{"id":8929,"date":"2022-02-02T12:55:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T12:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/02\/a-little-too-late-a-little-too-costly\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T12:55:03","slug":"a-little-too-late-a-little-too-costly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/02\/a-little-too-late-a-little-too-costly\/","title":{"rendered":"A little too late, a little too costly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After several rumoured delays reportedly due to chip shortage issues<\/a>, Samsung has finally released the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE). The South Korean tech giant describes the S21 FE as taking \u201cwhat you love most\u201d about the S21 series to create the \u201cultimate fan-inspired phone\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\"Samsung<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tSamsung Galaxy S21 FE 128GB\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
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Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE offers a grab bag of features with a mix of premium and mid-range specifications.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tBuy at Best Buy\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIf you purchase a product through links in our stories, we may earn a commission. While this doesn\u2019t affect our editorial decisions, it does help support Canadian tech journalism.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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While there\u2019s some truth to this statement, the S21 FE offers a grab bag of features with a mix of premium and mid-range specifications. This includes a 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 4,500mAh battery alongside 12-megapixel cameras, and more.<\/p>\n

Overall, the Galaxy S21 FE is a solid phone, but its Canadian price tag is a bit steep, and its January release is more than a little late considering the S22 series is looming on the horizon.<\/p>\n

Pretty stylish<\/h2>\n

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Last year, Samsung graced the world with various smartphones, including budget-tier, mid-range, flagship and foldable options. The S21 FE sits comfortably between a mid-range and a flagship device regarding its specs and design. The phone offers a similar design to the Galaxy S21 but features more squared edges that make it look similar to Note-series devices.<\/p>\n

The device measures 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm, making it smaller than the S21+<\/a> but bigger than the S21<\/a>. Despite the S21 FE offering the same display size as the Pixel 6<\/a>, Google\u2019s smartphone is quite a bit larger and heavier than the S21 FE. This makes Samsung\u2019s device the better choice for those who don\u2019t have large hands.<\/p>\n

Alongside these dimensions, the S21 FE sports an \u2018Infinity-O\u2019 display with a hole punch camera in the top middle of its front panel. I\u2019m using the \u2018White\u2019 S21 FE, which offers a matte backing that doesn\u2019t attract fingerprints or smudges. The phone also comes in \u2018Olive Green,\u2019 \u2018Graphite\u2019 and \u2018Lavender.\u2019 Additionally, in the top left corner, the handset sports a camera bump that blends into the rest of the phone\u2019s design. There are two 12-megapixel shooters and an 8-megapixel telephoto on this camera bump. To the right of the camera module, there\u2019s an LED flash.<\/p>\n

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The sides of the smartphone are silver and look quite stylish. In fact, the design is LG\u2019s V60 ThinQ<\/a> in a way. Overall, the S21 FE phone feels less premium than its other S21 counterparts and is almost like a toy in a way. On the plus side, it\u2019s still a stylish device and is much lighter than the rest of the S21 line.<\/p>\n

The S21 FE features a 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution display, which aligns with the S21+ and S21.<\/a> While I found the 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution ridiculous on the $1,399.99 S21+, it\u2019s more acceptable on a cheaper smartphone.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the screen still features a higher 120Hz display refresh rate, making scrolling and playing games a much smoother experience. Images and videos are pretty middle-of-the-road, but smaller screens don\u2019t need anything all that special.<\/p>\n

Full-day battery<\/h2>\n

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Alongside decent specifications, the S21 FE features dual speakers on the top and bottom of the device. The speakers are good enough to provide background music when you\u2019re hanging out with friends or roommates but aren\u2019t spectacular.<\/p>\n

Using a Sound Meter app, I determined the S21 FE\u2019s speakers are louder than the S21+ and typically peaked around 72 to 74 decibels.<\/p>\n

The S21 FE\u2019s battery easily lasted a day with moderate usage. Unlike other S21 phones, the FE lacks a variable refresh rate, so it\u2019s being forced to stay at a 120Hz refresh rate even when the display is static. I kept my S21 FE at 120Hz, which means I could have even gotten more out of the battery if I wanted to use the lower refresh rate.<\/p>\n

2021\u2019s flagship processor<\/h2>\n

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Of course, a smartphone\u2019s display and design aren\u2019t all that matters. In Canada, Samsung\u2019s Galaxy S21 FE features Qualcomm\u2019s 2021 highest-end processor, the Snapdragon 888. The chipset is speedy and handles everything I put it through with ease.<\/p>\n

However, the phone can only support having about eight to ten apps open at once. This is likely because the smartphone features just 6GB of RAM. However, I didn\u2019t find this a significant issue during my time with the device.<\/p>\n