One of the best things about Android is that if you don’t like the pre-installed software on your phone, you can always flash a custom ROM to spice things up. While LineageOS is the most popular option, there are plenty of amazing custom ROMs out there. One of them is Paranoid Android which was updated to Android 12 in November last year. Since then the Paranoid Android team has released Android 12-based Sapphire Alpha builds to a number of popular smartphones, including the OnePlus 7 Pro, POCO X3, Mi 10T, and more. And the team isn’t stopping there as it’s now bringing Android 12 to a few more phones.
Paranoid Android Sapphire Alpha builds based on Android 12 are now available for the POCO F1, Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi MIX 2S, and Remi Note 7 Pro.
Paranoid Android Sapphire Alpha 1 is now available for the Poco F1!
If you’re interested in trying out the ROM, you can find the ROM zip and step-by-step installation instructions at the respective forum thread linked below. Since this is an initial release, the overall software experience may be a little rough around the edges, with broken things and missing features part of the game. Make sure you take time to read through the entire thread posted by your device maintainer before proceeding to install the ROM.
In related news, the Paranoid Android team has released Sapphire Alpha 2 builds for the OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T, and OnePlus 7T Pro. The latest version fixes many known issues and further refines the overall software experience.
Update changelog:
fod should be completely fine now
rom and kernel are now compiled with sdclang instead of aosp clang
flashing custom kernels should work now (though still unsupported)
better auto brightness behavior
Download Paranoid Android Sapphire Alpha 2 for the OnePlus 7 series:
Google Lens is an immensely powerful image recognition tool that lets you visually search the world around you. You can reverse search images, identify plants and animals, scan codes, extract and translate text, and a lot more. Originally limited to smartphones, Google expanded this powerful tool to the desktop via the Chrome browser integration last year. And soon it will be integrated into the Google Search bar on the desktop.
Currently, Google Lens on the desktop can be accessed from Chrome’s context menu. But as spotted by 9to5Google, Google is adding the Google Lens shortcut in the Google Search bar on the desktop. Users who have received the feature as part of A/B testing are seeing a colorful Google Lens icon appearing in the search box right next to the microphone button. When you tap on the Lens icon, it brings up an image picker window. From there, you can drag and drop or manually upload an image to search with Google Lens. Your uploaded images will be shown on the left side while relevant search results appear on the right side. Just like the mobile version, the tool will also let you crop or focus on a specific portion of the image.
The Lens shortcut in Google Search hasn’t rolled out widely on the desktop. Google Chrome for Android already has Google Lens integrated into the search bar so bringing it to the desktop version comes as a natural expansion.
Google is also planning to bring an improved Google Lens experience to the desktop that will let users see search results in the same tab. Right now, when you look up an image with Google Lens, results open up in a new browser tab.
Google Lens is also available on Google Photos on the web. However, it’s limited in terms of functionality in that it only lets you copy texts from an image.
When developers build apps, they don’t always have mass-distribution in mind. Some apps cater to select groups of users that the developer targets. Apple already allows devs to geo-restrict apps published on its store. This prevents users from other regions to download the app for various reasons — that differ from case to case. However, sometimes location restrictions aren’t enough. For example, there are employee tools that are only meant for people who work at a certain company. Until now, developers couldn’t un-list these tools — if published on the App Store. That’s no longer the case, though, as Apple has started allowing developers to publish unlisted apps on its store. They’re accessible through private links that the devs can distribute based on their preferences. Considering side-loading apps on iOS isn’t as simple as that on Android, this is a very welcome change that makes limited distribution easier.
Apple has announced (via MacRumors) on its Developer website that devs can now publish unlisted apps on the App Store. This allows them to share these apps with small circles of users — through private links. However, nothing stops users with the link from sharing it with others. There’s no invite-only mechanism implemented into this new feature. Developers can also un-list currently listed apps by submitting a request. However, they will retain their old links, and anyone who has it will be able to download the app.
The company highlights that un-listed apps aren’t meant to be a replacement for TestFlight. Before submitting a request to remove the listing of an iOS app, it has to be ready and in its final form. The Cupertino tech giant also advises developers to implement their own mechanisms in apps to prevent unauthorized use — for anyone with the links can download them. This feature only hides apps from search results, recommendations, and other public sections. iOS developers can take advantage of it by submitting a request to Apple, and it’s available in all countries where the App Store is.
What do you think of this new feature? Let us know in the comments section below.
In November last year, OPPO unveiled the Reno 7 series, consisting of the Reno 7, Reno 7 Pro, and Reno 7 SE. At the time, the new lineup was limited to the Chinese market, with no word on subsequent global availability. That changes today as the Chinese smartphone maker has now confirmed that it’s bringing its new smartphone series to global markets as soon as next week.
OPPO India today revealed that the Reno 7 series is launching in India in early February. The online launch event will take place on February 4 at 12 PM IST. It’s unclear whether the company will bring all three models to the Indian market or just the regular and Pro models. In any case, with the event less than a week away at this point, we won’t have to wait too long to find that out.
The Reno 7 Pro 5G will be the most powerful and feature-packed offering in the lineup. It sports a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. Under the hood, the phone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 MAX chipset, paired with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. On the back, you’ll find a quad-camera setup, consisting of a 50MP IMX766 primary shooter, an ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. The phone packs a 4,500mAh battery and supports fast charging up to 65W, capable of fully charging the battery in just 31 minutes. OPPO says the phone also has an “X-Axis Linear Motor” for improved vibration feedback and an “AI Frame Rate Stabilizer” feature that monitors the “system’s performance in real-time to manage frame rate stability during gaming.”
Assuming the regular Reno 7 5G is the same as the Chinese model, it should pack a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G. It also has a triple rear camera system on the back but with different sensors: a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro lens. The regular model also has a 4,500mAh battery but a slightly slower charging speed at 60W.
The Reno 7 series will run the latest version of OPPO’s custom skin out of the box: ColorOS 12. However, it’s unclear whether the underlying software will be based on Android 12 or Android 11.
YouTube Music may not be as popular as Spotify or Apple Music, but it’s still one of the best music streaming services on the market. And it’s always great to see Google keep adding new features to the service to make it even better. Case in point: the app is testing two new features to enhance your music streaming experience.
The first feature YouTube Music is testing (via 9to5Google) is called “Recommended radios.” While YouTube Music has long allowed users to start a radio from a single song, this new feature goes further, offering automatically created radio stations revolving around music genres and artists. “Recommended radios” are featured on the home tab and they keep changing every time you refresh the feed. The music featured in these playlists is “customized for you and always updating.” You also get the option to save tracks to your library.
The second feature that’s being tested (via 9to5Google) is the new “Add to playlist” UI for the YouTube Music Android app. The current Add to playlist screen on the Android and iOS apps looks quite dated. In contrast, the new UI looks much more modern and visually appealing, as you can see in the screenshots attached below.
Instead of just showing names of playlists, the new UI now shows artwork as well as the number of tracks that each playlist contains. There’s a “Recent” section at the top while the pill-shaped “New playlist” button in the bottom right corner lets you quickly create a new playlist. This new UI has been available on the Progressive Web App version of YouTube Music for months now, so it’s good to see it’s finally making its way to the mobile app.
“Recommended radios” and the new “Add to playlist” UI have only rolled out to a few users and aren’t widely available yet.
Featured image and screenshots courtesy: 9to5Google
Samsung is reportedly making some changes to how it delivers software updates to its devices in different parts of Europe. These changes will likely improve the company’s software rollout even further and, quite possibly, make sideloading One UI updates a whole lot easier.
Over the last couple of years, Samsung has improved its software update situation quite dramatically. The company has gone from being among the worst OEMs (in terms of keeping devices up to date with the latest software and security updates) to one of the best. These days, it’s one of the first OEMs to ship the latest security patches and new Android OS upgrades, even though it maintains a much larger product portfolio when compared to other OEMs.
In case you’re not familiar with Samsung’s existing update process, here’s a quick refresher. Currently, One UI updates for all Samsung devices are regionally restricted. This means that the updates for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 3 in Korea aren’t the same as the updates for the same devices in the US, EU, or India. To make sure updates reach devices in the correct region, Samsung phones ship with a region-specific “CSC” code.
CSC code for the Indian variant of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 (INU)
Samsung does this to prevent the occasional buggy release from affecting a large number of devices across regions and, sometimes, due to regional software variations like onboarding experiences and preloaded apps. However, due to this practice, users in certain regions have to wait weeks (sometimes even months) to receive the same update. On top of that, Samsung also faces issues on the development front, as it has to test and release multiple versions of the same One UI update.
In an attempt to solve these issues and further streamline its software update process, Samsung is reportedly reducing the number of different CSC codes for some models in the European region. Galaxy Club notes that the 4G variant of the Galaxy A52 launched with fewer CSC variants, compared to other phones from the company. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 also followed this trend, and all European models of these three devices share the same CSC code. Thanks to this change, Galaxy A52, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 users across Europe should receive software updates at the same time, irrespective of which European country they purchased the device from.
The publication further reveals that Samsung hasn’t completely implemented this change and carrier-branded phones in the Netherlands still have different CSCs. But this doesn’t seem to be the case in the UK. According to Android Police, carrier-branded Samsung phones in the UK share the same software builds as the unlocked models. This leads us to believe that the changes vary based on the carrier and country.
Galaxy Club further adds that Samsung’s 2022 product lineup, including the Galaxy A13, A33, A53, and the flagship Galaxy S22 series, are also being developed without regional CSC codes. We expect Samsung to extend this change to other upcoming models as well. Unfortunately, older models won’t get the same treatment.
At the moment, Samsung has not shared any official information about this change. But we hope the company will make an announcement during the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, where it will unveil the highly-anticipated Galaxy S22 lineup.
For more details on the matter, check out Galaxy Club’s post by following the link above.
While many Android flagships haven’t even received the January 2022 security update, Samsung is already marching ahead. Rolling out security patches even before the new month begins is something that Samsung has been doing for a while now. And in keeping up with that trend, the company is now rolling out February 2022 patches to some of its devices.
According to user reports on our forums, Samsung has started rolling out a new software update to Galaxy Note 20 owners which bumps the security patch level to February 2022. The update weighs 865.43 in size and carries software version N98xxXXU3EVA9. It’s currently rolling out in multiple European countries, with other regions to follow suit in the coming weeks. The update doesn’t pack a whole lot besides the latest security patches, with the changelog mentioning standard stuff like device stability improvements, bug fixes, and performance improvements.
Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A50s is also picking up February 2022 patches (via SamMobile) with a new update. The update is currently only live in Vietnam and it comes with a software version A507FNXXU6DVA2.
If you own a Galaxy Note 20 or Galaxy A50s and reside in the above markets, look out for an OTA notification in the coming days. You can also check for the update manually by heading to Settings > Software update and clicking on the Download & Install button.
The latest security update comes as we inch closer to Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series launch event. At the event, which is scheduled for February 9, we’re expecting the South Korean company to unveil at least three smartphones: the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. We already know pretty much everything there’s to know about all three models thanks to multiple leaks and rumors in the past few weeks. If you’re interested, you can pre-order a Galaxy S22 right now.
If you just ordered yourself a sweet new OnePlus 8T (and if not, check out our OnePlus 8T review), or if you’re using one since launch, you’ll want to make sure you can prevent fingerprints, scratches, and dust. As usual, there’s a basic plastic case included with the phone — clear vinyl, flexible, snug-fitting, and emblazoned with a frosted ‘Never Settle’ slogan running vertically up the right-hand side.
It’s a nice touch that makes it more appealing than a simple clear case, but it also only offers limited protection. So what if you want more? There are literally hundreds of phone cases on the market, but how do you know if you’re buying a delight or a dud? Allow us to help with our guide to the best OnePlus 8T cases.
The old classic is back. The sandstone is a rigid clip-on case which previous OnePlussers will probably be familiar with. The big attraction of this one is it has a slightly rough-hewn surface which makes it easier to grip, because let's face it, these smooth phones can be slippery little suckers. The Sandstone case is available in Black or Cyan.
This case from Supcase provides ample protection against drops even on the edges and corners. It has reinforced bumpers for shock absorption. The back of this case is clear so that you can show off the color of your phone.
Old faithful of the OnePlus case world, the Karbon is at the top end of the official designs. The familiar hard case with subtle diagonal pin-stripes is designed to add the maximum in knock and drop protection, with the lowest profile, most sympathetic to your sexy new handset. That level of design comes at a premium of course.
Otterbox doesn’t always make the most exciting cases, but they’re tough as old boots, and we mean that in the nicest possible way. Largely, the Symmetry is similarly low-profile like the official Karbon case, but with the added bonus of slightly raised edges around the camera and touchscreen, which provides much better protection. Symmetry cases comply with DROP+, which is measured as 3x the protection of a military-grade case.
One case. Many customizations. That’s the promise with dBrand, offering a 2mm thick case, including a design that encases the side buttons, protecting them whilst leaving more of the screen-free - an important consideration for a near bezel-less device. There are gripping edges down the sides that can be customized to your preferred color from a huge gamut and the whole thing reaches military protection ratings. dBrand also offers skins to be applied directly to the outer casing of your phone, but for full protection, the Grip Case is the way to go.
Poetic’s phone cases are among the toughest we’ve seen, combining a stiff translucent body with a rigid toughened frame. As a result, they do tend to add a bit of bulk to your phone, but even so, hardly any extra weight. As ever, it complies with Military Grade drop-protection standards and yet, thankfully, doesn't impact contactless payments. The translucent section complements the handset perfectly. If you want big protection and don't mind making a bigger phone, this OnePlus 8T case should definitely be on your shortlist.
The first folio-style case to make our list, we've chosen Olixar's thanks to the company's track record for producing great value cases without compromising on quality. There are the usual carbon fiber offerings, but we've decided to shine a light on the Wallet Stand, thanks to its imitation leather, three card slots, plus one larger slot of notes or receipts, magnetic clasp, and full compatibility with wireless charging and NFC payments. The whole folio can be rejigged to create a stand for the phone - great for games and watching videos.
We chose this one purely to show you that not all cases for the OnePlus 8T are one color! These Sidande cases are simple, transparent silicone cases, similar to the one you'll find in the box with your phone. But if you don't want to walk around for the next year with 'Never Settle' across the back of your phone, there are six decal designs to choose from. Not the highest spec cases on this list, more one for the Insta-crowd.
If you like seeing the back of your phone, you'll definitely want a clear case. Qitayo's case is thin and clear, giving you a small amount of protection while still being able to see your OnePlus 8T in its full glory. It's also the cheapest on this list, so give it a go for something simple and sweet. You get a fairly decent level of protection, and you can let your phone retain most of its character. While not included, this case also might work out if you like to rock a skin but want some protection sometimes when you go out.
Looking for something that will protect against most normal smartphone wear-and-tear, but don't want to bulk out your phone? Get the of both worlds with the Spigen Ultra Hybrid case. This case has a nice protective bumper, but isn't so thick that it'll get in your way. The sweet spot between two worlds.
Like camo? You'll love Ringke's Fusion-X case. This durable case has a unique semi-transparent design that lets parts of your OnePlus 8T's exterior peek through the camo design. It's pretty neat when you look at it, but there are also clear versions of the case if camo isn't your thing.
Most cases don't do a very good job of protecting your camera lenses. They can get scratched too! Nillkin's CamShield case, however, has a slider on the back that will help you protect your camera when not in use. When you want to take a picture, just slide the protector away, and you're good to go!
Our favorite pick of all the cases is the OnePlus 8T Sandstone case. The Karbon series is also good, has been around since the early days of OnePlus, and has proven consistently to be reliable. If you have slippery fingers and couldn’t transport an egg in the egg-and-spoon race at school, you’ll want to pick up the Otterbox Symmetry Case. Even Supcase and Spigen make good cases and are some of the most reputed case manufacturers.
The OnePlus 8T also ships with a basic clear silicon case, which should serve most users for the initial week of use. But as is the nature with clear silicon cases, it does develop a yellow tint over time as you use it naturally in the sunlight. So it’s best you explore some options in case you want some protection for your phone.
The cases we recommend should hold the fort well and let you use your phone with fewer worries. So grab one and ensure that you don’t get any serious damage to your brand new phone!
So you’ve just picked up the brand new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and spent a good fortune on it. It’s undoubtedly one of the best foldable phones on the market and if you love cutting-edge technology, you’re surely going to appreciate the engineering that went behind making the phone. After spending almost $1,800 on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 though, the last thing you want is to scratch the phone, or drop it and end up with a broken display or back. Accidents happen and no matter how good the new Gorilla Glass Victus is, glass is fragile and will shatter if it’s not your lucky day.
You can get a Samsung Care+ plan with the phone to cover accidental damage. But as they say, prevention is better than a cure. The best way to protect your Galaxy Z Fold 3 would be to put on a case. Some cases not only provide protection but also improve the usability of your phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 3, for example, comes with support for the S Pen. If you’re going to be using a specific case from Samsung, you’ll get an additional slot to house the S Pen which improves the overall functionality.
While you wait for your phone to arrive, you can take a look at some cases for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 made directly by Samsung and some other third-party vendors as well. It’s always good to have a case ready by the time the phone arrives since Samsung doesn’t include one in the box. That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best Galaxy Z Fold 3 cases you can buy across various designs and price segments. You can pick up the one that best suits your needs.
If you're going to get the S Pen Fold Edition, this case will let you store it on the side. However, the case itself is quite bad and isn't recommended.
This is the only case as of now that even protects the hinge. While the name says slim, this case will add a little bit of bulk to your Galaxy Z Fold 3.
If you want a premium-looking case that can also house the S Pen at the rear, your search ends here! It looks better than Samsung's official S Pen case.
Since the Galaxy Z Fold 3 has just been launched and is a new device, there aren’t a lot of third-party cases you can buy at the moment. We’ve collected the best Galaxy Z Fold 3 cases as of now which are mostly first-party cases directly from Samsung but there should be more options from case makers soon. The Samsung S Pen Folio case lets you store the S Pen, but is actually quite terrible when it comes to usability so we wouldn’t recommend it. If you want something that looks and feels rich and premium, you can’t go wrong with the Samsung Leather case, especially in that brown color scheme. If you’re looking for something thin and affordable, check out the Spigen Air Skin case.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung's latest and greatest foldable phone. It brings several improvements over the previous model, including high refresh rate displays, an under-screen camera, and top-of-the-line hardware.
If you’re looking to get your hands on the latest foldable from Samsung, you might want to check out the best Galaxy Z Fold 3 deals that can help you save a few extra bucks.
We’re not too far away from Samsung’s first 2022 flagship smartphone lineup. From design and full specifications to potential pricing, the steady stream of leaks over the past months have left little to the imagination about the Galaxy S22 series. Now Netflix has also seemingly confirmed a key detail about the lineup.
Besides maintaining lists of smartphones and tablets that support Netflix HD streaming, Netflix also has a similar list for compatible chipsets. The company has just updated this list (via Andriod Police) with the addition of the Exynos 2200, the chipset which is all but confirmed to power the Galaxy S22 lineup in most regions.
The fact that the Galaxy S22 series will support Netflix HD (and most certainly HDR as well) is pretty obvious and expected, but nonetheless, this discovery does indirectly confirm the new phones will be powered by the newly announced chipset. Note that in regions such as the US, India, and China, Samsung is expected to sell Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powered models.
The Galaxy S22 series is officially launching on February 9. If you want to be one of the firsts to get your hands on Samsung’s latest and greatest, you can reserve your Galaxy S22 right now and get an extra $50 in credit.
We’re expecting at least three phones at the Galaxy Unpacked event: the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. Rumors have it the Galaxy S22 will feature a 6.1-inch display and Galaxy S22 Plus a larger 6.6-inch panel, with both packing a 50MP primary, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens. Both models are expected to sport similar designs.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra is going to be the most interesting device out of the trio. It’s widely believed to be a spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note lineup and would reportedly feature a curved display and an S Pen slot.
The Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) was one of the best smartphones of 2020 back when it was released. This wasn’t because it had incredible cameras or unique hardware features, but because it brought some of the best features of the Galaxy S series at a much lower price. While the main Galaxy S phones approached or surpassed $1,000, the Galaxy S20 FE was available for $699 at launch and often dipped down to $550. Flagship-class smartphones are rarely that affordable in the United States, and Samsung’s decision to make the Snapdragon-powered model available in many regions that previously only had Exynos-based Galaxy phones made it a success internationally too. For those regions, you could finally get a good Samsung flagship with a Snapdragon processor, meaning you could game on it better than you could on the main S-series flagship of that region.
It was almost impossible for the Galaxy S21 FE to repeat that same level of excitement and success, especially after it was seemingly delayed for months. The phone did finally make it over the finish line, but with year-old hardware and the Galaxy S22 launch only days away, there are not many reasons to buy the phone at its intended starting price of $699.99.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Specifications. Click to enlarge.
Specification
Galaxy S21 FE
Build
Plastic back, metal frame
Dimensions & Weight
155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm
177 grams
Display
6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED
2340 x 1080
120Hz refresh rate
SoC
USA: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
International: Exynos 2100
RAM & Storage
6GB RAM/128GB storage
8GB RAM/256GB storage
No microSD card slot
Battery & Charging
4,500mAh battery
25W wired fast charging
15W wireless charging
4.5W reverse wireless charging
Security
In-display fingerprint scanner
Rear Cameras
Primary: 12MP, f/1.8, 120˚ FoV
Wide-angle: 12MP, f/2.2, 123° FoV
Telephoto: 8MP, f/2.4, 32˚ FOV
Front Camera
32MP, f/2.2, 81˚ FoV
Port(s)
USB Type-C
No headphone jack
Audio
Stereo speakers
Connectivity
Sub6/mmWave 5G
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/x (dual-band)
Bluetooth 5.0
Ultra Wide Band (UWB)
Software
One UI 4.0/Android 12
Other Features
Samsung Pay with NFC
IP68 rating
About this article: Samsung sent us a Galaxy S21 FE to review in January. The company did not have any input on the contents of this article.
Design and Hardware
The Galaxy S21 FE measures 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm, making it a bit larger than the Galaxy S21, but smaller than the Galaxy S21 Plus (and Galaxy S21 Ultra). It’s not the largest phone out there, but it’s definitely not small either.
Nearly the entire front of the phone is covered by the 6.4-inch AMOLED screen, minus the hole-punch selfie camera centered at the top of the screen and a small chin at the bottom. The display resolution is nearly identical to the Galaxy S21 (2340 x 1080 on the Galaxy S21 FE vs. 2400 x 1080 on the Galaxy S21), with the same maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. I have no complaints with the screen on the Galaxy S21 FE — it’s just as high-quality as the display on the regular Galaxy S21, with deep blacks and vivid colors.
I have no complaints with the screen.
The rear casing is made of plastic, just like the Galaxy S20 FE and regular Galaxy S21. However, unlike those two phones, the sides of the camera array blend into the rest of the shell. Personally, I don’t spend much time looking at the back of my phones, but some seem to be a fan of the subtle change. My one complaint with the back casing is that it’s prone to collecting fingerprints — even on the dark ‘Graphite’ model I have here, smudges are easily visible in daylight. I can’t test if the other color options are any better here, but if you’re planning on buying a case anyway, that won’t matter much.
Fingerprint smudges after about a week of usage
On the right side of the phone is the power and volume buttons, and on the bottom is the USB Type-C port, primary speaker, main microphone, and SIM card slot. There’s sadly no headphone jack or microSD card slot, which were both available on the Galaxy S20 FE. The model available in the United States (at least SM-G990U1/DS) supports Dual-SIM, which is rare on mainstream Android phones in the US, but Samsung has not enabled that functionality yet. Until that happens, you’re stuck with the usual single SIM, just like most of Samsung’s other American phones.
One helpful upgrade from the Galaxy S21 is the larger battery. The 4,500mAh battery in the S21 FE easily lasted me an entire day of moderate use, and you also get 25W wired fast charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. That’s not quite as speedy as the 65W wired charging available on the OnePlus 9 series (and some other phones are topping that), but I charge my phones overnight, so that’s not much of an issue for me.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Performance and Software
The Galaxy S21 FE has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System-on-a-Chip in the United States, and a Samsung Exynos 2100 SoC nearly everywhere else. That’s the same chipset found in the Galaxy S21 series, which is over a year old at this point. That’s not to say the phone isn’t fast, because it’s just as quick and responsive as every other Snapdragon 888 phone, but there’s no denying that paying $700 for year-old hardware isn’t the best value.
There's no denying that paying $700 for year-old hardware isn't the best value.
Samsung only went with 6GB RAM on the base model Galaxy S21 FE, which is less than the 8GB available on both the Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S21 FE. That’s still enough memory for a typical amount of switching between applications, but again, this phone costs just as much as the FE phone from a year and a half ago that had 8GB.
Moving onto the software experience, the Galaxy S21 FE has the same One UI software package as every other recent Samsung phone. This was Samsung’s first phone to ship with One UI 4 (based on Android 12) out of the box, which the company is slowly rolling out to its other devices. You get everything offered in Android 12, such as the fancy new system-wide Material You themes, combined with a custom system design and dozens of Samsung-made applications and services.
The Galaxy S20 FE is included in Samsung’s promise of three Android OS upgrades and four years of security patches. That means the phone should receive Android 13, 14, and 15 after they become available, and you’ll get important security patches until sometime in 2026 at the earliest.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE: Cameras
There are three rear cameras on the Galaxy S21 FE: a 12MP ultra-wide, the 12MP primary camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera. That’s almost identical to the setup on the regular Galaxy S21, with one important difference — the telephoto on the regular Galaxy S21 has a much higher resolution of 64MP. Check out our comparison post if you want to see some camera samples between the two.
Since this is almost the same camera configuration as the Galaxy S21, and because the Galaxy S21 generally captures excellent photos, you won’t have anything to complain about with the Galaxy S21 FE either. Colors are sometimes a bit over-saturated, and night performance isn’t the best in the business, but the overall photo quality is great. There’s also a 32MP selfie camera, and like most recent Samsung flagship and mid-range phones, it’s located in a hole-punch cutout at the top.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Fan Edition is an excellent smartphone in a vacuum, and I would have no problem using this as my everyday phone. Performance is great, the display is large and vivid, photo quality is decent, and Samsung’s promise of three major Android OS updates is the best in the Android world right now. I’ve enjoyed using the base model Galaxy S21 over the past year, and this is almost the same device.
No one should pay full price for this phone.
However, this phone is absolutely not worth $699.99. The Galaxy S20 FE was the same price when it arrived in 2019, but it was also positioned almost perfectly in the middle between the release of the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy S21 series. It was a great option for anyone who held off on buying an S20 until a better deal showed up. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S21 FE has arrived just before the expected launch of the Galaxy S22 series, with a chipset that is now over a year old. It’s also a downgrade from the earlier Galaxy S20 FE in some areas, with less RAM, no microSD card slot, and no headphone jack. And because it mimics the Exynos-Snapdragon split from the Galaxy S21 series, the regions with Exynos do not have a better processor from Qualcomm to look forward to, either.
Samsung is asking $700 for a phone that is almost the same device as the Galaxy S21, which was $800 when it first arrived a year ago, but frequent sales brought the phone down to $700 or $650. No one should pay full price for this phone, and even if you can get an excellent trade-in deal or a discount from a carrier, Samsung might offer similar discounts on the Galaxy S22 within the next month or two. As I said, it’s a good phone, but the timing puts it at a rather awkward spot.
If the upcoming Galaxy S22 series ends up being significantly more expensive than this phone (which doesn’t seem to be likely), or the price makes more sense in your country, you won’t find much to complain about with the Galaxy S21 FE.
