Samsung is known for producing a wide variety of phones each year, so they can attract more users with different budgets. As for now, the prices of their smartphones range from 99$ to 1 999$[1]. Although Samsung releases devices in so many different price points, the mid-range and budget ones (699$ and below) are the bestsellers.
Samsung saw this trend and launched the S20 FE (“Fan Edition”). It’s a budget flagship which means that the most important features, according to the feedback of customers, were kept, while the costly and less necessary were exchanged with cheaper alternatives. The price of this model is 699$ which means that it is 300$ cheaper than the original S20.
What was reduced?
Resolution from QuadHD+ to FHD+ – On such a small screen it’s very hard to tell a difference.
RAM memory – 8GB to 6GB of RAM – 6GB are more than enough for many people, but If you like to have 20 windows open in the background and multitask often, I would consider going for the S20.
Plastic back instead of glass – Most people wear protective cases, so they won’t even worry about it, moreover plastic backs are more resistant to cracking and scratching.
Flat screen instead of curved – That’s a personal preference.
Rear facing camera quality from 64 to 8megapixels – That may seem like the biggest sacrifice of the model for people taking a lot of photos for their social media, but thanks to 3 cameras located in the back of the phone the camera does a pretty good job, below is an example.
What has stayed?
Snapdragon 865 processor – fast core of the phone
120Hz screen refresh rate – feeling of smoothness of the display
5G connection – for future cellular networking systems
128GB of standard storage
Two of the features were even upgraded. First the battery, from 4,000mAh to 4,500mAh which is a significant change and a response to the growing customer’s needs. The battery is said to last two days of moderate use or six hours of screen time. Secondly, the front-facing selfie camera from 10 megapixels to 32. Although it’s an upgrade on paper, some users say that the selfie camera does not represent a credible, mirror-like picture.[2]
In my opinion the compromises made to the new device were very reasonable considering such a price difference. Many reviews on YouTube state that this is the best value-for-money Samsung phone from the Galaxy collection. Some put Galaxy S20 FE in the top 3 phones of 2020. I think it is a great choice for many people looking for a great bang for the buck device. Nonetheless I would emphasize that it wouldn’t be the best option for people using their front and rear cameras on the daily basis.
Bibliography:
Data from:
- samsung.com/us
- Heater, Brian. “The Galaxy S20 FE Is Samsung’s New $699 Budget Flagship.” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 23 Sept. 2020, techcrunch.com/2020/09/23/the-galaxy-s20-fe-is-samsungs-new-699-budget-flagship/.
Article I base on:
Bohn, Dieter. “Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Review: the Right Price for the Right Stuff.” The Verge, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2020, www.theverge.com/21506470/samsung-galaxy-s20-fe-review-camera-processor-price.
External YouTube videos I am referring to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJKQdzopuco&t=2s&ab_channel=Mrwhosetheboss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azrdcp4yYas&t=325s&ab_channel=MarquesBrownlee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdh0LYSZ9Ak&ab_channel=RobertNawrowski
I think this is agreat idea. We get what we really want and we don’t have to pay a lot of money for it. In the past I was a Samsung user, lately I changed my phone to iPhone. I did that, because in the phones that i had there was a lot of defaults. I think this model can be considered as a flagship but for the better prize. By looking at, what this phone offers, I would really consider buying it.