Samsung might bring their Fan Edition phones back from the dead in 2023

Despite a very successful Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung followed it up by releasing the Galaxy S21 FE a while later than expected, for much higher than expected. In fact, they left it so late to debut the Galaxy S21 FE, it was quickly overshadowed by the Galaxy S22 series they launched just over a month later. The Korean giant then cancelled the Galaxy S22 FE altogether, reportedly due to a chip shortage and a pivot towards building more Galaxy S22 Ultra units.

However, a new report from Korean outlet The Elec seems to suggest that the Galaxy FE isn’t dead in the water just yet. Samsung is apparently planning a return of the Fan Edition smartphone with the Galaxy S23 FE. It will allegedly debut some time in August or September this year, and will likely feature either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy or last year’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 instead as a cost cutting measure. You can also expect other corners to be cut to make it for affordable, such as a polycarbonate body.

The last Fan Edition to appear, the Galaxy S21 FE, came with an Exynos 2100 processor with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage, with a 6.4-inch, FHD+ AMOLED display that pushed a 120Hz refresh rate too. There was a triple rear camera setup on the back too, with a 12MP main camera sitting alongside an 8MP telephoto and a 12MP ultrawide camera, while in front there was a 32MP selfie shooter. The Galaxy S21 FE also offered stereo speakers, an IP68 rating, a 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging as well as 15W wireless charging too. Having reviewed it, the Galaxy S21 FE was a good phone, just one that came out too late and priced way too high with a starting price of RM2,899 at launch.

Incidentally, the return of the Fan Edition phone from Samsung might mean the end of another crowd favourite from Samsung—the Galaxy A7-series. The Galaxy A7X phones have always offered a premium midrange experience, making it very popular for users who lament the rising prices of the flagship Galaxy S devices. However, in order to focus on the Galaxy S23 FE, The Elec states that Samsung will be skipping the Galaxy A74 instead; they had previously limited the Galaxy A73 to a number of regions only globally.