Samsung Galaxy S20 FE review: Putting the 'fan' in fantastic

$699 isn't a price tag you lot would acquaintance with flagships in this day and age, simply that'southward exactly the kind of tendency Samsung is looking to challenge with the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE). Samsung says the Milky way S20 Iron brings what fans loved most about the Milky way S20 series to a lower price betoken and that it is just every bit much a flagship as the Galaxy S20 or Galaxy Note 20.

And, if you look at the spec canvass, the $699/€749 starting cost for the 5G variant certainly makes the Galaxy S20 FE a compelling value on paper. But that does that concur true in practice? Allow'due south find out in this review.

Annotation: We're reviewing the 5G variant of the Galaxy S20 Iron, which is powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset. Yet, the device was not connected to a 5G network at whatsoever signal.

Design

Like the Galaxy Notation 20, the Galaxy S20 FE has a plastic back and a metallic frame. Here, the plastic makes more than sense, as we're talking nearly a telephone that'due south effectually $300 cheaper. Every bit we said in our Galaxy Annotation xx review, having a plastic rear panel is not a bad thing. It doesn't feel cheap and enables a good grip without needing a case, and the matte finish ensures fingerprints aren't as visible every bit they would be on glass (you tin can still run into the marks, but just when lite hits the back at the right angle). Plastic as well won't shatter upon impact, though if you still prefer using a case, at that place are enough of nice options to choose from.

We too accept to talk about the choice of colors Samsung is offer with the Galaxy S20 Iron. In that location are a total of half-dozen colors to choose from, and at least five of them are expected to be available in every market. Our Cloud Navy unit looks swish, but if y'all adopt brighter, punchier colors, you can pick upwardly whatever of the other color variants instead. We retrieve it's great that Samsung is finally giving colors of a telephone the importance they deserve and hopefully, it volition become a trend instead of a one-time thing or something we but see with Fan Editions of the company'south flagships.

The one design element that makes the Galaxy S20 FE feel like a mid-range phone is all those bezels around the brandish. The S20 Atomic number 26 has a flat screen, and so the side bezels aren't as sparse as they are on the S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra. The lesser bezel is a footling too large every bit well, though it's something you tin ignore when you consider the asking cost. The brandish'southward punch pigsty is tiny, but for some reason it has cogitating edges that makes information technology more visible than it should be. Again, forgivable at this price betoken, but something Samsung might want to avoid with any $700 phone it launches next.

The lower price of the telephone hasn't afflicted its resistance to the elements. The Galaxy S20 FE is IP68 certified for h2o and dust resistance, same every bit all Samsung's flagships accept been in the concluding iv years. This is an important distinction the S20 FE has over its spiritual predecessor, the Galaxy S10 Low-cal, and it also gives the S20 FE an edge over the OnePlus eight.

Brandish

The Galaxy S20 FE has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ (2400×1080) Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a 120Hz refresh charge per unit. While the colors, viewing angles, and black levels are fantabulous, this isnota flagship-form panel equally far as effulgence levels are concerned. The S20 FE tin't get equally vivid every bit the displays on the other Galaxy S20 models, which is probably why it's missing HDR10+ certification as well (though HDR10+ video recording is nevertheless bachelor). The maximum brightness is all the same adequate even under harsh sunlight, but if you lot like your phone'southward display to be the best of the best, the Milky way S20 FE is non for you.

The 120Hz refresh rate has carried over intact from the other Galaxy S20s and gives you quick and smooth animations throughout the user interface and in games that back up them. This isn't the adaptive refresh rate tech that's found on the Galaxy Notation 20 Ultra so information technology's not as power efficient, simply as you will read later in this review, battery life on the S20 Fe was yet pretty solid. However, I was a flake disappointed that the refresh charge per unit drops downwardly to 60Hz as shortly equally the telephone's temperature reached 40C. That temperature ceiling is 2 degrees lower than the S20/S20+/S20 Ultra, simply thankfully the S20 Fe doesn't oestrus up too oftentimes.

I also constitute the 6.5-inch brandish to be oddly cramped, even though 6.5-inch screens aren't small by whatever stretch of the imagination. But our graphic designer Naomi idea it's just the perfect size, and then your mileage volition vary. The same goes for the in-brandish optical fingerprint sensor. I found information technology works better than the ultrasonic sensor on the Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy Note xx Ultra, while Naomi thought information technology's slower and less authentic.

Camera

The Galaxy S20 FE has the same 12MP principal camera equally the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+, and its performance is more or less the same equally well (hint: it'south excellent), so you should read our Galaxy S20+ review to see what kind of pictures you can go from it. In this review, I'yard going to talk nigh that all new 3x optical zoom camera — capable of upwards to 30x digital zoom — that'southward debuting in Samsung's smartphone lineup with the S20 Iron.

The Galaxy S20 and S20+ also have up to 30x zoom (Samsung calls it Space Zoom, but we're not here to shill for the visitor'southward marketing squad so nosotros'll refrain from using those terms), but the way they go about it is different. On the S20 and S20+, zoom is all digital – those phones capture a 64MP image and then crop it to emulate zoom, so quality isn't e'er and then good. On the Galaxy S20 Iron, it's a proper telephoto lens that tin can only take photos at 3x and across, dissimilar the 64MP 'telephoto' photographic camera on the S20 and S20+ that can also take regular 1x pictures.

And since optical zoom is e'er ameliorate than digital zoom, I was excited to test the Milky way S20 Fe, and I'grand happy to report that it does an splendid job. The telephoto lens is just an eight-megapixel sensor, but the resulting movie quality is actually ameliorate than what you get on the S20 and S20+, at least once you move past 10x magnification. The difference isn't e'er big, but you get slightly sharper output from the S20 Atomic number 26. At 3x-10x, the quality beyond all the non-Ultra Galaxy S20 models is similar, which is to say y'all tin get some bang-up shots if the lighting is right.

Here's a 3x shot taken with the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 FE side by side (slide left for the S20 FE movie):

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And here'south the aforementioned scene shot at 10x and 30x with both phones (slide left for the S20 FE moving picture):

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When information technology'southward dark, the phone resorts to cropping images from the main camera till 4x zoom. The telephoto lens kicks in later that, just information technology'southward more or less useless outside of well lit environments when the dominicus goes down. Hither, the S20 and S20+ have a theoretical advantage as their zoom camera has a wider discontinuity of F2.0 (the S20 Atomic number 26 sensor is F2.4), merely in practice, they are all equally poor in tough low-low-cal weather.

Here are a agglomeration of scenes captured at 1x, 3x, 4x, 10x, 20x, and 30x zoom with the phone:

The ultra-wide camera on the S20 FE seems to be similar to the 12MP ultra-broad photographic camera on Samsung'south mid-range phones like the Galaxy A51 and A71 instead of the sensor used on the other Galaxy S20 models. It does a serviceable job out in daylight and a noisy one at nighttime, though you can fix that somewhat by using Night way. The 32MP front end camera is probably lifted from those mid-rangers as well, and information technology's a fiddling low-cal on particular no thing what time of the day or in which environment yous take a selfie. But it keeps racket well nether control, and it does a fairly solid job with Live Focus bokeh shots.

Speaking of Live Focus, the Galaxy S20 FE doesn't offer y'all the option of choosing betwixt the telephoto and ultra-wide camera for bokeh pictures with the rear camera. The phone uses the ultra-wide lens for bokeh shots, and for the most function, quality's not bad. Equally always, loose hair around a person's head can cause artefacts, and also many leaves or flowers can make it hard for the camera to determine what'south supposed to be in the foreground and what isn't.

Here are a couple of ultra-wide pictures (each next to their non-ultra-wide shots) and a couple of selfies:

A few other points to note about the camera experience on the Galaxy S20 FE:

4K video recording is supported at up to 60 frames per second. 120 fps video recording isn't supported, but that might modify with a software update.
Since there'southward no 33MP+ camera, the S20 FE is not capable of 8K video recording. But you're non missing out on anything, truth be told.
The Unmarried Take shooting mode is included and works just likewise equally it does on other Galaxy devices.
Total-fledged Pro and Pro video modes are bachelor every bit well, with the option to control shutter speed and, in Pro video way, the ability to record audio with the telephone'south microphones or with Bluetooth or USB mics.
The zoom-in-mic characteristic of the other Galaxy S20 models and the Galaxy Note xx series isn't present on the S20 FE, every bit information technology doesn't accept a third microphone at the back.
Other bachelor shooting modes are panorama, food, Live Focus video, super slow-mo, slow motion, hyperlapse (including Night hyperlapse, which uses long exposure to create a abaft light effect), and AR Emoji.

Performance

Our Galaxy S20 FE is the Snapdragon 865 variant, and it'due south super fast and never shows signs of stutter or lag. That's despite 'just' 6GB of RAM on the base variant (the 1 we used), which is one way Samsung is keeping the cost of the phone downwards. The merely issue with 6GB of RAM is that the telephone doesn't hold a lot of apps in retentiveness – PUBG restarted from scratch after I opened just three other apps, something that probably wouldn't happen with 8GB RAM or more.

Thermals were also great. The Milky way S20 Atomic number 26 doesn't heat up very often or to an extent that'south problematic, and that's despite the fact that a plastic back isn't as good for dissipating heat as a glass dorsum. At present, the Snapdragon chip might be the reason the phone keeps its cool, because our Exynos 990-powered Note 20 did go uncomfortably hot from time to time, at least outdoors. Maybe that won't be the case on the Exynos variant of the S20 Iron, though we will have to exam it to exist certain.

Software

Samsung has not cut any software features from the Milky way S20 Atomic number 26 to achieve the lower price point. Everything is here, including support for wireless DeX that was introduced with One UI ii.5 on the Galaxy Notation 20 series. Samsung is also promising three years of Android and Ane UI updates, so the software feel and the support guarantee are both top notch.

If you're looking for a detailed rundown of all the features, I'd recommend reading our Milky way Note 20 Ultra review, as both of these phones run Android 10 with One UI ii.5 out of the box. The Note twenty serial naturally has some sectional stylus-related features, but that'southward almost it for the differences.

Battery life

The four,500 mAh bombardment on the Galaxy S20 FE can final all day long, and that besides at 120Hz refresh rate. Like the telephone's performance, the stellar battery life may be a issue of the Snapdragon bit and the Exynos variant of the telephone might not do every bit proficient. Merely if you lot're getting the 5G model, await a single charge to get you to bedtime at 120Hz with moderate to somewhat heavy use; at 60Hz, you can await to see a 24-hour interval and half of apply before you accept to hunt for the charger.

The Galaxy S20 FE comes with a 15W fast charger in the box fifty-fifty though it supports 25W super fast charging. This is a shame, because Samsung is using 25W back up as one of the headline features of the phone. Nosotros had a 25W charger lying around, merely if you don't, you will have to spend an addition $30-twoscore to get the fastest charging speeds. Speaking of charging speeds, a 25W charger tops the battery upwardly in seventy minutes while the supplied 15W charger should get the job done in around 100 minutes.

The S20 Iron likewise supports fast wireless charging and opposite wireless charging, similar its costlier counterparts. Some will debate that Samsung could have farther reduced the price of the phone by non including wireless charging support, merely like water and dust resistance, wireless charging is a convenience that's always good to accept even if it may not come into the picture every solar day.

Audio quality

The Galaxy S20 Iron has stereo speakers like the S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. It'south non true stereo, every bit the earpiece doubles upwards every bit the second speaker, which is also the case with all other Galaxy flagships except the Milky way Fold and Galaxy Z Fold ii. On the other Galaxy S20 models, this setup does a solid chore and offers loud, rich, undistorted sound output. On the Galaxy S20 FE, the loudness and clarity have carried over intact, just there's much less bass to be heard, which makes the experience less immersive, whether you enable Dolby Atmos or not.

As for earphones, the S20 Iron doesn't take whatever in the box, so y'all will accept to get your ain pair. At that place's no headphone jack so you volition have to become USB-C earphones if you don't wish to use a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. Or you could purchase the Galaxy Buds, Buds+, or Buds Live and enjoy loftier-quality wireless sound, though that will mean spending some other $100 or more than on height of the toll of the phone.

Call quality was just as you'd expect from any smartphone in this day and age. I could hear the person on the finish of the line conspicuously and I got no complaints about my vocalisation from any callers. Network reception was fantabulous likewise.

Verdict

When Samsung said it prepare out to bring all the fan-favorite features of the Galaxy S20 series to the Milky way S20 Fan Edition, information technology wasn't kidding. The S20 Fe has all the of import ingredients – a beautiful 120Hz display, fast performance, fantabulous cameras with zoom that's actually better than what you lot go on the S20 or S20+, all-24-hour interval bombardment life (at 120Hz, no less), top notch software, and the option of 5G connectivity – while as well packing features like water and dust resistance, two-way wireless charging, and stereo speakers.

It's non all perfect. The stereo speakers are of a lower caliber than the other Galaxy S20 models, only 6GB of RAM on the base variant ways multitasking isn't every bit good, and the bezels around the brandish are also big by the standards prepare past Samsung itself with its flagship phones in the last two years. Samsung as well isn't shipping the Milky way S20 FE with a 25W super fast charger in the box, but for the request price of $699/€749, all of that is very, very easy to ignore.

In fact, I would go every bit far as saying that the Milky way S20 FE makes the Galaxy S20 and Milky way S20+ obsolete and grossly overpriced in comparison. Unless you want the absolute all-time Samsung has to offer, which would be the Galaxy S20 Ultra or Milky way Notation twenty Ultra, salve your hard-earned coin and just get the Galaxy S20 FE.

Image of Galaxy S20 FE 5G

SamsungGalaxy S20 Iron 5G