You don't have to buy: Samsung's "Galaxy S21 FE" review

It's not bad ...

SAMSUNG's "Galaxy S22 Series" will be announced soon, but before that, GIZMODO's Florence Ion is considering the reason for buying a smartphone "Galaxy S21 Fan Edition", which is not inexpensive.More.

Galaxy S21 Fan Edition is not a bad smartphone.Still, isn't it difficult to find a reason to buy this?

Considering that Google's smaller "Pixel 6" is $ 100 cheaper and has a better camera, this "Fan Edition" is not a very Samsung fan.prize.

Galaxy S21 FE

What is this?: Samsung's cheapest Galaxy S21 lineup

Price: $ 700 (about 81,000 yen)

I like it: Compact design, beautiful display, long drive time

I was curious: The night view mode is not as good as Pixel 6, and the image quality of the telephoto lens is not good compared to other Galaxy S21.

No complaint

What you can always appreciate with Samsung devices is the high premiere feeling.This is common in Galaxy S21 Fan Edition and stands out among Android smartphones.There is a triple camera protrusion on the back, but it is rumored that this design will not be adopted in the next Galaxy.

However, compared to other Galaxy S21 smartphones, S21 Fan Edition looks cheaper.There is no flashy decoration in the body edge, and the back panel is just a plastic material.However, since the mat material is used, it does not slip on the desk like "Oneplus 9" or "Pixel 6".

S21 Fan Edition has color variations such as purple / olive green / white.This time I tried a black model, but it looks like dark gray.

The Galaxy S21 FE button arrangement is the same as the Galaxy S21, the volume adjustment and the power button are on the right of the main unit, the speaker grill and the SIM tray are under the main unit.Almost bezelless on the screen 6.Equipped with a 4 -inch Dynamic Amored display.Galaxy S21+6.7 inches and S21 6.Compared to 2 inches, some people may find it just right.In addition, the display is equipped with a fingerprint authentication function, and it works without any problems, although it has a little habit of raising fingers.

The Galaxy S21 FE screen refresh rate is 120Hz, so it can be displayed smoothly and beautifully.The volume of the stereo speaker is large enough, and it is perfect for video playback.

Points of compromise

Galaxy 21 FE 5G is equipped with Qualcomm's "Snapdragon 888", but this is a processor mounted on many flagship Android smartphones released in 2021, not the latest model.。

The RAM capacity is 6GB and the midrange level, and compared to OnePlus 9, which is equipped with Snapdragon 888 and 8GB RAM, there is a slightly different performance.For example, there are differences such as "Pokemon GO" and the animation is interrupted.

Refer to multiple benchmark results, the score of Galaxy S21 FE was about the same as Samsung's folding smartphone with the same processor.On the other hand, thanks to the large -capacity battery of 4500mAh, the battery drive time is enough, which is 13 hours and 29 minutes.

Zoom shooting is not good

Galaxy S21 FE has a 12 -megapixel wide -angle lens (F1).8), 12 million pixels ultra -wide -angle cameras (F2).2), 8 million pixels telephoto cameras (F2).4) and three back cameras are installed.32 million pixels selfie cameras on the front (F2).2) is installed, but I feel that the resolution is too high for selfie.

There was no problem with the photos taken with Galaxy S21 FE.During the day, it was possible to shoot with the child's movement and at night with low illuminance, so I was able to shoot with confidence.bottom.But the problem is the zoom lens on the back.

In Galaxy S21, 64 million pixel macro cameras were changed to 8 million pixels, so photos taken with optical triplet are not very sharp.This time, I compared it with "Pixel 6 Pro (not installed in the low -priced Pixel 6)", which is equipped with a 48 -megapixel 4x pixel 4x zoom using a tripod.

Personally, Samsung's camera is too much and I don't like it, but this is the same for Fan Edition this time.

The photos taken during the day are clear, but on a perfect day, it will be bluish.The same photo taken with Pixel 6 Pro tends to control the color to emphasize the details, which appears clearly.Photos taken with Galaxy S21 FE may be more white than Pixel 6 Pro.

Such excess processing is also seen when zooming in the fast -moving subject.I shot the fluttering flag twice, but there were two unprocessed pixels twice.This dot like anti -alias could not be removed by crops.

The nighttime shooting function of Galaxy S21 FE is not as smart as Pixel 6, so it is mediocre.In pixel 6, if you detect that it is fixed to a tripod, it will automatically switch to exposure mode for a long time.On the other hand, in Galaxy S21 FE, there is a manual function in the camera app, and it is necessary to switch manually.

In the above example, Pixel 6 Pro has exposed for 4 minutes, and has taken many details, from flying airplanes and textures on hills.On the other hand, such details cannot be captured in the Night Mode of Galaxy S21 FE.It has become a dark dark night view.

Really for fans?

Samsung provides Android 12 to Galaxy S21 FE in the form of skin "ONE UI 4".It is not a bad smartphone if you can put up with a camera because you have promised up to four years of security updates.

One UI has a unique habit.For example, the selection function of the color theme, which is a characteristic of Android 12, is not available.However, there are also useful functions, such as being able to fix apps and items to a slide dock hidden at the end of the screen.In addition, it has a function to link Windows PC and Samsung devices.

Galaxy S21 FE may be Samsung's enthusiastic fans, but the appearance is too slow and the functions are too small, so you can't find a reason to buy.Galaxy S22 with many new features, such as improving the function of night mode, will be released soon, so it is better to wait for it before making a decision.