Samsung surprised the world back in 2020 when it unveiled a Fan Edition version of its Galaxy S20. This featured a slightly reduced spec sheet compared to its full-fat sibling, but brought the overall flavour of a Galaxy device to those who didn’t want to spend the ever-increasing amounts that it costs to bag a flagship phone these days.
This was followed by the Galaxy S21 FE a year or so later, and we were looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE too, but it never launched. That made us sceptical about whether we’d see the S23 FE or not, but the latest leaks suggest Samsung may be resurrecting the Fan Edition for 2023.
Here’s what you need to know.
When will the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE be released?
This is hard to predict given that the S22 FE never launched at all. We had expected Samsung to launch that phone some time around October 2022, shortly after the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, but that obviously didn’t happen, and it looks likely that it won’t launch at all now.
That’s because the Galaxy S23 line has now arrived, so surely if any FE phone is on the way, it’ll be the S23 FE.
Korean publication Hankooki suggests essentially that: there will be an FE phone this year, but it will be branded the S23 FE, and will launch in August or September. Adding weight to that report, it suggests that the Galaxy A74 has been scrapped to prevent the two phones from cannibalising each other’s sales – which seems to be true, since we’ve since seen the A34 and A54 launch with no sign of the A74.
SamMobile says similar, but thinks the phone will come a little later in Q4 2023 – i.e. October, November, or December, while GalaxyClub warns that it can’t rule out a launch as late as early 2024.
For reference, here’s when the previous FE phones made their debuts:
- Samsung S20 FE: October 2020
- Samsung S21 FE: January 2022
As you can see, there was a little more than a year between the two devices, but this was mainly down to the S21 FE being heavily delayed due to a combination of Covid-related disruptions to production and the worldwide shortage of processor chips.
Has the S23 FE been cancelled?
Now that most leakers have accepted that the S22 FE isn’t coming, speculation has turned to whether the S23 FE is really on the way or not. While sites including Hankooki (above) have reported that the phone is on the way, not everyone agrees.
Previously SamMobile reported based on “multiple sources” that not only was the S22 FE cancelled, but that it’s actually canned the FE line entirely.
The usually reliable leaker Yogesh Brar has also tweeted that “there is no Galaxy S23 FE in the development chain,” casting doubt on hopes for another Fan Edition.
Korean site The Elec reports slightly differently. It confirmed that the S22 FE has been cancelled, blaming that on the success of the S22 Ultra – that phone sold better than expected, and so Samsung is reallocating components to increase production. On the other hand the site reports that this is only a temporary setback for the FE, and that Samsung will launch a Galaxy S23 FE this year as planned, with an expectation to produce 3 million units.
How much will the Samsung S23 FE cost?
The phone likely isn’t launching, but we can use the previous models as a baseline of what to expect if the S22 FE somehow does still launch. So, here’s the pricing we’ve seen so far:
Samsung S20 FE:
- 4G: £599/€649
- 5G: $699/£699/€749
Samsung S21 FE (5G):
- 6GB + 128GB: $699/£699/€749
- 8GB + 256GB: $769/£749/€819
While the S20 FE offered both 4G and 5G versions, this settled into the more standard 5G platform for the S21 FE and therefore the S22 FE. Hopefully Samsung will hold its prices for the new model, meaning you should expect shelling out around £699/$699/€749 for the entry-level configuration.
What specs and features will we see in the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE?
As the S23 FE now looks uncertain to launch, there’s little in the way of definitive information regarding what it might look like – especially since we had a year of conflicting rumours about an S22 FE that never launched either.
The best information we have right now all comes from one source: a SamMobile report in April 2023, with the Q4 release date mentioned above and a surprisingly complete specs list.
The biggest twist is the claim that the S23 FE will be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 2200 chip in every market. This is the chipset found inside the Galaxy S22 flagship in Europe, but with Samsung shifting to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 worldwide in the main S23 line, it’s a little unexpected that it might step back to Exynos – and go global with it – for the FE phone.
Beyond the chip, SamMobile reports that the S23 FE will ship with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, and likely a similar choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The battery will be the same 4500mAh capacity as the previous FE phones, and a return of 25W wired charging is likely too.
There is one more change reported though: an upgrade to a 50Mp main rear camera. This was reported by SamMobile and later corroborated by GalaxyClub, the latter adding that it will be the same 50Mp shooter found in the Galaxy S23 and S23+
We’ll update this article as more details become available, so be sure to check back periodically. If you want to see phones that you can actually buy, check out our guides to the best Android phones and best Samsung Galaxy phones.
Author: Dominic Preston, Deputy Editor
Tech Advisor's Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he's a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.