Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review: Is It The 'Most Epic' FE Edition Yet?

Samsung released the Galaxy S23 Fan Edition (FE) on October 4, 2023, marking the company's latest addition to its S23 series, accompanying the Galaxy S23, S23+, and the S23 Ultra. The FE series is an S23 look-alike and was pitched by Samsung as "the most epic FE edition till date." Does it live up to this claim? Keep reading this review to find out.

Samsung

Display and design

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is made from metal and glass, mirroring the flagship look of the Galaxy S23. The smartphone sports a 6.4-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X display with adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate (a big relief for FE enthusiasts).

Unfortunately, the bezels on the S23 FE are noticeable, when compared to the base S23 model (you can read its review here). In the back there's a triple camera system that also mirrors the Galaxy S23. I got the chance to use the Mint colour that is quite frankly beautiful to look at and to hold.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Formidable Foldable That Builds On Its Predecessor

Indiatimes

With S23 FE, Samsung has added the Vision Booster technology that keeps the screen vivid in different light conditions - supported by a screen that has 1,450 nits of peak brightness. The screen comes with Gorilla Glass 5 protection (my device fell and developed a crack in one go, as you can see - it was a pretty strong fall) and the device has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

Watching content or browsing social media on the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a joy - the display will not disappoint you. With thickness of 8.9mm and height of 6.22 inches, the device is sturdy to hold and weighs 209 grams, making it slightly heavy.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: All About The Tiny Upgrades

The phone also has an in-display fingerprint scanner and supports face unlocking. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE runs on Android 13 out of the box with OneUI 5.1. For the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, the company has promised four generations of OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Everyday performance and battery

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is supported by the 4nm Exynos 2200 chipset that directly rivals Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Multi-tasking on the phone is quick and switching between apps is seamless and the phone delivers an almost-flagship experience, coming very close to the Galaxy S23 device.

For gamers, this device delivers smooth transitions and a consistent experience, although a notable temperature increase was noted while playing high-end games such as Genshin Impact.

Indiatimes

Oh, Samsung! Why wouldn't you listen? As always, Samsung stuck with 25w charging that it somehow sells as fast-charging. I personally hate having to leave my phone on charge for over an hour to get 100% juice - especially if it isn't even going to last the whole day - as is the case with this device. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE has a 4,500mAh battery that should you last you up to 6-7 hours with constant screen usage - which is frankly disappointing. If you're a casual user, you should get 10 hours of juice in a single full charge.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE has a triple rear camera set up - with a 50 megapixel primary sensor, a 12 megapixel ultrawide sensor, and an 8 megapixel telephoto lens. For selfies, the phone has a 10 megapixel punch-hole lens in the front.

The device clicks good images with clarity and vibrant colours, in classic Samsung fashion. In daylight, the camera does what it promises - capturing crisp images consistently, although for first time Samsung users, images might appear oversaturated.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S23 Review: A Harmonious Blend Of Style And Performance

Samsung

The ultrawide camera performs well in daylight, but delivers dull images after dark. Expect some noise in the camera - something you can deal with by using night mode on the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE.

I wasn't expecting much from the telephoto lens that supports 3x optical zoom (unlike the 10x optical zoom on the S23). However, it surprised me. Details are not lost in daylight conditions but expect sub-par performance at night time. I'm not a huge fan of the selfie camera that misses out on many details but this will not bother average users, for the images are still decent.

Also read: Everything About Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Screams 'Extra' And Rightly So!

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is available in three colours - Mint, Graphite, and Purple in two specifications - 8GB + 128 GB for Rs. 59,999 and 8GB + 256 GB for Rs. 64,999. If you manage to get the device at the discounted price of Rs. 49,999, it's a reasonable buy. Otherwise, it's still a highly priced smartphone.

The phone offers a pleasant everyday experience with its display and performance, but it is not the right choice for users who want a bezel-less display and a flagship camera.

Are you planning to buy the new Samsung Galaxy S23 FE? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.