Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: The Affordable but Best Handset

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a premium package that offers great performance and impressive battery life. All this under a decent price which definitely improves the value of the mobile device.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE – Overview

I was pleasantly impressed by how quickly the phone set up my web sites, apps, and ‘Settings’ when I initially got it. This is mostly because to the phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, which is still quicker than the chip in the Galaxy A54 5G smartphone, even though it is over two years old.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is available with Samsung’s Exynos 2200 processor internationally, however the US variant gets the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

I saw personally how beneficial it may be to pay a little bit more on a phone with more premium features like reverse wireless charging. With the feature, the S23 FE let me charge my other devices because I had forgotten my USB-C power adapter. I couldn’t have accomplished it with the less expensive Galaxy A54 5G.

Like the now US$800 Galaxy S23, the S23 FE has a 50-megapixel primary camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. These cameras performed well in all conditions from daylight to less light. In addition to that, the phone has a telephoto camera—a capability often seen exclusively on Samsung’s more costly models—which was useful for getting close-up pictures.

To be clear, if you’re searching for the newest and finest specifications at a lower price, this isn’t the Galaxy S23 model to purchase. However, the Galaxy S23 FE is a great entry-level flagship that offers access to Samsung’s higher-end capabilities without coming at the same price if you’re thinking about getting a less expensive Android phone.

Design

The Galaxy S23 FE features the same elegant appearance as the flagship S23 series. At 6.4 inches, it is in the middle of a manageable size range. The S23 FE has a noticeable amount surrounding the screen, similar to its midrange cousin, the Galaxy A54, while its siblings have bezels that are thinner. I didn’t find it problematic, but this is where Samsung starts to show its limitations.

The floating camera island on the rear is identical to that of the S23 series. Rather than using Victus 2, it is composed of glass and protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The only thing that bothers me is that the glossy rear of the device attracts a lot of fingerprints and smudges, therefore it’s best that you get yourself a phone cover to protect it, and to improve your grip because it slides around a lot.

The second microphone is on the opposite end from the top-mounted SIM and MicroSD card slots. Its aluminum frame houses the power button and volume rocker on the right side, while the left side is empty. The USB-C connector, the two primary microphones, and the bottom-facing speaker are located at the bottom. The headphone jack is absent.

There includes face unlock as well as an optical fingerprint reader located at the lower half of the display. Both worked great for getting to my phone immediately. The phone is certified IP68. A 6.4-inch AMOLED panel with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, support for HDR10+, Vision Booster, and a maximum brightness of 1500 nits dominates the front. The screen is a decent size, and it had adequate brightness when I was out and about. And For protection, Gorilla Glass 5 is used.

The Dolby-Atmos-tuned speakers and screen of the S23 FE are great for watching multimedia material. With its vibrant colors and striking contrast, the display is amazing, and I had fun binge-watching the newest horror movies. Its quick refresh rate is in helpful not only for online browsing and social media scrolling, but also for engaging with the phone’s UI and gaming.

The speakers are quite exceptional. When the volume is raised, they remain loud without experiencing distortion. Whilst taking a shower, I could definitely listen to music without any issues. Playlists and podcasts were also enjoyable for me to listen to. For clear phone calls, the three microphones perform well.

Overall, the design of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is impressive. The build quality is good. It has the premium look to it with a great choice of colors to choose from. 

Display

The 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED display on the Galaxy S23 FE has a refresh rate of 120Hz and a resolution of 2340 x 1080. When there is a lot of activity onscreen, your screen in adaptive mode will scale up to 120Hz to even things out. Otherwise, it will remain at a 60Hz pace. 

That’s a little different from the Galaxy S23’s varied 48Hz to 120Hz rate, but if you choose the FE, you probably won’t notice the difference. The screen is rated for a maximum brightness of 1,450 nits, so it didn’t bother me too much. On a reasonably sunny day, I was able to shoot pictures outside without having to squint in order to see the viewfinder or the controls.

However, I did found that it was useful to off adaptive brightness when playing games in order to prevent the on-screen action from being too faint. In my opinion, the Samsung S23’s color punch is greater than that of the Galaxy S23 FE. The eerie dark moments in from horror movies felt a little murkier than they did on other recent phones.

Though it’s a brighter video, everything appeared better when watching YouTube videos. I believe it’s safe to say that, whereas the Galaxy S23’s display is one of its greatest qualities, the Galaxy S23 FE’s is just passably good.

Performance

Instead of using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, Samsung chooses to use the Exynos 2200 chipset to power the S23 FE foreign variants of the phone. This suggests that the Exynos 2400 processor will replace the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the future S24 series.

In addition, you receive 128GB of storage, 8GB of virtual RAM, and 8GB of onboard RAM. Along with Android 13 and OneUI 5.1 Android operating system, Samsung guarantees five years of security updates and four years of Android OS upgrades for the S23 FE.

For the foreign S23 FE models, Samsung chooses to use the Exynos 2200 chipset rather than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to power the phone.

It multitasks quickly, making it easy to swipe between apps. Games ran smoothly, even at their maximum visual settings, with no frame drops. Long sessions may cause it to become warm; in that case, the vapor chamber, which is bigger than the one in the base S23, helps cool the phone.

Overall performance is excellent, and the S23 FE is a simple choice thanks to the software support that Samsung has planned.

Battery

One aspect of the Galaxy S23 FE with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU that worries me is how long the phone’s battery lasts. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 had a bit of a patchy history when it came to power management, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is incredibly efficient—just take a look at the number of phones powered by that chipset that made it onto our list of the best phone battery life. The Galaxy S23 FE, at least, has a large 4,500 mAh battery that should help it last longer.

We can’t tell you whether the S23 FE outlasts the typical smartphone by surviving longer than 10 hours since we haven’t completed our bespoke battery test, in which we have the device browse the web continually via cellular until it runs out of juice.

I am aware that the battery indication dramatically dropped when I played several visually demanding games and ran various tests on the phone, but it doesn’t truly represent use in the real world.

The charging speed of the Galaxy S23 FE is 25W, which is also the charging speed of the Galaxy S23. I wouldn’t exactly call it a reason to celebrate, as that’s one of the slower charging rates, but at least you’re not giving up quicker charging in favor of a less expensive phone. The Galaxy A54 does not support wireless charging, however the S23 FE does.

Camera

The S23 FE sports an 8MP telephoto lens with a 3x optical zoom and a 12MP ultrawide lens, along with the same 50MP primary camera with OIS and VDIS (advanced digital image stabilization) as the S23.

Additionally, a 10MP selfie camera is included. The S23 FE’s front-facing camera records 4K videos at 60 frames per second, while the primary cameras can capture up to 8K videos at 24 frames per second. Useful features like object remover, color correction, and filters are included in the Gallery app.

The camera system is good overall and processes data quickly. Whether taken in the daytime or at night, the pictures had an amazing quality. They were crisp, detailed, had a strong contrast, were colorful, and had a good dynamic range. Selfies are excellent, and the S23 FE does a great job with bokeh.

You should definitely purchase this phone for your night outings, like I did, and record and take pictures of Kenyan Swifties having the best time ever dancing and singing before and after the Eras Tour showing. The videos were amazing, especially in low light.

Verdict

If the S23’s exorbitant cost deterred you from buying one, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE’s reasonable pricing will win you over. With only a few small concessions, it offers the power and performance of the S23 series, all at just under $100,000.

Impressive construction and appearance combine with flawless flagship-quality camera performance. The majority of you will also wonder if you should hold off until the S24, to which I would respond that it will be a lengthy wait and that the phone will still cost more while having only marginally different features from the S23.