Visually Reviewed rate the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G a 9/10
Quick Summary
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a great phone at a great price. The display is excellent, the performance is amazing, and the cameras are great. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE brings many new and improved features over last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 range, the most notable is the 120Hz display refresh rate. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a great alternative if you’re not prepared to spend a lot of money on the other S20 models.
Pros
- Affordable alternative to the other expensive S20 models
- Amazing display
- Great cameras
Cons
- 120Hz display drains battery
- Doesn't come with a 25-watt charger
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review
Samsung is one of the biggest names when it comes to the technology industry, for everything from smartphones to microwaves, there’s even a good chance you have multiple Samsung products in your house right now. When it comes to smartphones, Samsung has a lot of experience and is widely considered one of the best in its field. In this Samsung Galaxy S20 FE review, we’ll be focusing on the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G model, going in-depth about what makes this smartphone so great.
For all Samsung Galaxy S20 reviews, please see below:
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G specifications
| Release Date: | 2 October 2020 |
|---|---|
| Price (at release): | £599 |
| Colours: | Cloud Navy, Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud Red, Cloud White, Cloud Orange |
| Storage: | 128GB |
| Display: | 6.5-inch Super AMOLED (407 PPI) |
| Processor: | Exynos 990 |
| Memory/RAM: | 8GB |
| 5G Technology: | No |
| Cameras: | 12MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto rear cameras, 32MP front camera |
| Battery: | 4,500mAh |
| Operating System: | Android 10 |
| Weight: | 190 grams |
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Design
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE features six great colour choices: Cloud Navy, Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud Red, Cloud White, and Cloud Orange. These six colours make up one of the best, if not, the best colour options of any smartphone. The colours are bright, vibrant, and all look amazing. Despite how great these colours look, there isn’t an option for a dark grey or black colour, which most people choose when given the choice, the closest colour to this is Cloud Navy.
The front of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE features an edge-to-edge full-screen 6.5-inch display, we’ll get into this later on. This display also includes a pole-punch front camera. Although at first glance it might stick out, with a little bit of time you’ll forget it’s even there.
On the back of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, you’ll find the rear cameras are housed in a slightly raised, rectangular shape. This is the only thing we don’t like about the design of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, the fact that the camera housing is raised quite a bit. This can cause your phone to rock side to side a little and can get quite annoying if you have the phone sat on a flat surface, especially if you’re trying to type.
In addition to this, the Samsung Galaxy S20 range are the first Galaxy devices not to have a 3.5mm headphone jack. It was only a matter of time before they made this change as not only are more and more people using wireless devices, but we’ve already seen this change take place in other phones for years now. If you want to use your 3.5mm wired headphones/earphones with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, you’ll need to buy a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor, else, you’re going to have to look for some new headphones/earphones that are either wireless or have a USB-C connection.
Overall, the design of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is hard to fault. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE looks very appealing with a clean and modern look. As well as this, it’s also been designed to be as ergonomic as ever with a slightly slimmer build than the Samsung Galaxy S10 along with curved edges, although not as curved like the Samsung Galaxy S10, to reduce accidental presses on the sides. This works perfectly with the addition of One UI 2, but we’ll get into that later on.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Display
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a great display. It features a 6.5-inch display and makes use of Samsung’s Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display. Along with this, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE also has a Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution and a 407 PPI (pixels per inch). Generally speaking, the higher the PPI, the more detail you can see on your display.
One of the biggest upgrades with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE display is that you can now increase the display refresh rate to 120Hz. As we’re used to seeing a refresh rate of 60Hz, this essentially means the display will look twice as smooth. Not only this, but you’ll also find that the fingerprint scanner is now embedded into the screen.
On top of this, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE also supports HDR10+, Samsung’s own HDR processing technology, where on supported content, makes quite a noticeable impact on quality. It’s also worth noting that the edges aren’t as curved as we’ve seen in previous years, this should help prevent any accidental presses.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE comes with three rear cameras and one front camera. Firstly, the main, wide camera is 12MP with an f/1.8 aperture. Along with this is the ultrawide 12MP camera. This camera has an f/2.2 aperture and has a smaller sensor with larger pixels, 1.4 microns over last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 with 1 micron. The third rear camera on the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is an 8MP telephoto camera with f/2.4 and 3x optical zoom.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE’s front camera not only takes up less space, but it’s now placed in the centre of the display, rather than being on the right side like last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 models. This year’s front camera is 32MP with an f/2.2 aperture.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has also made some big improvements to its video recording capabilities with the Samsung Galaxy S20 models. Both rear and front cameras are capable of recording at 4K and 1080p at either 30fps or 60fps.
In terms of new features, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE comes with a new feature called ‘Super Steady.’ The Super Steady feature essentially acts as a camera stabiliser when you’re recording to reduce the amount of shake and blur in your videos. However, it’s worth noting that this is limited to 1080p videos.
Not only this, but the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE also brings a new ‘Single Take’ mode. With the press of a single button, this new feature allows AI (artificial intelligence) to take up to 14 types of photos and videos within 3-10 seconds. This is the perfect feature if you’re unsure which camera modes to use, especially if you don’t have much time.
What are the camera specs of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G?
- The wide lens is 12MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS.
- The ultrawide lens is 12MP, 123-degree view, f/2.2, 13mm, 1/3.0″, 1.12µm.
- The telephoto lens is 8MP, f/2.4, 76mm, 1/4.5″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom.
- The front camera is 32MP, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/2.74″, 0.8µm.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a 4,500mAh battery, this is a great improvement over last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 3,400mAh battery. Inside the box of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, you’ll find a 15-watt charger. This is one of the compromises Samsung has made to lower the cost of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. Although the 15-watt charger is pretty quick, it’s not as fast as the 25-watt chargers included in the Samsung Galaxy S20, Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, or Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra models.
When using this 15-watt charger, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE will go from 0-100% charge in around 90 minutes. However, if you use a wireless charger, this may take around 3 hours to fully charge.
With the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, it’s worth keeping in mind that certain settings you may change could impact how fast the battery will drain. For example, if you decide to change your screen refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz, this will drain your battery much faster.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G model features Samsung’s Exynos 990 system-on-chip, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G model features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 system-on-chip.
In terms of RAM (Random Access Memory), the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE comes with 8GB of RAM. When it comes to storage, there’s only one option for the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, and that’s 128GB. It’s worth noting however that the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has microSD support of up to 1TB.
Currently, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is running Android 10, Google’s operating system. However, we expect to see this upgraded to Android 11 in the near future.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was released on 2 October 2020. At release, the Samsung Galaxy S20 4G FE started at £599 in the UK. Below are some of the best deals from Amazon.
Quick Answers
How much does the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G cost?
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G was released on 2 October 2020. At release, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G started from £599 in the UK.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G available in the US?
No, the Samsung Galaxy S20 4G is not available in the US. However, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G model is available in the US, feel free to check out our Samsung Galaxy S20 5G review.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G worth buying?
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G is the cheapest varient from the latest Samsung Galaxy S20 range. The idea of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G was to add the best features from the S20 range but at a much cheaper cost. We recommend the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G and it is definitely worth buying. If you're looking for another great-priced phone, check out our Apple iPhone 12 Mini review.
What are the differences between the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S20?
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G has a bigger display, has a smaller display resolution, includes a different telephoto camera, includes a different front camera, features a larger battery size, includes more colour options, and doesn't include 5G technology. You can also check out our Samsung Galaxy S20 review.
What does the FE mean in the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G?
The FE in the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G means "Fan Edition." The idea was to add all of the best features from the Samsung Galaxy S20 range, but at a much cheaper cost.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G review: Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a great phone at a great price. The display is excellent, the battery life is amazing, and the cameras are great. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE brings many new and improved features over last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 range, the most notable is the 120Hz display refresh rate. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a great alternative if you’re not prepared to spend a lot of money on the other S20 models. You might also like to check out the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G model.
For all Samsung Galaxy S20 reviews, please see below:
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