Samsung did not name its lighter version of a Galaxy S20 the Galaxy S20 Lite, but rather the Galaxy S20 FE and we are here to tell you that that is an appropriate name.
But before you do, here’s an unboxing. The retail package is nice – it has a matte white finish with little camera mode icons etched into it. But digging inside, we see the first signs that this is a lower-end Galaxy S20 device – there’s a 15W charger straight out of 2018 and a USB-A to USB-C cable.
So why call it the Fan Edition? Well, because that’s exactly what it is. It’s made for that perennial Samsung user, who loves its non-curved screen, plastic back panel, and demands that their phone be reasonably priced.
The Galaxy S20 FE has a flagship display from Samsung. Its 6.5-inch Super AMOLED is big without being huge, bright and colorful, and more importantly, smooth, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate. Its bezels are slim and there is a single cutout in the center for the 32MP selfie camera.
There’s an optical fingerprint scanner under the glass, and Samsung was kind enough to put a plastic screen protector out of the box.
Looking at the cameras on the Galaxy S20 FE, you wouldn’t think it’s a watered-down variant of the Galaxy S20 / S20 + either. The regular + tele + ultrawide combo is covered and is almost the same as the regular S20s. The telephoto is 8MP, instead of 12MP, but offers the same 3x magnification.
We’ll go over the cameras in detail in our full review, but they look like the usual and capable Samsung cameras we’ve come to expect.
The battery isn’t the poor man’s version of the Galaxy S20 + battery either. In fact, it appears to be the same 4,500 mAh bundle as the Galaxy S20 +, complete with support for 25W wired and 15W wireless charging (and even 4.5W reverse wireless charging); You just need to buy the faster charger separately if you want to take advantage of it.
There are also stereo speakers on board.
The one corner cut you can feel the most on the Galaxy S20 FE, compared to the Galaxy S20 / S20 +, is the rear panel. It’s plastic, rather than glass, and it doesn’t feel all that premium, though it’s still perfectly well insulated. However, it is likely to scratch more easily than glass, so you may want to invest in a case as well.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is available for pre-order and will go on sale on October 2. You can go for a 4G model with an Exynos 990 or a 5G model with a Snapdragon 865 (not Plus) and they start at € 630 and € 700, respectively.
The price, in itself, is not unreasonable. But it’s dangerously close to the already discounted Galaxy S20 +, which can be had for around $ 700. It may be a good idea to wait a month or two before placing that order. But before that, stay tuned for our full review, coming soon.
