Samsung is widely expected to launch a replacement, cost-reduced version of its Galaxy S21 smartphone within the coming months. Last year, Samsung released the Galaxy S20 FE, and this year will see the arrival of the Galaxy S21 FE.
Luckily for us, the Galaxy S21 FE (internal designation SM-G990U) made an appearance in Geekbench, carrying an equivalent processor because the remainder of the Galaxy S21 family: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Global versions of the Galaxy S21 FE are likely to incorporate Samsung’s homegrown Exynos 2100 SoC. However, as long as the Galaxy S21 FE will hit a lower cost point, Samsung must form some compromises.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ are only available with 8GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra is fitted with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. The Galaxy S21 FE, on the opposite hand, comes with just 6GB of RAM, consistent with the Geekbench listing. It’s possible, however, that Samsung might offer 8GB of RAM with higher storage tiers (a la, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB).
According to previous rumors, the Galaxy S21 FE will feature slightly larger overall dimensions than the baseline Galaxy S21. It’s also expected to sport a bigger 6.4-inch display (versus 6.2 inches). It’s also been suggested that while the Galaxy S21 FE will retain three cameras on the rear, Samsung could choose lower quality glass to chop costs. Of course, this downgrade would impact overall image quality, but Samsung is probably hoping that customers won’t mind if the worth is true.
At this point, it isn’t known where else Samsung will reduce its manufacturing costs. The Galaxy S21 already employs an inexpensive “galactic” body, so perhaps Samsung could accompany an inferior selfie camera or skimp on the battery (which could be a nasty idea with the larger display).
Whatever the outcome, Samsung will get to make a worthwhile price-cutting versus the Galaxy S21, which retails for $799. We saw Galaxy S21 pricing reach as low as $699 shortly after launch. We’d imagine that the Galaxy S21 FE would wish an MSRP of $699 or less to place enough daylight between it and, therefore, the Galaxy S21, with the inevitable discounts pushing that pricing further downward.
