Samsung Galaxy S21 FE listing reveals faster charging than the Galaxy S21 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Image credit: Srivatsa Ramesh)

In many ways the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will probably be a lower end phone than the rest of the Samsung Galaxy S21 range, but when it comes to charging speed it looks like this upcoming handset could have all of them – including the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – beat.

That’s the indication we get from an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) listing for a phone believed to be the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Rather than a name, the model number SM-G990U is listed, but that’s been linked to the S21 FE in the past.

The listing mentions support for both a 25W charger (which is the most the rest of the S21 range can muster) and a 45W one, which Samsung previously supported with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, but hasn’t given much love to lately.

Sold separately

It’s worth noting that there’s no guarantee either of these chargers will come in the box, and indeed MyFixGuide, which found the listing, suggests they won’t – though it’s not clear where it got that information. Still, given that the rest of the Galaxy S21 range doesn’t ship with chargers, we’d think that would likely be the case here too.

But 45W – even if you have to buy the charger separately – would be a big win for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, as Samsung’s phones have started trailing rival devices when it comes to charging speeds. The OnePlus 9 for example supports 65W charging, and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra can get all the way up to 120W.

The rest of this FCC listing is less illuminating, but it includes a few additional details. The Snapdragon 888 chipset is mentioned for one – that’s the same one as you’ll find in the rest of the range (at least in the US) and was always likely to be included.

The listing also mentions support for USB-C earphones, which might mean there’s no 3.5mm headphone port. We can’t be certain of that, but the rest of the range lacks a 3.5mm port, so it’s likely to be absent here too.

We can at least be fairly confident that the details in this listing are accurate, as data on the FCC’s database usually is. The phone’s presence there also suggests it’s probably launching soon, which lines up with rumors of an August 3 announcement date – though we’ve elsewhere heard that it might have been delayed until October.

Via GSMArena

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.