i How Charging score is composed Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience.
In some situations where autonomy is at a minimum, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Quick boost.
Wired 48% in 30 min 0h53 0 – 80% 1h42 Full charge Wireless 21% in 30 min 1h48 0 – 80% 2h37 Full charge Full charge 110 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 224 Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) i Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long and how much power the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the UI, and until an actual full charge.
Two charts here below illustrate the full charge performance of the smartphone: (1) The charging curves, in wired and wireless (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the power consumption in watts during the stages of charging toward full capacity. (2) The time to full charge chart breaks down the necessary time to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.
Wireless Power consumption and battery level during full charge Power consumption and battery level during wireless full charge Wireless Time to full charge Time to full charge Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) 0h08 2. Realme GT Neo 3 0h14 4.
Oppo Find X5 Lite 0h22 20. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) 0h22 22. Oppo Find X3 Pro 0h23 24. Oppo Find X5 Pro 0h23 27.
Oppo Find X6 Pro 0h24 28.
Realme GT Neo 2 5G 0h25 34.
Oppo Find X3 Lite 0h26 35. Realme GT 2 Pro 0h26 36.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 0h33 55. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon) 0h37 61. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G 0h38 66. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon) 0h39 69.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) 0h40 70. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon) 0h46 83.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) 0h51 102. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 0h53 109. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro 0h55 113.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max 0h56 114.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 0h57 119. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max 1h01 127.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 1h06 137. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon) 0h22 10. Realme GT 2 Pro 0h26 13. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 0h53 32. Quick boost 95 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 212 Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) i With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes.
The chart here compares the average autonomy gain from a quick 5-minute charge. Average autonomy gain for a 5 minute charge (wired)
i How Efficiency score is composed The DXOMARK power efficiency score consists of two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, both of which combine data obtained during robot-based typical usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into consideration the device’s battery capacity.
DXOMARK calculate the annual power consumption of the product, shown on below graph, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Annual Consumption Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 5.6 kWh Efficient Good Bad Inefficient Charge up 112 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 205 Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
i The charge up sub-score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to how much energy you need to fill up the battery compared to the energy that the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual consumption when your phone is fully charged and still plugged into the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The chart here below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %. Discharge 68 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 194 Apple iPhone 14 Pro Apple iPhone 14 Pro i The discharge subscore rates the speed of a battery’s discharge during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity.
It is the ratio of a battery’s capacity divided by its autonomy. A small-capacity battery could have the same autonomy as a large-capacity battery, indicating that the device is well-optimized, with a low discharge rate.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
We took what you love most and built the ultimate fan-inspired phone so you can experience your everyday passions to the absolute fullest.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review
Why you can trust Tom’s Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what’s best for you. After going on sale in January, the Galaxy S21 FE is available through both carriers and retailers as well as through Samsung’s own online store. While there is a bump holding that strip of vertically aligned lenses, it blends seamlessly into the side of the phone, making the array seem less prominent. I wish the sides of the Galaxy S21 FE were a little bit more prominent, though — instead, they’re fairly slick, making the phone hard to hold on to.
An overlay that appears when the phone is locked makes the sensor easy to find, and I’ve certainly found it more responsive than the Pixel 6’s pokey unlocking feature. The smaller panel doesn’t feel particularly cramped, and I’d go so far as to say it probably makes the S21 FE easier to use with one hand than the previous model.
That means scrolling will look smoother on the Galaxy S21 FE’s display, which leads to a better overall experience with the phone. That said, it looks like you can only toggle between 120Hz and 60Hz manually; the other phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup have adaptive displays that adjust on the fly.
Both Samsung phones recorded Delta-E ratings of 0.29, so colors are just as accurate on the Galaxy S21 FE as they are on the more expensive model. The 8MP telephoto lens is easily the biggest trade-off between the Galaxy S21 FE and Samsung’s standard flagship. I don’t have either an S21 or S21 Plus on hand, but I imagine photos taken with either phone’s telephoto lens will look a little sharper than what you get from the Galaxy S21 FE. Considering those two devices rank among the best camera phones , it’s worth seeing how the Galaxy S21 FE’s photographic output measures up.
The cilantro leaves topping the tacos in the Galaxy S21 FE shot stand out a bit more distinctly, and the texture of the lime green wall in the background is more detailed. Moving outside to a covered vegetable stand, we see the Galaxy S21 FE exhibit a familiar trait for Samsung camera phones — it likes to amp up colors, even if the end result teeters on over-saturating the shot. I think the Pixel 6’s warmer tones lead to a better composed shot — the tomatoes may not look as vibrant as they do in the S21 FE’s photo, but the overall image is balanced throughout. Not that the S21 FE’s bias toward colors doesn’t pay off in some instances, like in this shot at a nearby marina with downtown Oakland in the background. The bend seems more pronounced on the Galaxy S21 FE’s shot, but I think that’s partly because people are walking into the frame just as I hit the shutter button. Once again the Galaxy S21 FE has highlighted the colors, particularly the blue sky, but it’s washed out some elements of the movie theater’s art deco facade.
The Galaxy S21 FE’s portrait mode does an adequate job blurring the background of shots to highlight your subject, even if it aggressively smooths out faces. Samsung says it improved the Night Mode on the Galaxy S21 FE, and I think that’s evident from this shot of a skeleton we have hanging in our basement workshop.
The skeleton emerges clearly from the shadows in the Galaxy S21 FE shot, and Samsung’s phone even does a good job balancing the ambient lighting streaming in from the right side of the picture. On the bright side, the Snapdragon 888 is the same system-on-chip that powered the entire Galaxy S21 lineup, so you can expect comparable performance with those models.
Samsung includes less RAM, with the 128GB base model of the Galaxy S21 FE sporting only 6GB to the 8GB found in the standard S21. I played PUBG Mobile on the Galaxy S21 FE, and the game ran smoothly without sacrificing any of the first-person shooter’s detailed graphics.
The Pixel 6, which is powered by Google’s Tensor silicon, lags the Galaxy S21 FE with a 2,696 multicore score. You get a 4,500 mAh battery inside the Galaxy S21 FE, which is the same size as the power pack in the phone’s predecessor. With a slightly smaller screen and a more power efficient chipset running the new phone, you’d be inclined to expect some improvement in battery life over the Galaxy S20 FE’s so-so performance. However, in our demanding battery test — we have a phone surf the web continuously over 5G until it runs out of power — the Galaxy S21 FE fell flat.
Disabling that feature improves things considerably, with the Galaxy S21 FE lasting 9 hours and 15 minutes. That’s better than the Pixel 6’s time of 8 hours and 13 minutes with its 90Hz mode turned on, though it stinks that you have to disable a marquee feature to squeeze more battery life out of the Galaxy S21 FE.
There are perfectly sound environmental reasons for that move, but it puts the burden on consumers to already have a charger that can support the Galaxy S21 FE’s speeds or to buy one along with the phone. The delayed Galaxy S21 FE launch has a silver lining in one regard — you won’t have to wait for an update to Android 12.
Instead, the Galaxy S21 FE ships with Google’s latest software already installed, along with Samsung’s updated One UI 4.0 interface. One UI 4 introduces a number of ways to customize the look of your phone’s home screen, icons, wallpapers and more.
Samsung also adopted many of the privacy features Google built into Android 12, so that you can get alerts when an app tries to use the Galaxy S21 FE’s microphone or camera. Additionally, the launch of the Galaxy S22 has prompted Samsung to extend software support for its top phones to four years.
The Galaxy S21 FE is a fine addition to Samsung’s S21 lineup, retaining the very best features of those flagship phones for a more modest price. The tradeoffs you have to make to save $100 aren’t major ones, with the biggest sacrifice being the lack of an adaptive display as that can impact battery life.
Solved: Samsung S21 FE 5G battery life awful
I notice that, despite using all of the adaptive settings, no animations, and putting unused apps to sleep – there is still significant battery drainage when the phone is idle.
Galaxy A53 5G vs. Galaxy S21 FE: Cameras, Speed and Battery Make the Biggest Difference
Galaxy A devices accounted for 58% of Samsung’s overall smartphone unit sales in 2021, while other models made up the remaining 42%, according to Counterpoint Research. It has a large screen with a high refresh rate for smoother scrolling, a decent camera for the price and impressive battery life.
Here’s a closer look at how the two phones compare when it comes to design, performance, battery life and camera quality. Both phones have a borderless screen with a centered hole punch cutout for the selfie camera. The back of each device is smooth with a matte finish, and unfortunately they both collect fingerprint smudges easily. I noticed an occasional lag when closing apps and navigating between home screens and settings menus, but it’s not frequent enough to ruin my experience with the phone.
Benchmark tests that measure general performance and graphics showed similar results, as you can see below. Both phones also offer long enough battery life to get you through more than a day of usage, and they each support 25-watt fast charging. For this test, I continuously played local video on the device in airplane mode with the screen brightness set to 50%. But the key takeaway is the Galaxy A53’s lack of a telephoto lens means you won’t be able to take great photos from far away. Many phone manufacturers tend to highlight megapixel count as being the primary metric for measuring a device’s camera quality. Even with the intentionally blurred background, the S21 FE does a better job of making the tree stand out against the sky.
Despite image quality sometimes looking the same, I think the Galaxy S21 FE’s telephoto lens and better low light performance ultimately gives it the upper hand. But if you don’t care about that and just want an inexpensive phone that takes decent photos, the Galaxy A53 5G will do just fine. The build quality is slightly better, the performance is smoother and the camera takes sharper photos in low light and from a distance.
The Galaxy A53 punches above its weight most of the time — especially when it comes to battery life — making it easy to forget how cheap it is.
You also won’t get the same camera quality as Samsung’s higher-end phones, although the A53 takes good photos for the price. Overall, the Galaxy A53 5G is the right choice for those shopping for a phone on a tight budget, as long as you’re willing to cope with the occasional performance hiccup.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Display size, resolution 6.5-inch AMOLED (2,400×1,080 pixels); 120 Hz 6.4-inch AMOLED; FHD Plus (2,400×1,080); 120 Hz Pixel density 405 pixels per inch 401 pixels per inch Dimensions (Inches) 6.28 x 2.94 x 0.32 in 6.13 x 2.93 x 0.31 in Dimensions (Millimeters) 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1 mm 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm Weight (Ounces, Grams) 6.67 oz; 189g 6.24 oz; 177g Mobile software (at launch) Android 12 Android 12 Camera 64-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 5-megapixel (macro), 5-megapixel (depth) 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 8-megapixel (telephoto) Front-facing camera 32-megapixel 32-megapixel Video capture 4K 4K Processor Exynos 1280 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (in the US) Storage 128GB 128GB/6GB; 128/8GB; 256GB/8GB RAM 6GB 6GB/8GB Expandable storage Up to 1TB None Battery 5,000 mAh (charger not included) 4,500 mAh (No bundled charger) Fingerprint sensor In-display In-display Connector USB-C USB-C Headphone jack None None Special features 5G-enabled (Sub-6 and mmWave); IP67 rating; 120Hz display;supports 25W wired fast charging, lacks wireless charging; Samsung Pay 5G (Sub-6GHz and mmWave), 120 Hz display, IP68 rating, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging Price off-contract (USD) $450 $700 (6GB/128GB); $770 (8GB/256GB) Price (GBP) £399 £699 (6GB/128GB); £749 (8GB/256GB) Price (AUD) AU$699 AU$899 (6GB/128GB); AU$999 (8GB/256GB) It boasts a far larger screen and more versatile camera cluster than the iPhone SE, though Apple’s budget model delivers snappier performance. The Galaxy A53 5G has an ultrawide lens for taking photos with a broader field of view and also supports night-mode photography. Other highlights include a long-lasting battery, four guaranteed generations of Android operating system updates and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. Just keep in mind you might have to deal with some occasional lag, and the camera isn’t as advanced as those found on pricier phones.
Benchmarks, Battery Life, Conclusion : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Fan Edition again, but in a different sense
AnTuTu has remained unavailable from the Google Play Store for two years, and the benchmark is getting more prone to manipulation with the passage of time. In a nutshell, we now employ separate benchmarks for GPU, CPU, web browsing, productivity, and storage, to help us ascertain if the phones tested can hold up in everyday use in ways their most often utilised.
Note: The review unit we’ve received comes with 8GB+128GB of RAM and internal storage respectively. Wireless PowerShare Dimensions 155.7 x 74.5 x7.9mm 158.3 x 73.21 x 8mm 164.1 x 76.9 x 8.8mm 148 x 68.5 x 8.9mm 71.2 x 151.7 x 7.9mm 74.5 x 159.8 x 8.4mm Weight 177g 183g 204g 169g 169g 190g Network: — 5G (NSA/SA), 4G, 3G 5G/4G/3G/2G — — — Video Support — — 8K30FPS, 4K60FPS, 1080p60FPS (front) — — — It primarily tests for a system’s and browser’s ability in delivering a good web experience. It runs a total of 64 subtests, each weighted equally, with multiple iterations, and takes the geometric mean to compute the overall score. Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. 3DMark Wild Life is a cross-platform benchmark for Windows, Android and Apple iOS for measuring GPU performance.
Its graphics test consists of multiple scenes with variations in the amount of geometry, lights and post-processing effects, mirroring mobile games that are based on short bursts of intense activity.
Wild Life uses the Vulkan graphics API on Windows PCs and Android devices.
In Unlimited mode, the benchmark runs offscreen using a fixed time step between frames. Unlimited mode renders exactly the same frames in every run on every device, regardless of resolution scaling.
Since this is a newly introduced benchmark in our reviews, we’re building up our database of PCMark scores for Android phones. With its 4,500mAh battery, the Galaxy S21 FE squeezed out 666 minutes of continuous uptime before giving up the ghost. This is a little disappointing considering the almost similar S20 FE from last year has 100 minutes more run time. That said, it actually tallies with the rest – the regular S21 had 4,000mAh capacity and lower uptime, while the S21+ had 4,800mAh and lasted longer than the S21 FE (these phones all share the same chipset here). Because Samsung still refuses to bundle a charging adapter with its budget or premium flagship phones. We felt this more keenly considering how cheaper Chinese phones with SD888 come with fast-charging adapters in the box going anywhere from 30W to 120W. With the previous Galaxy S20 FE, we said that Samsung defied expectations and made a true Fan Edition device that packed core flagship expectations into a budget flagship price tag without sacrificing quality. The Galaxy S21 FE actually offers the same value for money, but repeating its winning formula does make it fall short in certain ways.
Coupled with Singapore getting Exynos 2100 processors for its Galaxy S21 FE units when other countries get Snapdragon 888, we can’t help but feel a little shortchanged.
To add, holding another Samsung Unpacked barely a month after bringing S21 FE just doesn’t bode well for the decent budget flagship device. Now, Samsung has to contend with users holding on to their money to decide if they should take this handset, or the next generation of Galaxy S phones. Despite the phone’s circumstances exacerbating its shortcomings, the Galaxy S21 FE is still a great budget flagship alternative.
Taken together, the consumer gets to pay slightly less than before, get HDR10+ support, with performance commensurate to other 2021 flagship phones.
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