Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G Review – ‘S20 Lite’ not only interesting for fans

By Faryad On Dec 21, 2020

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With the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, Samsung brings the luxury S20 series to a more affordable price point. The device has features such as an IP68 rating for water resistance, a telephoto camera with 3x optical ‘zoom’ and wireless charging, which you don’t often find for this amount. System performance and battery life are fine and even better than with the more expensive Galaxy S20, at least with the 5G version we tested. You do have to sacrifice something in terms of screen and construction. For this amount we can live with that.

Pros

Excellent battery life, better than with the Galaxy S20
Good system performance thanks to Snapdragon soc
Good photos, separate telephoto camera
IP68 rating and wireless charging

Cons

Plastic tailgate does not feel luxurious
Screen quality less than Galaxy S20

At CES in January 2020, Samsung suddenly came up with an affordable addition to the Galaxy S10 series from early 2019: the Galaxy S10 Lite . After all, there would be too great a price difference between the high-end Galaxy S and midrange Galaxy A series, according to the South Korean manufacturer. The S10 Lite had to fill the gap in the line-up and serve as a ‘welcome device’ to welcome prospective buyers of a midrange-A device into the higher segment. The reasoning may have made sense, but the moment of introduction was a bit weird. Barely a month after the S10 Lite, Samsung already launched the Galaxy S20 series, with the Galaxy S10 devices having been on the market for so long that they had long fallen in price to the level of the S10 Lite. Plus, the S10 Lite wasn’t quite as high-end in some respects, such as the camera.

With the lessons of the S10 Lite in mind, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) this fall. The concept of ‘high-end for less’ is basically the same as with the S10 Lite, but the name is a bit more resounding. The moment of introduction, before the busy Christmas period, is also better, with the specifications also receiving a few nice upgrades. With starting prices of 599 euros for the 4G and 680 euros for the 5G version, the S20 FE is right on the border between the middle and the higher segment, where the device is actually cheaper than a Galaxy S20 or S20 +. Players such as OnePlus, Xiaomi and OPPO have all introduced new devices in this busy market segment in recent months. Whether the S20 FE is a good choice remains to be seen.

Casing and screen

When you hold the Galaxy S20 FE in your hand, the flat screen is the first thing you notice. The S20 FE looks more like a Galaxy A than a Galaxy S model because Samsung’s top models generally have curved sides. Some will prefer a flat screen, because it does not show any distortions or color deviations along the edges. On the other hand, the sides of the S20 FE are somewhat more ‘square’ due to the non-sloping screen, so that the device is slightly less comfortable to hold. Plus, a curvature helps hide the bezels around the screen; those eyes are clearly wider with the S20 FE than with the S20 and S20+. Those devices therefore look a bit more luxurious in our opinion.

The buttons are still in the same place, this year only on the right side, and the fingerprint scanner can still be found in the screen of the S20 FE. Like the Galaxy A series and unlike the rest of the Galaxy S series, the S20 FE is an optical one. It’s not the fastest scanner we’ve ever used, although that actually applies to the S20’s ultrasonic scanner as well. The S20 FE’s vibrator motor feels weaker and gives less nuanced feedback than that of the other S20 models.

	Samsung Galaxy S20 FE	Samsung Galaxy S20	Samsung Galaxy S20+
Screen diagonal	6.5″	6.2″	6.7″
Length	159.8mm	151.7mm	161.9mm
Width	74.5mm	69.1mm	73.7mm
Thickness (max.)	8.4mm	7.9mm	7.8mm
Weight	190g	163g	186g

Small savings like the vibration motor aside, the screen is by far the most important point that you notice that Samsung has designed the S20 FE for a tighter budget. The Amoled panel has a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels, less than the 3200×1440 pixels of the Galaxy S20 and S20+, but completely normal for a device in the price segment of the S20 FE. This makes it easier to see the subtle ‘checkerboard pattern’ associated with the Pentile sub-pixel format used. Just like the more expensive models, the S20 FE supports a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, which makes the screen look nice and smooth. You do not have to deal with a trade-off between maximum resolution and maximum refresh rate, as with the S20 and S20+, because the screen of the S20 FE simply does not have that many pixels.

In terms of screen size, the S20 FE falls right in between the S20 and S20+. It is not much wrong with the image quality of the panel. It’s fine, with the same high peak brightness and equally infinite contrast. The color reproduction of the S20 and S20+ is a bit better; especially in the gray calibration, Samsung drops some stitches with the cheaper model, as shown by the measurements with our SpectraCal C6 colorimeter and Calman software. Unless you have a neutral reference next to it, you probably won’t notice it.

As with the Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy A series, the back of the Galaxy S20 FE is made of plastic. Many other semi-high-end devices, such as the OnePlus 8T and Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, have a glass back. This applies to almost all more expensive devices and that feels a lot more luxurious. Glass is also generally more resistant to scratches, with the matte finish feeling quite smooth in hand. Fortunately, Samsung has retained the metal frame in the middle for the necessary strength and the S20 FE also has the same IP68 rating for water resistance, 30min/1.5m, as the other S20 devices. The latter is precisely something that is often omitted in this class.

Camera

Just like the ‘regular’ S20 and S20+, there are three cameras on the back of the Galaxy S20 FE. The 12-megapixel primary camera looks identical by spec, with a relatively large sensor behind an f/1.8 lens, Dual Pixel PDAF and optical image stabilization. The ultra-wide-angle camera has a somewhat smaller sensor than the S20 (+), but the field of view is just as wide and autofocus is unfortunately still absent. The most obvious difference is in the telephoto camera. With the S20 FE, Samsung has opted for a small 8-megapixel sensor and about 3x optical magnification compared to the main camera, whereas the S20 and S20+ have a large 64-megapixel sensor behind a lens with an almost identical angle of view as the main camera. With those devices, the same 3x ‘zoom’ is

	Samsung Galaxy S20 FE	Samsung Galaxy S20(+)
Primary	12MP, 1.8μm, f/1.8, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 26mm	12MP, 1.8μm, f/1.8, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 26mm
Tele	8Mp, f/2.4, PDAF, OIS 76mm	64Mp, f/2.0, PDAF, OIS 29mm
Ultra wide angle	12MP, 1.12μm, f/2.2 13mm	12MP, 1.4μm, f/2.2 13mm
Front	32Mp, f/2.2 26mm	10Mp, f/2.2, Dual Pixel PDAF 26mm

Both approaches have their pros and cons, and we suspect Samsung opted for this setup in part with the S20 and S20+ to enable 8k video recording. That is something that the S20 FE cannot do. However, the performance of the telephoto camera at 3x ‘zoom’ is at least as good, if not better. As you can see below, the Galaxy S20 FE actually captures this scene slightly sharper than the Galaxy S20. A separate telephoto camera is also something that most competitors of the S20 FE do not have. Although we didn’t have all devices at hand for a comparison, you can assume that the S20 FE will ‘zoom in’ further without huge loss of quality.

The further camera quality is also good compared to the competition. Below you can see a number of camera samples from our previous OnePlus 8T review, in which we included the S20 FE for comparison. During the day, the results are fairly similar, although the S20 FE does show a lot more detail. In the evening, the S20 FE performs more consistently, with us also appreciating the better ultra-wide-angle camera.

Although the S20 FE has a larger 32-megapixel sensor at the front, where you have to make do with the more expensive models with a smaller 10-megapixel copy, autofocus is unfortunately missing. As long as you don’t hold it too close, the Fan Edition also takes great selfies, with true-to-life colors and little noise, although the device seems to smooth out faces a bit by default.

Hardware and software

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G we tested features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, one of the fastest socs of this year. The cheaper 4G model, on the other hand, has the same Exynos 990 soc as the other Galaxy S and Note devices of the moment, at least in Europe. It is striking that the 5G model here also has Qualcomm in the front, because it has turned out that the Samsung alternative performs less well. The affordable Galaxy S20 FE 5G is therefore expected to achieve higher system performance than the other S20 devices. Compared to the competition, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G does not necessarily have an advantage. After all, most other suppliers of high-end Android devices also use Qualcomm’s chipsets and for this amount there are the necessary devices that also have a Snapdragon 865 on board. including the mentioned Mi 10T Pro and OnePlus 8T. The 4G version with Exynos is also still faster than the midrange Snapdragon 765G, which some other manufacturers install for this amount.

The price difference between the 4G and 5G editions of the Samsung S20 FE is about 50 euros, which means that a Galaxy S20 FE 5G costs only a few tens less than a Galaxy S20 4G. As mentioned in our previous reviews, 5G is not exactly a must-have in the Netherlands, despite the enthusiastic marketing of mobile providers. On the other hand, from a future-proof point of view, it is nice that the device is prepared for the new network technology. Many competitors are now too.

In terms of software, there is little surprising to report for the S20 FE. The device runs Android 10 out of the box and features the same OneUI skin as other Samsung devices. The Koreans have done quite a bit of work on the OS, including the necessary proprietary apps and services that are often a duplicate of Google apps that are also pre-installed by default. Samsung has promised to give its high-end devices three major Android upgrades, in addition to three years of security updates. The S20 FE is also part of that.

Battery

The S20 FE is equipped with a 4500mAh battery, the same as the S20+, but more than the smaller S20, which has to do with a 4000mAh battery. In our three battery tests, the S20 FE 5G that we tested nevertheless performs much better than both more expensive devices, at least in the browsing tests. We test smartphones on the maximum resolution and refresh rate as standard. For the S20 FE 5G, that is full HD+ and 120Hz. With the S20 and S20+, as mentioned, both cannot be used simultaneously. So we show both options for the S20: 120Hz and Full HD+, or 60Hz and Quad HD+.

Only at 60Hz can the Galaxy S20 keep up with the S20 FE 5G in the WiFi browsing test. If you set the refresh rate to 120Hz, the battery life is clearly shorter. In the 4G browsing test, the S20 FE 5G already ends much higher than the S20 and S20+. We suspect that this is due to the inefficient modem of the Exynos chipset, as mentioned earlier in the review of the S20 series. The S20 FE also performs a lot better in the video test. The battery life of the S20 FE 5G is therefore above average in this segment. Charging takes just a little longer than the S20 and S20+, although the charging speed on paper would be the same: 25W. The Chinese competition in this segment generally charges much faster, especially the OnePlus 8T, which is fully charged at lightning speed with its 65W charger. In the upper mid-range, wireless charging is usually not available, but the S20 FE can,

Conclusion

Bottom line, the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition has become quite an interesting device, even if you are not a ‘Galaxy fan’. The ‘high-end for less’ segment of smartphones around 600 euros is quite busy, but Samsung has retained many features with the Galaxy S20 FE that you normally only find on even more expensive smartphones, for example an IP68 rating for water resistance , a telephoto camera with 3x optical ‘zoom’ and wireless charging. System performance and battery life are fine and the same goes for the screen, although the construction is slightly less luxurious. If you use a case, you will probably not lose sleep over it. The S20 FE is therefore an excellent total package, which we reward with an Excellent Choice award.

If you are still in doubt between the Galaxy S20 FE and the S20 or S20+? Samsung’s ‘affordable entry’ into the high-end segment turns out to be a better choice in some respects, while you spend tens to hundreds of euros less on it. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ have a nicer finish, a nicer screen and a slightly better camera in some respects. On the other hand, the system performance and battery life are better with the S20 FE, at least with the 5G model with Snapdragon soc we tested. As always, it also depends on your own wishes for a new smartphone which device you prefer.