Opening 2022, Samsung presents the flagship Galaxy S21 FE. Its presence has been awaited since last year, but the South Korean tech giant chose to release it on January 4.
As the successor to the Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung has provided a number of improvements. But there are some changes that make the Galaxy S21 FE even more interesting.
We've been using it for a few weeks. This phone offers many advantages, but that does not mean there are no drawbacks.
So can this Galaxy S21 FE be your daily driver in 2022? Here's a brief review for your consideration.
Design
The Galaxy S21 FE offers a completely different look from its predecessor. Gives a fresh impression on the view, especially the presence of the olive color that we reviewed.
Samsung adopted the contour cut applied to the Galaxy S21 series. The difference is that the camera housing is not made together with the metal frame.
The back cover of this phone uses plastic material, even though there is no cheap impression when viewed. In fact, the back of the Galaxy S21 FE supports wireless charging.
Still on the back shell, Samsung applies a matte finish that makes it comfortable in the hand while minimal fingerprint stains.
The body measures 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm and weighs 177g, not as compact as the Galaxy S21 but still comfortable to grip even for those with small hands.
Given the power button and volume control on the right side with a USB-C port on the bottom. There's no 3.5mm headphone jack, maybe it's time to use the more affordable TWS
Because it has an IP68 certificate, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is waterproof so you don't have to worry when it rains or activities in the pool.
Screen
One of the aspects that made us fall in love with this phone is the screen. Samsung implemented a 19.5:9 ratio after adopting 20:9 for a long time. The edges are made flat plus the thin bezel gives the impression of being spacious in the view.
The Galaxy S21 FE has a 6.4-inch screen with Full HD + resolution. The panel uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X as installed in the Galaxy S21 series.
No wonder the screen quality is eye-catching. The colors presented are so rich and accurate, the details are very good.
Samsung's screen issue has never disappointed. Galaxy S21 FE is fun for playing games or watching streaming from Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix and other services.
Increasingly pampered with stereo speakers so kicking. Moreover, once we activate the Dolby Atmos feature, the sound quality is instantly boosted.
Following the trend the refresh rate is 120Hz, providing smooth transitions when scrolling the screen. But several times we found the frame rate to be 30-35 Hz in the USA, the phone had to be restarted to get it back to 120Hz.
Camera
The triple lens on the back consists of a 12MP main camera using the same sensor as the S21 and S21+. Then there is a 12MP ultra-wide lens and an 8MP telephoto. For selfies, in the punch hole there is a 32MP front camera.
In terms of quality, the rear camera shots of the Galaxy S21 FE have good results, especially under adequate lighting. The details are very clear, the colors are also well displayed.
The main camera has a subtle depth effect even though it doesn't use portrait mode. The portrait mode itself works well if you focus it properly.
When using the night mode it really improves the low light scenario. The shot is brightened in such a way that it looks good, does not look grainy or fade objects.
While the selfie camera provides natural-looking shots under adequate lighting. Samsung also provides a number of interesting features, one of which is an object eraser.
This feature will remove unwanted objects in the captured photo. So there is no need to install third-party applications, and how to use them is so easy.
Performance
The Galaxy S21 FE is equipped with an Exynos 2100 chipset with a Mali-G78 GPU and combined with 8GB of RAM. When using it, the experience is so smooth.
Apps load quickly, multitasking is a breeze, and it can practically handle whatever we're working on.
However the unit we used was a bit odd compared to its counterpart from other media. When used for typing using Keep, or having long conversations on WhatsApp, this phone feels excessively warm.
We had time to play Call of Duty Mobile with the right alignment, this game lags. Try lowering it to medium settings, it's quite smooth but still encountering lag which is a bit disturbing for the fun of playing the game.
We had time to do benchmarks, the results are quite high. Here are the results:
AnTuTu - 507,208
Geekbench - 1071 (Single-Core), 3,077 (Multi-Core)
PCMark - 13,248 (Working 3.0)
3D Mark - 3,578 , 21.40 Ave FPS (Wild Life)
Battery
For connectivity features, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, 4G LTE, and of course 5G. We had time to get 5G from Telkomsel when we used this phone in the SCBD area, South Jakarta.
Samsung has equipped a 4,500mAh battery, which is similar to its predecessor with 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. As you may already know, retail units no longer come with a charging adapter, only a USB Type C cable is included. So it's worth needing a standard USB-PD adapter or Type-C charger if you don't already have one.
We feel the Galaxy S21 FE battery is a bit wasteful, but its use can reach 11 hours. When tested with PC Mark obtained 8 hours 28 seconds.
Our Opinion
Overall, the Galaxy S21 FE is an excellent daily driver. Carrying a waterproof body, attractive appearance, okay performance, good camera shots, and supports 5G connectivity.
The phone runs One UI 4 based on Android 12. This operating system brings a number of changes, from display customization to privacy. Samsung provides two very useful features, namely Link To Windows and DeX. So that the Galaxy S21 FE can be relied on for productivity.
Indeed, this phone is easy to warm when used. The battery is a bit wasteful and it still supports 25W fast charging. Even though there are competitors that provide 120W charging.
But with the price, the Galaxy S21 FE is quite interesting to own. But if there is an excess of funds, maybe you can wait for the Galaxy S22 which will come soon.
