Samsung Takes on Midrange Rivals with the New Galaxy S23 FE

It’s finally back – despite the absence of a Galaxy S22 entry, Samsung’s slightly more affordable “FE” (aka Fan Edition) is finally back on shelves in the form of the Galaxy S23 FE. The new handset was launched alongside Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S9 FE models, and the new Galaxy Buds FE (we’re sensing a theme here).

So what can you expect with the Galaxy S23 FE? Let’s take a peek!

External Design and Screen

While it’s technically a member of the S23 family, it does feel a lot closer to the Galaxy A54 in terms of aesthetics, thanks to the somewhat thick bezels. Other than that however, it retains the general look of the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, with the rounded corners, although it does come with a glossy back instead of a matte finish. Both the front and rear glass panels are made from Gorilla Glass 5, and are enclosed by an aluminium frame.

The AMOLED screen itself measures 6.4 inches, with a with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 1450 nits. As far as Samsung displays go there’s not much to complain about here, and overall it’s a solid display. Also present are stereo speakers on the top and bottom of the screen, as well as an in-display optical fingerprint reader for biometrics.

Internal Hardware and Software

While the mainline S23 models are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the S23 FE runs on two different chipset, which will vary by region. Buyers in the USA can get the S23 FE variant that packs in a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, while buyers in Europe and Asia get the Exynos 2200 version. For the UK, there are rumors that Samsung might launch the Snapdragon variant, although there’s no specific word on this yet.

The Galaxy S23 FE comes in two different storage configurations, with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM with 256GB of storage. There’s unfortunately no micro SD slot for storage expansion, which is quite a shame. The phone runs on a 4,500 mAh capacity battery with support for 25W charging speeds. The S23 FE ships at Android 13 with One UI 5.1 on top, although we can of course expect Samsung to update the device to Android 14 and One UI 6, which should bring a set of new features over to the phone.

Cameras

For optics, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE features a triple-lens setup on the rear panel, with a single selfie camera embedded in the display. This setup is composed of a 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm main camera with OIS, an 8 MP, f/2.4, 75mm telephoto lens with 3x zoom, and a 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ ultrawide sensor. The front camera meanwhile is a 10 MP, f/2.4, 26mm sensor. For videos, the Galaxy S23 FE can record a maximum of 8K resolution clips at 24fps, which to be honest is pretty impressive.

Pricing and Availability

If you’re in the UK and are itching to get your hands on the Galaxy S23 FE, there’s a caveat of sorts – the phone won’t be available in the United Kingdom until December, which means Samsung fans after a more affordable S23 model will have to do a bit of waiting. The phone will be priced starting at £599, placing it in a bit more affordable spot against rivals like the new Google Pixel 8 and iPhone 14.