Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Awkward Arrival

Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 FE, its extra inexpensive different to the Galaxy S23, proper on the finish of 2023. It was a little bit of a curious determination with the Galaxy S24 mere months away, whereas on the time of writing, now we now have a overview pattern, the mid-range Galaxy A55 is upon us.

There’s clearly nonetheless a spot out there for a cellphone just like the Galaxy S23 FE (fan version), providing specs that vaguely approximate a flagship for a lesser worth. However the competitors within the £/$500 to £/$600 worth class is a robust and diversified bunch.

With respectable efficiency, a vibrant show, and flagship options like wi-fi charging and a devoted telephoto digicam, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE nonetheless has lots to supply. There are query marks regarding whether or not it’s sufficient, nevertheless.

Take a look at the competitors in our decide of one of the best mid-range telephones.

Design & Construct

• Related glass-and-aluminium design to Galaxy S23, however a lot bigger
• Extra vulnerable to nicks than Galaxy S23
• Chunky bezels however IP68 rated

As befits its title, Samsung has broadly caught to the Galaxy S23’s design language with the Galaxy S23 FE. It’s larger, bulkier, and usually much less refined, nevertheless it in any other case seems to be very related.

Certainly, at 158 x 76.5 x 8.2mm and weighing 209g, the Galaxy S23 FE is greater and heavier than even the Galaxy S23 Plus. From a design perspective, the Galaxy S23 FE is just much less wieldy than its brothers.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

It’s good to see that Samsung hasn’t been tempted to revert to plastic with the S23 FE. You’re nonetheless getting glass (although Gorilla Glass 5 somewhat than Victus 2) to the back and front, along with an aluminium body. The latter isn’t the Galaxy S23’s Armour Aluminium, although, so it’s not as powerful.

Stated aluminium body is barely curved however with a pronounced edge that runs completely flush with the show and rear glass panel. I can solely converse anecdotally right here, however there are indicators that it’s considerably vulnerable to beauty harm, and never merely as a result of the body’s form and clean end make it really feel somewhat slippery.

I famous a ding on the nook of the handset early on in my time with the cellphone. I initially assumed this was from whoever had been testing the cellphone previous to me, as I hadn’t dropped or clattered the cellphone through the day or two I had spent with the cellphone as much as that time.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Subsequently, nevertheless, the cellphone did endure a minor spill (I’m unsure it even certified as a drop) onto a picket desk from no larger than a foot within the air, after which I discovered a few recent albeit small marks on the body. Was that first ding a pre-existing situation in spite of everything, or is the Galaxy S23 FE body notably vulnerable to nicks and scrapes?

It’s unimaginable to name it both approach with any certainty, however I’d definitely be fascinated by investing in a case if this was my cellphone.

In any other case, probably the most notable concession to cost within the Galaxy S23 FE’s design is its chunky bezels and an particularly massive chin. Conversely, you continue to get a full IP68 mud and water resistance score, which isn’t a given at this worth. The Nothing Telephone (2) solely provides an IP54 score, for instance.

Display & Audio system

• 6.4in Dynamic AMOLED
• Full HD+ decision
• 120Hz refresh charge

The Galaxy S23 FE’s show occupies the center floor within the vary at 6.4in. It’s a pleasant dimension, providing an ample however not overwhelming canvas.

Samsung is a dab hand with AMOLED expertise by this level, and the Galaxy S23 FE outputs vibrant color. You would possibly need to reign these in somewhat by switching to the Pure display mode, although the default Vivid look clearly has its followers.

Even within the extra restrained Pure mode, this isn’t strictly probably the most color correct show I’ve seen, even at this worth. With a 98.6% sRGB gamut protection and a mean Delta E of 1.94, it’s removed from dangerous, however ‘punched up’ is certainly a phrase that springs to thoughts.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The display’s 1080 x 2340 decision, along with a clean 120Hz peak refresh charge, locations it proper up there with the remainder of the S23 vary, although a acknowledged 1450 nits peak brightness drops it somewhat quick. You continue to get assist for HDR10+ content material, although.

With autobrightness turned off, I discovered the highest brightness setting to be a reasonably meagre 394 nits. It’s snug to have a look at even whenever you’re indoors, whereas most true flagships will want dropping down for a cushty low-light viewing expertise.

It’s a disgrace Samsung has opted for a shiny hole-punch selfie digicam mounting. It’s distracting, and it additionally resembles the strategy taken with cheaper telephones.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

All-in-all, this can be a fairly respectable show for the cash, although the equally priced Nothing Telephone (2) show will get barely brighter, and is a extra superior LTPO panel to regulate the refresh charge right down to 1Hz to save lots of energy.

For the Galaxy S23 FE’s audio output, Samsung provides a strong set of stereo audio system; one on the underside fringe of the cellphone, and one within the earpiece. They get extraordinarily loud between them, although the piercing highs and insubstantial lows could make straying a lot past two-thirds quantity considerably uncomfortable on the ears.

Specs & Efficiency

• Exynos 2200 chipset
• 8GB of RAM
• 128- or 256GB storage

Samsung has rolled again a lot of the great work it did with the preliminary Galaxy S23 vary by reverting to its personal customized silicon. The place each different mannequin went with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Galaxy S23 FE runs on the Exynos 2200 from the S22+ and S22 Extremely.

It’s a flat-out inferior chip, producing approach decrease CPU and GPU benchmark scores. In reality, it scores far nearer to (and certainly barely behind) the Nothing Telephone (2) with its Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.

Taken in isolation, nevertheless, there’s little to complain about with the Galaxy S23 FE’s real-world efficiency. Leaping between apps, double tapping the facility button to leap into the digicam app, unlocking utilizing the in-display fingerprint sensor, and loading up internet pages all motor alongside in a really ‘flagship’ trend.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The place I seen that the Galaxy S23 FE wasn’t working on the high of its recreation was when booting up Genshin Impression. It’ll run in Excessive graphical settings, however not as easily as an out-and-out flagship cellphone from 2024 and even 2023.

The reminiscence and storage choices are precisely the identical because the Galaxy S23, which suggests 8GB of RAM and both 128- or 256GB of inner capability. There’s no microSD slot to develop that latter spec, so select fastidiously.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp major digicam
• 12Mp ultrawide
• 8Mp telephoto
• 10Mp selfie

Samsung has outfitted the Galaxy S23 FE with a barely scaled again digicam system in comparison with the Galaxy S23. The principle 50Mp digicam and the 12Mp ultra-wide look like the identical, however there’s a barely lesser 8Mp 3x telephoto digicam within the FE.

Even so, that shouldn’t take away from the truth that Samsung is providing a correct triple digicam system right here. That’s removed from frequent in something lower than an outright flagship, because the iPhone 15 and the Pixel 8 go to indicate.

The principle deal is that 50Mp shooter, after all, and it takes very strong photographs in a variety of lighting situations. It’s not the most recent or biggest sensor, however Samsung’s punchy processing ensures that you simply get constantly well-exposed, properly detailed photographs.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Samsung’s well-known color pop and picture processing accentuates surroundings and meals photos properly, whereas evening photographs are crisp and clear, if maybe somewhat over-brightened. You received’t must manually change to a devoted Night time mode both, because of Samsung’s good digicam AI.

The 12Mp ultra-wide clearly can’t match the primary sensor for element or clear publicity, nevertheless it’s nonetheless respectable. One factor Samsung has at all times finished properly is provide an excellent color tone throughout all of its cameras, and that’s definitely the case right here.

That applies, too, to the 8Mp 3x telephoto. Whereas its stage of element falls even decrease whenever you look intently, it nonetheless affords a notable enchancment over the cropped zooms of its equally priced rivals, aided little question by the supply of OIS assist.

One other factor Samsung tends to do properly is selfies, and the Galaxy S23 FE’s 10Mp entrance digicam acquits itself properly, regardless of technically being a step down from the Galaxy S23’s 12Mp instance. Once more, Samsung’s picture processing is doing a little heavy lifting right here, nevertheless it ensures heat colors and a well-distinguished topic.

With a barely wider capturing angle, you can even go for two ranges of framing relying on whether or not you’re after a solo or group shot.

Battery Life & Charging

• 4500mAh battery
• 25W charging
• 15W wi-fi charging
• No charging brick in field

With a a lot larger physique, Samsung has been capable of match the Galaxy S23 FE with a 4500mAh battery. That’s not huge normally Android cellphone phrases, nevertheless it’s a lot larger than the Galaxy S23’s 3900mAh, and solely somewhat smaller than the Galaxy S23+‘s 4700mAh cell.

In my expertise, this was ample to get by a day of sunshine to reasonable utilization (round 3 hours of display on time) with round half a tankful remaining. It ought to see you thru to bedtime on even a extra intensive day of utilization.

It didn’t fare so properly within the PC Mark Work 3.0 battery check, which simulates a cellphone working below an prolonged blended workload at 200 nits. At 10 hours and a couple of minutes, it fell greater than 4 hours wanting the Nothing Telephone (2), and about 45 minutes wanting the Pixel 8 and Pixel 7a.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

There’s a 25W wired charging assist however, identical to with different Galaxy telephones, you’ll want to provide the charger your self. Utilizing an applicable Samsung charger, I recorded the FE attending to 55% in half-hour.

It additionally helps 15W wi-fi charging, which is at all times welcome (although not distinctive) in a cellphone of this worth.

Software program & Apps

• Android 14
• One UI 6
• 4 years of OS assist, 5 of safety

On the time of writing, the Galaxy S23 FE has acquired its Android 14 replace, and is operating Samsung’s customized One UI 6 on high.

Samsung doesn’t precisely deal with Android with child’s gloves like, say, Motorola or Asus. It has its personal distinct strategy to software program and it doesn’t maintain again in making use of it.

Fortunately, Samsung’s expertise as one of many authentic Android producers implies that its UI is as mature as anybody else’s. Which means it’s reliable, polished, and fairly fluid. This maturity and consistency additionally implies that Samsung has persevered with its personal strategy the place others (not least Google itself) have lengthy since diverged.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The app tray sports activities a curious lateral scrolling structure with no sense of alphabetical order; digital navigation buttons are taken because the default; and staple apps like Google Pockets and Google Calendar should be manually downloaded from the Google Play Retailer.

Samsung has arguably earned the proper to do issues its personal approach – for a lot of thousands and thousands of individuals, the Samsung approach is the Android approach, in spite of everything. However for somebody properly versed in Google’s UI philosophy, all of it feels a bit cluttered, as evidenced by One UI’s extraordinarily busy notification/shortcut pane, or the supply of duplicate internet browsers and app shops.

The much less mentioned about Bixby, Samsung’s all-but-sidelined private assistant, the higher.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Minimize by the litter, nevertheless, and One UI on the Galaxy S23 FE stays quick, fluid, and eminently customisable.

Like the remainder of the Galaxy S23 vary, Samsung is providing a good software program assist assurance, involving 4 years of OS updates (together with Android 14) and 5 years of safety updates. It would really feel prefer it got here to market somewhat later than it ought to have, however Samsung is dedicated to supporting the Galaxy S23 FE for the lengthy haul.

Worth & Availability

With an RRP ranging from £599/$579.99 for 128GB of inner storage, shifting as much as £649/$639.99 for 256GB, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE occupies a place to the north of the mid-range market.

Because of this, it finds itself squeezed by robust competitors from the mid-range to at least one aspect and discounted ‘inexpensive flagships to the opposite. For one factor, the worth of the Galaxy S23 itself has dropped to £699 within the wake of the Galaxy S24 launch, and that’s even earlier than you issue within the reductions that crop up for such older telephones.

Then there’s the Nothing Telephone (2) with its related beginning worth, the Pixel 8 for £100 extra, and the OnePlus Nord 3 for £100 much less.

One of many benefits of Samsung telephones is their extensive availability. You should purchase the Galaxy S23 FE direct from the producer’s web site, after all, but additionally Amazon, Currys, AO and just about each different main cellphone retailer.

Discover out which handset we rank as one of the best mid-range telephones.

Do you have to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE?

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a strong smartphone that provides a broadly flagship-like expertise for a less-than-flagship worth. Its efficiency, show, and digicam system aren’t anyplace close to high of the pile, however they’re nonetheless respectable for the cash.

Its devoted 3x telephoto digicam is an actual boon at this worth level, providing a welcome distinguishing issue in comparison with the Nothing Telephone (2) and even the costlier Pixel 8. Conversely, neither the S23 FE’s {hardware} design nor its software program are as interesting as these aforementioned rivals.

There’s positively a timing subject right here, with the Galaxy S23 FE quickly feeling considerably outdated inside Samsung’s vary, particularly with the older however flat-out-better Galaxy S23 now being closely discounted.

Even so, with respectable software program assist and a complete function set that features issues like wi-fi charging and IP68 certification, it stays a protected wager.

Specs

• Android 14
• 6.4in, FHD+, OLED, 120Hz, flat show
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Exynos 2200
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• 50Mp, f/1.8 major digicam
• 12Mp ultra-wide digicam
• 8Mp telephoto macro digicam
• As much as 8K @ 24fps rear video
• 10Mp front-facing digicam
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 4500mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• 15W wi-fi charging
• 158 x 76.5 x 8.2mm
• 209g
• Launch colors: Mint, Cream, Graphite, Purple, Indigo, Tangerine