In a year when most things got more pricey, the $599 Galaxy S23 FE is revitalizing. That’s much less than its predecessor, the Galaxy S21 FE, expense when it debuted at $699 practically 2 years back– specifically when you think about inflation.
Cost was among the primary issues with the Galaxy S21 FE. It was expected to be an “available” flagship for the fans– the FE represents Fan Edition. However it was priced too near the basic S21 to make good sense, and at the time, the Pixel 6 was a much better worth for $599. Samsung appears intent on righting this incorrect with the S23 FE.
When it comes to whatever else, the S23 FE checks the right boxes. There’s a capable processor with a healthy 8GB of RAM, a cinema, a devoted telephoto lens, complete IP68 water and dust resistance, cordless charging, and a great five-year software application assistance policy. That’s a competitive plan for $600.
However the S23 FE still seems like it’s stuck in no-man’s- land. Efficiency is excellent, however it’s not jumps and bounds much better than the $500 Pixel 7A. It’s properly priced, however it likewise does not seem like a shouting offer compared to the $700 and $800 flagships. I ‘d discover it much easier to suggest if it stuck out in any method at all, however as it is, it seems like it was developed to consume a supply of previous-gen Qualcomm chips before they stagnate.
The Galaxy S23 FE utilizes a late 2021 vintage Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset– which’s not the 8 Plus Gen 1, which came out midway through 2022. The initial 8 Gen 1 powered the S22 series flagships, which tended to run hot and lose on battery life. In the S23 FE, it’s coupled with 8GB of RAM, which is sufficient for a lot of day-to-day jobs.
The 4,500 mAh battery quickly lasts a day of moderate usage, however you can drain it much quicker with some processing-intensive jobs. Include an additional thirty minutes of video gaming or extended time far from Wi-Fi, and you’ll wish to charge up before the day’s over. The S23 FE supports cordless charging, which is welcome here and by no ways ensured on a $600 phone. It’s a little thing, however there’s absolutely nothing rather like plopping your phone on a battery charger at the end of the day instead of tinkering a charging cable television.
This gadget’s finest nod towards fans may be the color choices Samsung offers it in. My evaluation system is an apparent purple, and you can discover tangerine and mint choices, too. I’m not as keen on the curved, smooth edges used by the S23 FE; they feel too slippery in my hand, and numerous other gadget producers have actually relocated to less rounded sides for excellent factor. Even Samsung relocated to a flatter edge on the S23 Ultra.
This phone is no light-weight, either– it weighs 209g, a bit more than the 196g Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, despite the fact that they share comparable measurements. I took additional care whenever I selected it up off a table so it would not fly out of my hands, and it’s a great prospect for a grippy case.
The S23 FE’s 6.4-inch screen is an emphasize. It’s huge enough to seem like a “huge” screen, with simply adequate resolution at 1080p that it does not look inexpensive. Sure, the bezels are substantial, and you’ll discover a somewhat thicker “chin” along the bottom border if you search for it, however these things didn’t trouble me. It has a leading refresh rate of 120Hz, so scrolling is incredibly smooth. I just battled with it on one celebration when I could not rather get it brilliant adequate exterior– it was an intense however overcast day, and I presume the high brightness mode wasn’t appealing. Otherwise, it was simply as good and responsive as any flagship phone screen I have actually utilized in the previous year.
The S23 FE feels more like an upcycled midrange phone than a streamlined flagship
Samsung’s One UI Android skin stays among my least preferred elements of the phone. As constantly, it takes a little effort to de-Samsung it to understand the app drawer and set up a keyboard that does not make me wish to toss my phone in the sea. I got a push alert motivating me to “Provide the present of Galaxy” with a holiday-themed advertisement for the S23 Ultra, a phone that costs two times as much as the one I was utilizing.
The phone was likewise missing out on a calendar and clock app when I set it up, which neither Samsung nor anybody else I asked might describe– Samsung phones normally deliver with a minimum of 2 calendar apps. I’ll chalk that a person as much as basic mayhem, however still, Samsung software application is Samsung software application. The outright finest news here is that the business’s greatest software application assistance policy uses here– it includes 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates. That’s no longer the very best policy in the class, however it’s a darn excellent one.
The cam system is where the S23 FE feels more like an upcycled midrange phone than a streamlined flagship. The 50-megapixel primary cam is great– terrific even! It’s the telephoto cam that feels a touch behind. Its f/2.4 lens is sluggish, so the cam gladly changes to the primary sensing unit in low light, with all the obvious noise-reduction softness of a digitally zoomed image.
Picture mode is simply sluggish in basic, too. It constantly felt a beat behind when I was taking pictures of my young child, even when we were outdoors in good lighting. I want Samsung had actually cut its losses and avoided the telephoto lens here in favor of a good 2x crop zoom mode from the primary cam– as it is, the 3x telephoto isn’t pulling its weight.
Beyond some missed out on picture mode shots, the Galaxy S23 FE didn’t let me down in any specific method throughout my screening. It maintained well on a long day beyond your home as I scrolled through Instagram, listened to podcasts, and browsed bus paths throughout town. There’s absolutely nothing incorrect with this phone, and if the rate and function set talk to you, then I do not believe it will dissatisfy.
Normally speaking, however, the S23 FE seems like insufficient, too late. In 2021, a $600 phone with a telephoto lens, cordless charging, and a top-tier chipset would have been seriously appealing. However the midrange class hasn’t been stalling, and in 2023, the $500 Pixel 7A provides a great deal of the important things the S23 FE does, consisting of cordless charging and a top-tier chipset. It does not have the telephoto lens, however I ‘d be completely pleased with its cam’s 2x crop zoom and general picture abilities compared to the S23 FE.
In 2023, there’s another $599 phone to think about: the Absolutely Nothing Phone 2 It does not totally deal with Verizon, so it’s not a choice for everybody, however it includes a huge 6.7-inch screen, a refined user interface, and the more recent Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, with all its enhancements in battery effectiveness. More than that, it seems like a gadget developed with function– not to clean out a parts bin.
Samsung discovered a method to wedge the S23 FE in between the midrange and premium classes, and I do not believe it’s a bad thing that we have another excellent phone available in between $500 and the $800 flagships. However when it comes to the “fans” this phone is allegedly developed for? They’re much better off waiting on the Galaxy S24.
Photography by Allison Johnson/ The Edge