Samsung Electronics has just announced the ‘Fan Edition’ series for this year and that should attract the attention of prospective buyers. Those who want to experience the flagship Galaxy devices with small compromises but at a lower price tag should be elated. After some speculations that the series is gone for good, and the South Korean giant gave it a miss last year, this is more than welcome news.
The value flagship theme combined with the lower price tag has been more sensibly balanced out this time around after the shenanigans of the S21 FE which was a bit overpriced at $699. This time around the line-up of Galaxy S23 FE smartphone, Galaxy Tab S9 FE/FE+ and Galaxy Buds FE make much more sense.
Designer: Samsung
All these gadgets have been designed keeping in mind the environment. Longevity of use is also insured with four years of OS and five years of security updates. The mobile devices will all be available from tomorrow onwards in select markets and the Galaxy Buds FE will be available from October 6.
Galaxy S23 FE
Galaxy S23 FE adapts the big brother’s 6.4-inch 120Hz OLED display and the IP68 rating for water and dust resistance which is impressive. Of course having this Fan Edition device in peppy color options like mint, cream and purple does make the buying decision. Understandably the phone has the Snapdragon Gen 1 SoC which is not known for its battery efficiency, but then, trade-offs are expected. A minimum of 8GB of RAM and a maximum of 256GB internal storage, should make sure you can play AAA mobile gaming titles.
Samsung has included the wireless charging option for this phone which is another big plus. For camera fanatics, the S23 FE has a 50MP primary sensor paired with an 8MP Telephoto lens and a 12MP ultrawide shooter. That keeps it well above the mid-range devices out there. The front-facing camera however disappoints with a 10MP sensor, knowing that the previous generation had a 32MP sensor. The Galaxy S23 FE smartphone is priced at $599.
Galaxy Buds FE
The most affordable wireless earbuds in Samsung’s line-up, the Galaxy Buds FE have a design similar to the Buds Plus and come in two color options – graphite and white. The IPX2-rated buds have a standalone playback time of six hours with ANC on and 21 hours with the charging case. They come with AAC and SBC audio codec support, and each one of them has 3 microphones for better calling and ANC. Multi-device connectivity with Bluetooth 5.2 is another noticeable feature. The only downside is the lack of wireless charging capability.
The comfy earbuds carry a price tag of around $115 which should be a good choice for fans looking to experience the balanced sound signature of the brand.
Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE Plus
The budget tablets – Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE Plus both have LCD panels with 90Hz refresh rate, measuring 10.9-inch and 12.4-inch respectively. They are powered by the Exynos 1380 SoC compared to the Qualcomm chipset on the regular variant. Thankfully both get the IP68 rating and the S pen stylus like their big brothers.
The S9 FE comes with 8,000mAh and the Plus model has 10,000 mAh battery. In terms of cameras, both of them have 12MP ultrawide front-facing shooters with a 120-degree FOV and an 8 MP primary rear module. The Plus variant gets the extra 8MP ultrawide shooter on the rear. Both variants have 45W fast charging support and will be available in gray, mint, silver, and lavender colors.
Pricing for the Tab S9 FE starts at $550 in Europe while the Tab S9 FE+ is priced at $735. For the 5G models, you’ll have to pay $105 extra.
