Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: OnePlus, for the last couple of years, has been the go-to offering for users when it comes to buying a smartphone in the $550-$800 range (Rs. 35,000 – Rs. 45,000 in India). Samsung announced a Lite version of its S10 smartphone, but it was a little too late since the flagship S20 launched a month later, plus marketing was also a bit off for that smartphone.
Last night, at their Unpacked Fan Edition event, Samsung took covers off the new Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) smartphone and looks like Samsung has finally nailed the timing (and the pricing) for a ‘perfect’ OnePlus competitor.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: What’s So Special About This?
So what’s so special about the phone? Well, for starters, it packs all (most) of the goof stuff from OnePlus 8 Pro (Snapdragon 865, wireless charging, good cameras) and packs it into a package that costs $699 (it’s on sale for $599). This price is for the 5G model of the phone, 4G is expected to cost pretty less than this.
On the front of the phone is a 6.5-inch Full-HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display, which, surprisingly, is flat unlike the normal S20 and S20 Ultra. And boy does Samsung nail the displays. The phone has a 120Hz refresh rate display, with a sampling rate of 240Hz. The front also houses a 32 MP front selfie camera, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The S20 FE is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The storage on the phone is also expandable (up to 1 TB) via a MicroSD card slot, which is absent on the OnePlus 8 series.
We expect the Exynos 990 variant to launch in India, but Samsung may just surprise us with a Snapdragon 865 variant, just like the Galaxy S10 Lite.
On the back of S20 FE is the triple-camera setup with the design inspired by the Note 20 lineup. It’s got a 12MP primary sensor, along with 12MP ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree FOV, and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 30x Space Zoom capability. This is exactly the same setup as this year’s S20 lineup, so we don’t really expect the camera performance to be any different.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is equipped with a 4500 mAh battery, with 25W USB Type-C fast charging support (fast charger included in the box). The device also supports 15W fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, even though it’s got a polycarbonate back, as opposed to OnePlus’ glass back on 8 series.
The Galaxy S20 FE 5G variant starts at a price of $699 (~Rs. 51,400) in the United States. This too is available for a launch price of $599. The company will launch a 4G variant of the smartphone in other regions soon. It will go on sale from 2nd October 2020.
Also Read: OnePlus Nord 6GB RAM/64GB Variant Finally Goes on Sale From 21st September, Starts at Rs. 24,999
Why Should OnePlus be Bothered?
With the right amount of marketing, the brand image Samsung has made in the market, and decent pricing, Samsung can actually take on OnePlus with their S20 FE lineup. The S20 FE offers a mix of useful features and specifications, that the user actually cares about at a not so ‘flagship’ price, and the 4G version is expected to cost less than $599. The S20 FE falls short only in the case of the processor department, but then Samsung has been treating markets other than the USA and Korea differently, so one can’t really complain about that.