Samsung surprised the world in 2020 by unveiling a Fan Edition version of its Galaxy S20. This featured a slightly reduced spec sheet compared to its full-fat sibling, but brought the overall flavor of a Galaxy device to those who didn’t want to spend the ever-increasing amounts it costs to box up a flagship phone these days- this.
This was followed by the Galaxy S21 FE about a year later, and we were also looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE, but at the moment we don’t know if we will have our chance or not.
When will the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE be released?
We expected Samsung to launch the Galaxy S22 FE around October 2022, shortly after the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, but that obviously didn’t happen, and it seems likely that it will not launch. at all now.
That’s because the Galaxy S23 lineup is now here, and surely Samsung can’t launch the S22 FE now that it’s a generation behind.
A leaker thinks the opposite, reports that the launch of this phone is “almost confirmed” (automatically translated from Korean). This means that, perversely, the S22 FE can now throw After the debut of the S23 phones – but would that prompt Samsung to place the brand at the S23 FE?
Korean publication Hankooki basically suggests that: there will be an FE phone this year, but it will be branded S23 FE and will launch in August or September. Interestingly, this suggests that the A74 was scrapped, to prevent the two phones from cannibalizing each other’s sales.
Here’s when previous FE phones debuted:
As you can see, there was just over a year between the two devices, but that was mainly due to the S21 FE being significantly delayed due to a combination of Covid-related production disruptions and the shortage world of processor chips.
Has the S22 FE been cancelled?
Chances are the S22 FE won’t come after all, with multiple sources reporting its possible cancellation.
Korean leaker Lanzuk has warned that the phone won’t launch in 2022 and pointed out that this is the same situation as the Note line before it was unceremoniously dropped and folded into the Galaxy S22 Ultra, suggesting that there is a chance that the S22 FE could be canceled entirely – although the lessor did not go so far as to predict this.
I add fuel to the fire, fellow leaker Chun tweeted in April 2022 that the S22 FE is “not even in development yet”. Then SamMobile reported, based on “multiple sources”, that the phone was cancelled, adding that based on its own research it could not find any sign of a phone numbered SM-S900, which would have been the Galaxy S22 FE model number. Worse still, the site suggests that not only will Samsung not release the S22 FE, but it’s actually canning the FE line entirely.
The Korean site The Elec reports a little differently. It confirms that the S22 FE has been cancelled, blaming it on the success of the S22 Ultra – that phone sold better than expected, and so Samsung is repurposing components to ramp up production. However the site reports that this is only a temporary setback for the FE, and that Samsung will be launch a Galaxy S23 FE next year as planned. with a hope of producing 3 million units.
In conflict with all that, leaker RGcloudS tweeted in December that the S22 FE East still on after all, and instead replaces the A74 in Samsung’s 2023 lineup (similar to Hankooki’s report above, though in this case it’s the S23 FE), even going so far as to predict some specs which we will discuss below.
How much will the Samsung S22 FE cost?
The phone probably won’t launch, but we can use previous models as a baseline to know what to expect if the S22 FE still launches. So, here are the prices we’ve seen so far:
Samsung S20 FE:
- 4G: £599/$649
- 5G: £699/$699/$749
Samsung S21 FE (5G):
- 6GB + 128GB: £699/$699/$749
- 8GB + 256GB: £749/$769/$819
While the S20 FE offered both 4G and 5G versions, this settled into the more standard 5G platform for the S21 FE and thus the S22 FE. Hopefully Samsung will stick to its pricing for the new model, meaning you should expect to shell out around £699/$699/$749 for the entry-level configuration.
What specs and features will we see in the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE?
As the S22 FE now seems unlikely to launch, there is little definitive information on what it would have contained.
We’ve seen some interesting rumours, however, including a surprising one from Notebookcheck that spotted a post on Chinese social media site Weibo where a tech tipster reported that Samsung is planning to use the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset in the new phone for 2022.
MediaTek has built its reputation over the past few years, and the Dimensity 9000 marks the first flagship-level SoC from the Taiwanese company. It’s on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, making the S22 FE a potential powerhouse if it arrives with the new integrated chip.
There is some uncertainty as to whether the rumored device is the Galaxy S22 FE or a Galaxy A53 Pro. Since the latter doesn’t seem to exist yet (so far there haven’t been any Pro versions of the A-series phones), that either means Samsung is planning to add an extra tier to its products, or the FE models could use the MediaTek chips going forward.
Adding weight to this, Business Korea reports that Samsung was looking to use MediaTek chips in both the S22 FE and next year’s Galaxy S23 – although we now know the S23 will be Snapdragon only. The report says Samsung will likely use MediaTek chips in “about half of Galaxy S22 FE smartphones,” but doesn’t predict whether the rest will be Snapdragon chips, Samsung’s own Exynos chips, or a mix of the two.
To complicate matters further, in RGcloudS’ report predicting that the S22 FE will now replace the A74, the leaker makes a different chip prediction: that the FE will use the as yet unannounced Exynos 2300 chip, one of its own parts. silicon from Samsung.
Aside from the processor, there have been few other rumors surrounding the Galaxy S22 FE. In fact, the single comes from the same source, which nods to the main camera using Samsung’s own Isocell HM6 108Mp camera sensor.
We think there’s a good chance you’ve seen a spec sheet similar to the Galaxy S21 FE, with the same excellent triple camera array, gorgeous 6.4-inch AMOLED display with 120 refresh rate Hz, Full HD+ resolution and a center punch-hole opening for the selfie camera.
We’ll update this article as more details become available, so be sure to check back regularly. If you want to see the phones you can actually buy, check out our guides to the best Android phones and the best Samsung Galaxy phones.
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