Samsung Galaxy S21 FE price and specs leak points to a pointless phone

Samsung Galaxy S21
A Samsung Galaxy S21 (Image credit: TechRadar)

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a phone that we likely know almost everything about at this point, as most of the specs have leaked and now they’ve leaked again for good measure, but this time with pricing.

According to Roland Quandt (a reputable leaker) writing for WinFuture, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has a 6.4-inch 1080 x 2340 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 888 chipset, and 6GB or 8GB of RAM paired with 128GB or 256GB of storage.

It’s additionally said to have a 4,500mAh battery, an IP68 rating for water resistance, and a triple-lens rear camera, with a 12MP f/1.8 main sensor (with optical image stabilization), a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide snapper, and an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto one with 3x optical zoom.

A render showing the Galaxy S21 FE in four colors

(Image credit: WinFuture / Roland Quandt)

Other leaked details include a 32MP f/2.2 selfie camera, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, tough Gorilla Glass Victus protecting the screen, fast charging support, Android 11, dimensions of 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm, and a weight of 170g.

New images of the phone have also been leaked, one of which you can see above, but they don’t show anything we haven’t seen in previous leaks. That includes an all-screen design with a punch-hole camera, rear lenses in the top left corner, and an apparently aluminum frame and plastic back. You can also see the Galaxy S21 FE in graphite, olive, lavender and white shades.

The specs are largely as we’ve heard before, so they’re likely accurate, but one new detail here is possible pricing, with Quandt claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will likely start at 749 euros (roughly $845 / £640 / AU$1,185) for a 128GB model, rising to 819 euros (around $925 / £695 / AU$1,295) for 256GB.

Though you should take this with a pinch of salt, as we wouldn’t expect exact price conversions, and Quandt warns that prices could be changed at the last minute.


Opinion: priced to fail

Assuming those prices do prove more or less accurate, I’m not sure who the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is really for.

The specs while solid are largely similar to the Samsung Galaxy S21 – a phone which is still widely available, and while it launched at a higher price than we’re expecting for the FE, it’s now available at a hefty discount, meaning it might actually cost you less.

Not only that, but we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy S22 to launch imminently, and that’s likely to combine significantly better specs with a possibly only slightly higher price.

So it’s really not clear who the Galaxy S21 FE is aimed at. With a lower price, an earlier launch, or a different selection of specs, it might have had a shot, but as things stand it feels a bit superfluous – assuming these leaked details pan out.

Of course, with S21 in the name it will probably still sell quite well, but it might not deserve to.

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.