Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, Fan Edition (smartphone review)
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) is the last 2021 Galaxy S21-series. It is a kind of mash-up using bits from the S21-series and offered at a $999 price.
But blame COVID – this phone is very late (it was scheduled for launch in October 2021). It may have missed the bus as the new S22-series is here. I would be tempted to get the S22 for the 2022 tech, including the Qualcomm SD Gen 1, 4nm processor and Adreno 730 GPU. OK, it is $250 more, but you get 8GB standard, a better camera, SIM and eSIM, and an adaptive AMOLED screen.
And it is in that ‘red ocean’ where there are some great phones like Google Pixel 6 ($999, 8/128GB), Vivo X60 Pro (12/256GB $899), ZTE RedMagic 6 Pro ($999, SD888, 16/256GB), and in a few weeks OPPO’s FindX5 upper-mid-range Neo (may be called a Reno7) and who knows what announcements we will see at Mobile World Congress at the end of February.
Better buy genuine, or 5G won’t work
We issue a strong warning that you must buy a genuine model with Australian firmware if you want to use 5G. Read Don’t buy a grey market phone to ensure you get the Australian model.
It is easy to identify the Australian version – usually under Settings, About Phone, Legal Information, Regulatory compliance, you will see the Australian RCM C-tick mark.
New review format for 2022 – both a short overview and deep-dive
We have reflected on how best to present our deep-dive reviews, now unique to CyberShack. Our readers tell us they want this detailed level of information to make purchasing decisions.
Deep-dive reviews have two aims:
First, to test the s*it out of the phones. We run more than 70 tests (many repeated three times) over a week to ensure accurate data you can rely on. You won’t find more accurate data on phone reception signal strength (a city or rural capable phone), battery life, Wi-Fi performance, CPU/GPU performance, throttling under load and importantly, how it sounds.
Second, to do this, we have developed a database with more than 300 facts and test results for all phones we review in 2022. It will be invaluable for objective comparisons. So, at the end of this review is the data and an explanation of why it rates. Following is a maximum 5-minute read summarising our findings for those that just want the summary.
5-minute review – Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition)
It sells for $999 (6/128GB), putting it in the upper mid-range bracket with premium features. When we rate it the score will be against other phones in this category.
Slimmer and lighter
It’s a 6.4″ screen, 7.9mm (thin) x 177g (light) and well-made with Gorilla Glass Victus on the front, an aluminium frame, and a fingerprint-resistant matte glastic back. It feels good in the hand.
6.4″ screen – bright and colourful AMOLED
No problems reading this day or night – it is brighter than most. But while it has a 60 or 120Hz refresh rate, these are fixed, and the latter reduces battery life a little. Most phones now have adaptive rates from 10-120Hz. You will get 1080p HDR10 streaming videos.
The screen is good, but it is not a class leader.
Processor – Exynos 2100
The same Exynos processor as the S21-series. Overall it is fast and smooth, but the 6GB of RAM can lag if you have a lot of open Browser tabs. The 128GB UFS 3.1 (100GB free) is fine, but there is no MicroSD slot expansion. Nor can it mount an external SSD or Flash drive as internal storage, making it unsuitable for videographers and vloggers.
Throttling is also a significant concern to power users and gamers. It drops back savagely by 44% over 15 minutes, but the average user won’t push it this hard.
Exynos versus Qualcomm?
The S20 FE had a Qualcomm SD865 Chipset, and there was a reasonable expectation that we would get the SD888 SoC (26 trillion operations per second – TOPS) and X60 modem. No, it is the Exynos 2100 (26 TOPS), and there is little between them. If anything, Samsung has more opportunities to tune the Exynos to its needs.
Do you care about the Qualcomm versus Exynos debate? Joe and Jane Average don’t, but many tech journos seem to get their knickers in a twist over what amounts to a scant few per cent difference either way. We can confidently tell you that performance-wise there is not enough to worry about but modem-wise there may be significant differences (see 4/5G in the table below).
Comms – all you need
Wi-Fi 6 (not 6E) VH80 means a maximum of 1200Mbps from a Wi-Fi router. The signal is reasonably solid but variable – not rock solid like other brands that are now VHT160 2400Mbps.
It has Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and a single band GPS.
Importantly the USB-C connector supports ALT DP audio and video, USB-C to HDMI wired DeX (a 1080p Android desktop) and screen mirror to a TV.
Phone – supports all Aussie bands
The Exynos Modem is more suited to city and suburbs only reception – it is not for weak reception areas, regional or rural use.
Battery – a mixed bag
Typical-to-low use should give you 24 hours between charges, but heavy use and gaming can reduce this to about 6 hours.
It does not have a charger (grrr, Samsung is penny-pinching), so go and buy a GaN (Gallium Nitride) PD intelligent Charger of at least 30W (it charges at 25W). Alogic has a two-port USB-C 68W for $84, and you can get 4-port 100 and 200W for not a lot more.
It supports Qi wireless 15W charging, and you can get charge pads for about $60 and use one of the GaN ports above.
Charge times have improved over the S21 at around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Sound – Stereo
The Analytical sound signature is not the sweetest sounding (being polite) – it has a focus clear voice (1000-4000Hz) for hands-free. If you want to listen to music, you will need Bluetooth headphones or speakers where the Dolby Atmos EQ helps give you a wide sound stage and decent frequency response.
You can read more about sound signature and what to look for (including test tracks) How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key).
Build – very good
The Glastic back is a fibreglass-reinforced polyester. Add an aluminium frame and IP68 rating (1 metre for 30 minutes) – it is a keeper.
Warranty is 1-year which we think should be longer – OPPO and Google offer 2-years.
Android 12 and three updates
Samsung UI 4.1 is the grease over Android 12’s cogs, making it a pleasure to use. Getting Android 14 and four years of security patches is one of the better policies.
Samsung tries to draw you into its world with Galaxy Apps, Samsung Account and Backup. There is nothing wrong with that, and you can avoid these if you don’t want Samsung to know what you do. We strongly recommend using the Google app alternatives to make it easier if you ever want to exit the Samsung world.
Security
Samsung Knox hardens Android and offers things like secure and hidden folders. It has an under-glass optical fingerprint reader; you can use Face ID (2D and not as secure) and PIN, Pattern etc.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE camera – good all-rounder
It has essentially the same camera specs as the S20 FE (DXOMARK 115). It scores 120, reflecting more AI power in the later Exynos 2100 SoC.
- Daylight and office light shots are fine with natural colour, fast focus, and exposure.
- Office Light shots are good.
- Night mode lets it down a little – it can induice noise and takes a few seconds to take the shot – hold it very still.
- The 3X optical zoom was good to 20X – 30X was a stretch.
- Bokeh failed as it focused on the background and blurred the foreground.
- Daylight and office video was above average with solid colours, exposure, good autofocus (primary lens) and OIS. Low-light was noisy. As usual, it is best to shoot in 1080p@30fps.
- Selfies were variable. Fixed focus means blurred if you were slightly out of range.
Camera samples are at the end
CyberShack – Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a great upper-mid-range phone
It is good but not class-leading. I would be sorely tempted to spend more on the Galaxy S22, and I am afraid that more new models will out-class it after Mobile World Congress in late February.
Deep-dive CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)
This tabular format enables us to compare smartphones. It has test results under most categories. If a field is blank, it either does not apply or we could not find the spec.
General
| Brand | Samsung |
| Model | Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) |
| Model Number | SM-G990E single SIM (DS dual SIM not for AU) |
| Price Base | $999 |
| Price base | 6/128GB $999 |
| Price 2 | 8/256GB – $1099 |
| Warranty months | 12 |
| Tier | Upper mid-range |
| Website | Product Page |
| Manual | here |
| From | Samsung Online and approved retailers |
| Country of Origin | Vietnam |
| Company | Samsung |
| Test date | 12/02/2022 |
| Ambient test temp | 24° |
| Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy) | SM-G990B, N, U, U1, W or any model ending in DS (dual sim) |
Screen
| Size | 6.4″ |
| Type | AMOLED 2X |
| Flat/Curve/2D/3D | Flat with centre 0-hole (the Ultra has curved edges) |
| Resolution | 2340 x 1080 (it is seen as a FHD phone) |
| PPI | 402 |
| Ratio | 19.5:9 |
| Screen to Body | 85.30% |
| Colours bits | 16m 8-bit |
| Refresh Hz/adaptive | 60 or 120Hz and 240Hz touch – not adaptive |
| Response 120Hz | 10.5 GtG and 2.4ms BtW |
| Nits typical/test | Approx. 400 |
| Nits max/test | 800 (test: 760-790) |
| Contrast | infinite |
| sRGB | Natural: Test 97% |
| DCI-P3 | Vivid: Test approx. 60% (DCI-P3 more applicable to 10-bit 1 billion colours) |
| Other | RGB and temperature adjustment |
| Delta E (<4 is excellent) | 2.5 |
| HDR Level | It Plays HDR10+ (but downmixes to HDR10) |
| SDR Upscale | No |
| Bluelight control | Yes |
| PWM if known | All AMOLED uses PWM 250Hz approx. |
| Daylight readable | Yes |
| Always on Display | Yes |
| Edge display | Yes |
| Accessibility | Full suite of vision and sound enhancements |
| DRM | Widevine L1 1080p HDR10 |
| Gaming | Game mode |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Comment | Lovely bright, colourful screen, but lack of Adaptive refresh puts it slightly behind the leaders. Battery life is hardly affected by 120Hz. |
Processor
| Brand/Model | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| nm | 5 |
| Cores | Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| Modem | Samsung |
| AI TOPS | 26 |
| Geekbench 5 Single-core | 1046 |
| Geekbench 5 multi-core | 3226 |
| Like | About 5-10% faster than the S21 with Exynos 2100 so reflects later tuning |
| GPU | Mali-G78 MP14 854Mhz |
| GPU Test | |
| Open CL | 7605 |
| Like | About 5% faster than the S21 Exynos 2100 |
| Vulcan | 5950 |
| RAM/type | 6 LPDDR5 |
| Storage/free/type | 128 UFS 3.1 (95GB free) |
| micro-SD | No |
| CPDT internal seq. Read | 1290 |
| CPDT internal sew. Read/write | 222.21 |
| CPDT microSD | N/A |
| CPDT external (mountable?) | Won’t test – seen as external storage but can’t mount as internal storage |
| Comment | Videographers and vloggers will soon run out of space without mountable storage, seen as internal storage. |
| Throttle test | |
| Max GIPS | 246,792 |
| Average GIPS | 195,902 |
| Minimum GIPS | 133,233 |
| % Throttle | Samsung Galaxy S21 FE |
| CPU Temp | 50° |
| Comment | We re-ran the throttle test several times with similar results. Gamers need to note this would be an issue – average users won’t notice. |
Comms – all you need but slower Wi-Fi 1200Mbps
| Wi-Fi Type/model | 6 AX HE80 BCM43571 |
| Test 2m -dBm/Mbps | -31 to -35, 1200 variable, not stable |
| Test 5m | -59 to -60, 866-1134 variable |
| Test 10m | -63 to -70, 680-816 variable |
| BT Type | 5 |
| GPS single/dual | Single (10m accuracy) |
| USB type | 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) |
| ALT DP/DeX/Ready For | Yes – USB-C to HDMI cable only and will mirror to a TV |
| NFC | Yes |
| Ultra-wideband | No |
| Sensors | |
| Accelerometer | Yes – combo with Gyro |
| Gyro | Yes – combo with Gyro |
| e-Compass | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes |
| Gravity | ? |
| Pedometer | ? Probably |
| Ambient light | Yes |
| Hall sensor | Yes |
| Proximity | Yes |
| Other | |
| Comment | It’s a shame to limit the Wi-Fi speed to 1200Mbps when others have 2400Mbps. DeX support is nice even if its 1920x1080p. It also supports an external mouse and keyboard as well as a trackpad screen |
LTE and 5G – strictly a city/suburbs phone
| SIM | Single |
| Active | Only one |
| Ring tone single/dual | Single |
| VoLTE | Carrier dependent |
| Wi-Fi calling | Carrier dependent |
| 4G Bands | 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 26 28 32, 38, 40, 41, 66 |
| Comment | All Australian 4G bands |
| 5G sub-6Ghz | N1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 78 |
| Comment | All Australian and 5G low-band |
| mmWave | No |
| Test Boost Mobile/Telstra | |
| UL/DL/ms | 16.1/15.3, 39ms – average |
| Tower 1 -dBm/fW or pW | From -81 to -87 and 2.5 to 7.9pW – strong single tower signal |
| Tower 2 | No (a recurrent issue with the Exynos modem is antenna reception of adjacent towers). |
| Tower 3 | No |
| Tower 4 | No |
| Comment | It is strictly a city/suburbs phone with strong tower coverage. |
Battery – maximum one day and no charger
| mAh | 4500 or 17.46Wh |
| Charger/type/supplied | No – suggest SS 25W or GaN PD |
| PD level | 3 |
| Qi wattage | 5 to 15W |
| Reverse Qi or cable | 5W |
| Test (60Hz or adaptive screen) | |
| Charge % 30mins | 50% claim (verified) |
| Charge 0-100% | 75 minutes claim (80 minutes) |
| Charge Qi/W | Yes 15W (not tested but assume 5-8 hours) |
| Charge 5V/2A | Approx 5 hours |
| Video loop 50%/aeroplane | 14 hours and 12 minutes |
| PC Mark 3 battery | 7 hours 17 minutes 60Hz – a fairy accurate indication of heavy use 6 hours 56 minutes 120Hz – not a large overhead on battery life |
| GFX Bench Manhattan battery | Out of memory error. Not uncommon for Exynos SoC. |
| GFX Bench T-Rex | 502.8m (8.38hrs) 3351 frames |
| Drain 100-0% full load | 6 hrs 30 minutes |
| Watt full load | 9W |
| Watt idle | 1.5W |
| Estimate battery loss at 120Hz | Negligible |
| Estimate typical use | maximum 24 hours typical use but carry a charger |
| Comment | No charger is penny-pinching, and heavy users will need to charge twice a day. Out of memory error is common with the Exynos SoC and probably no issue. |
Sound – speakers are a bit harsh for music
| Speakers | Stereo – top earpiece and bottom down-firing. Slight volume and bass preference to the bottom |
| Tuning | ? |
| AMP | 2 x Cirrus Logic CS35L41 each 5.3W, 1% THD, 8 ohm |
| Dolby Atmos decode | Yes, downmix to two speakers |
| Hi-Res | 32-bit/384kHz (not tested) |
| 3.5mm | No |
| BT Codecs | SBC, AAC, Samsung Scalable |
| Multipoint | Can connect to two devices |
| Dolby Atmos (DA) | Yes – auto, movie, music, voice and games mode |
| EQ | Normal, Pop, Classic, Jazz, Rock and Custom – makes more of a difference in headphones as inbuilt speakers limit what they can do. |
| Mics | 2 – with background noise suppression |
| Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off | |
| Volume max | 80dB fine for personal use |
| Media (music) | 73 |
| Ring | 75.5 |
| Alarm | 73 |
| Notifications | ? |
| Earpiece | ? |
| Hands-free | Bottom mic for voice only and top for noise reduction. Hold the phone close as the volume is a tad low. |
| BT headphones | Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content. |
| Sound quality | |
| Deep Bass 20-40Hz | No |
| Middle Bass 40-100Hz | No |
| High Bass 100-200Hz | Slowly Building |
| Low Mid 200-400Hz | Slowly Building |
| Mid 4000-1000Hz | Slowly Building |
| High-Mid 1-2kHz | Slowly Building |
| Low Treble 2-4kHz | Flat |
| Treble 4-6kHz | Flat |
| High Treble 6-10kHz | Decline |
| Dog Whistle 10-20kHz | Steep decline from 13khz |
| Sound Signature type | Analytical: (bass/mid recessed; treble boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music |
| Soundstage | 2D (no 3D spatial height, but DA gives a wider sound stage. |
| Comment | Internal speakers are not the best for music – the focus is on a clear voice for hands-free |
Build – well-made
| Size (H X W x D) | 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 |
| Weight grams | 177 |
| Front glass | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Rear material | Glastic Plastic matte finish grippy |
| Frame | Aluminium |
| IP rating | 68 |
| Colours | Olive, Graphite, Lavender, White |
| Pen/Stylus support | No |
| In the box | |
| Charger | No |
| USB cable | USB-A to USB-C |
| Buds | No |
| Bumper cover | No |
| Comment | Well-made, IP68 and should be a keeper |
| OS | |
| Android | 12 |
| Security patch date | 1/11/2021 |
| UI | One U1 4.0 |
| OS upgrade policy | Three OS upgrades |
| Security patch policy | Regular security patches four years |
| Bloatware | Samsung alternative to Google suite. Microsoft suite and OneDrive (requires subscription) |
| Other | Selection of Galaxy Apps |
| Comment | Excellent upgrade policy and Une UI is easy to use |
| Security | |
| Fingerprint sensor location/type | Optical under glass – Goodix |
| Face ID | 2D |
| Other | Knox and Secure folder |
| Comment | One of the more secure Android devices |
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Camera – good all-round
| Rear Primary | |
| MP | 12 |
| Mode | Wide |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K2LD |
| Focus | Dual Pixel PDAF (fast focus) |
| f-stop | 1.8 |
| um | 1.8 |
| FOV° (stated/actual) | -67.4 |
| Stabilisation | OIS |
| Zoom | 8X digital |
| Rear 2 | |
| MP | 12 |
| Mode | Ultra-wide |
| Sensor | Sony IMX258 |
| Focus | Fixed |
| f-stop | 2.2 |
| um | 1.12 |
| FOV (stated/actual) | 123° (104.3°) |
| Stabilisation | No |
| Zoom | No |
| Rear 3 | |
| MP | 8 |
| Mode | Telephoto |
| Sensor | Hynix Hi847 |
| Focus | PDAF |
| f-stop | 2.4 |
| um | 1 |
| FOV (stated/actual) | ? |
| Stabilisation | OIS |
| Zoom | 3X Optical 30X Space zoom |
| Special, e.g. Lidar | |
| Video max | 4K@60fps. Above-average all around but best at 1080p@30fps for excellent, rock steady video. |
| Flash | 1 |
| Auto-HDR | Yes |
| Object eraser | |
| QR code reader | Yes |
| Front | |
| MP | 32 (Bins to 8MP) but delivers 5.2MP |
| Sensor | Sony IMX 616 |
| Focus | FF can result in out of focus shots |
| f-stop | 2.2 |
| um | .8 (bins to 1.6) |
| FOV (stated/actual) | (69.7°) |
| Stabilisation | EIS |
| Flash | |
| Zoom | 4X digital |
| Video max | 4K@60fps – it is above average with good colours and sound. But forget 4K and go for 1080p@30fps for webcam use. |
| Screen flash | Yes |
| Features | Dual record, Filters, HDR |
Outdoors
Macro – not dedicated but uses the primary lens
Indoors office light 400 lumens approx
Low light <40 lumens
CyberShack final comments – The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a fine phone but not the class-leader
| Ratings | |
| Features | 8 |
| No microSD, 3,5mm, Charger, single sim and fixed refresh rate screen but a very strong processor | |
| Value | 7 |
| There are perhaps more <$999 options to look at, like Pixel 6 and OPPO Reno or Vivo | |
| Performance | 8 |
| It should be stellar, but throttling and heat let it down | |
| Ease of Use | 9 |
| Long OS update and security patch. One UI 4.0 is easy to use | |
| Design | 8 |
| It is a glass slab with no distinguishing features | |
| Rating out of 10 | 8 |
| Pro | |
| 1 | AMOLED 120Hz fixed-rate screen |
| 2 | Nice in-hand feel |
| 3 | Qualcomm SD888 is hard to beat |
| 4 | Great camera all around |
| 5 | It is a Galaxy S series and all that goes with it |
| Con | |
| 1 | No Charger and other price compromises |
| 2 | Throttles |
| 3 | No 3.5mm jack or microSD |
| 4 | There is a lot of <$999 competition |
| 5 | |
| Final comment | A worthy successor to the S20 FE – better display, SoC, camera and battery life. You may want to spend more and get the new Galaxy S22 – I would. |
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition)
From $999
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