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amazon SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE reviews
Samsung has just unveiled a fan edition called S20 FE, reminiscent of the old-school objectives hatched by the company into the Note 10 Lite and S10 Lite: minimizing the form factor and removing some of the high-end features while keeping configuration and performance on par with flagship products.
New colors have been included in the design; however, they cut large unnecessary on-screen borders and material.
In the same follows the characteristic of the previous Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Samsung Note 10 Lite, flat screen Galaxy S20 FE unlike previous seniors S20 series having curved edges. Most doesn’t like how curves edges on flagship models easily gets mistaked touch and if you’re one, the flat screen of S20 FE could be your best bet.
Thereby, a screen border in S20 FE being a lot thicker than the seniors, no longer thin and close to the edges. It is even visible by close observation that the screen border of the S20 FE is even thicker compared to A-series products such as A51 or A71. That is probably the way for Samsung to cut costs so as to optimize the selling price of the S20 FE.
The next big cut point is the material. The chassis is still made of metal, but the back is just 3D Glasstic imitation plastic like some midrange Galaxy A devices. This back has a matte texture as in Note 20 series, limiting sweat, fingerprints, and many color options such as red, orange, purple, blue, mint, and white, suitable for young users with an expressive personality.
Another cut to the cost shows that the S20 FE comes with an optical in-display fingerprint sensor, which is not as fast and accurate as the ultrasonic sensor. During my day-to-day use of the device, I haven’t noticed that the performance of opening the S20 FE differs much from the Galaxy A51, though it has a much better configuration. This could mean that the speed varies due to sensor technology limitations rather than configuration.
Of course, being a high-end model, Samsung ensures that it is made of very solid and sturdy processing materials, being very tight and seamless in its connection details between frame, back, and the screen. It gives a comfortable grip experience and a compact hand without any point of tension or discomfort. And there is also the IP68 waterproof and dustproof standards to ensure durability.
The screen retains a strong point in 120Hz, though the viewing angle is not as wide as expected.
Possessing a Super AMOLED panel, 20: 9 ratio with the familiar middle mole on recent Samsung products, the screen of the S20 FE has a size of 6.5 inches, located between the S20 (6.2 inches) and the S20 + (6.7 inches). Compared to 2K + Gorilla Glass 6 of the three S20 seniors, the resolution is lowered to Full-HD + with Gorilla Glass 3 but is worth the refresh rate is still at 120Hz, with HDR10+ support.
While this 120Hz frequency is fixed and unable to change with the content like Note20Ultra or GalaxyZFold2 for battery-saving purposes, the screen of S20 FE glides through almost all tasks from opening/closing applications to switching multitasking and scrolling pages when browsing the internet in one smooth action, owing to the 120Hz refresh rate.
The display quality is characteristic of AMOLED panels: deep blacks, high contrast, bright colors and clear viewability under sunny conditions. Still, the viewing angles are somewhat limited when compared to the Note 20 Ultra; the greens and purples come into view with a slight tilt at various angles.
The S20 FE features dual speakers, with the speakerphone acting as the second external speaker in order to create a clear stereo multi-channel sound effect great for games and movie watching. Sound has been tuned by AKG, and also supports Dolby sound technology, for loud and clear volume with no distortion at max and a good kick of bass.
Camera “round shoulder” enough from super-wide-angle to telephoto approaches
Three rear “induction cookers” cameras on the back of the S20 FE inherit from Galaxy S20 12MP main camera with Dual Pixel focus, optical image stabilization (OIS), f/1.8 aperture, 1.8-micrometer large pixel size, 4K video record capabilities, but do not enjoy being the proud carrier of 8K video abilities per the Galaxy S20’s honor. The 8MP telephoto camera offers 3x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom and has optical image stabilization, 1.0 µm pixels, and f/2.4 aperture. Meanwhile, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123-degree field view, f/2.2 aperture, 1.12 µm pixels.
All three rear cameras of the S20 FE still retain important elements that tell of Samsung flagships till date: the photos are bright, high-contrast, somewhat vibrant, and flattering. Fine details, sharpness, and wide dynamic range. Though a dedicated macro camera has not been included, by zooming in 2X or 3X through the main camera, macro photographs can still be made with reasonably good quality.
The only important tip here is that the S20 FE 3x optical zoom telephoto camera is normally intended for distant subjects. Whenever close-ups or macro shots are attempted, the device will instantly switch to the main camera with digital zoom, even when switched to the tele camera prior.
Noise suppression from Samsung is still extremely strong in low-light setups. The images have very low noise, but less sharpness and details. However, it has a night mode that can be used with all three cameras to improve the quality of the image substantially. With this camera, however, the S20 FE’s wide lens only focuses on infinity, so if you want to take a close-up with this camera, you can’t.
The selfies taken by the 32MP “mole” camera on the S20 FE, however, display vibrant colors and a good light range, though it will default to “grabbing” the face quite enthusiastically. For nature lovers, turning off all beautification but normal mode without removing fonts is best. On the other hand, the selfie camera allows you to choose between 2 close up or wide angles, best for solo or group selfies. The wide-angle, on the other hand, can be enjoyed to make a face appear slimmer.
Note 20 Ultra performance equivalent
Like other Samsung flagship devices, the S20 FE is offered in two chipset variants. The Snapdragon 865 processor powers the 5G version, while the 4G version (also a genuine version sold in Asia) uses the same Exynos 990 processor as the Galaxy S20 or Note 20 seniors. The other includes 8GB of RAM, comes with 128GB of internal memory, has a microSD card slot that shares two physical SIM trays.
The topic has long been drawn into controversy when the Exynos version gave very inferior performance than its Snapdragon counterpart, especially with gaming, photo-, or video-editing heavy tasks.
With common tasks like web browsing or mail checking, using the Exynos 990 felt a little lag when I did the same tests using the Galaxy Z Fold 2 running Snapdragon 865+ (overclocked version) under normal conditions for returning to and switching tasks at home screen.
When playing games, the Exynos 990 cannot turn the highest graphics option on and unlock the max frames like Snapdragon 865+ can with two popular games, PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile. With the graphics maxed out, the device can only run at 40fps in these two games. If you want it to be at 60fps, you have to scale the settings down, meaning the quality of graphics in the game appearance will be less dazzling, lacking eye-catching lighting, shading, and anti-aliasing effects.
With an easier game-like Arena of Valor Mobile, the New S20 FE can turn at max graphics at a 60-frame maximum. In all three games mentioned above, the performance of the Exynos 990 is very stable, smooth and lag-free.
Like the Note 20 Ultra running Exynos 990, S20 FE can achieve a maximum frame of 120fps in Dead Trigger 2 game at Ultra High graphics settings. But with this setting, the frame fluctuates very sharply, unstable and often drop to around 97fps. Downgrading the setting to High level makes the game much smoother, stabilizing at close to 110fps.
The S20 FE is only minimally warm to the touch during gaming and distributes the heat evenly, rather than in a single area, so it is not uncomfortable.
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Midday sustenance becomes definite on a day of usage.
The S20 FE battery has a great capacity of 4500 mAh that it shares with S20 + and Note 20 Ultra. It features wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. At a high intensity of use mainly using 4G, taking photos, and recording videos, as well as playing games in 120Hz screen mode, the S20 FE can manage overall good duration that is capable of sustaining between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. with total light time. AccuBattery Pro app stats on screen lights up around 7 hours. This virtually equals the duration she enjoys when using either Note 20 Ultra or S20 Ultra.
BiaReview’s standard battery tests in 120Hz mode also presented similar results, with over 10 hours of web browsing, over 16 hours of watching videos, and nearly 6 hours of gaming. If you return to the 60Hz refresh rate, the battery life can be extended as well, but then sacrifices the smoothness of the display at 120Hz.
Unfortunately, while the S20 FE supports 25W fast charging, the included charger is just a 15W fast charger. With included 15W, it takes S20 FE up to 1h35 minutes to charge the battery from 0 to 100%, with the first 30 minutes charging just 37%. Connect it with the 25W charger, from the Note 20 Ultra, and now S20 FE charges fully in just 1 hour and 10 minutes and takes around 30 minutes to charge up to 57%.
You must turn off all unused connections such as Bluetooth, GPS, 4G, or AOD screen for the fastest charging device. Similar to all other Samsung phones today, S20 FE will not fast charge when the screen is on.
This charging speed of the S20 FE might cover the most common requirements. Opponents like Oppo, Realme, OnePlus, Xiaomi are now charging fast 65W; 120W even fully charges 100% of 4200mAh battery (Oppo Find X2) in 40 minutes and 4500 mAh (Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra) in just 25 minutes. If you don’t want to be behind, better for Samsung to step up because competition has become more aggressive in smartphone charging speeds.
Applications with total inheritance of Samsung DeX wireless functionality
Sure, this time S20 FE will also get the latest One UI 2.5 version through updates, running on Android 10. The One UI 2.5 version is not too different from the previous One UI generations. You would still have such familiar features as gesture navigation, Dark Mode interface (you can force Dark Mode on Facebook and Messenger in Developer settings). Edge screen, to quickly open frequently used apps or turn on Pairs of split-screen apps.
Perhaps the most striking software feature on the S20 FE is Samsung Dex, being able to wirelessly link with TVs, computer monitors, or even laptops without the use of USB cables, DeX Station, or DeX Pad like the previous method. Essentially, every Miracast-enabled television, monitor, and laptop should be able to connect wirelessly using Samsung DeX’s functionality. For Samsung TVs, the wireless DeX feature is recommended for products released in 2019 or later.
With a DeX connection from the S20 FE to the TV, it essentially allows for a smooth multitasking experience, in which one can turn the phone into a mobile computer-if anything, with a PC-like interface. Thus, if there were no mouse and keyboard already, this year Samsung has made things a lot easier by allowing the screen of the phone to be used as a trackpad.
Summary
As with the Note20, Note20 Ultra, and Galaxy S20 trio, Galaxy S20 FE gives a fitting response from Samsung into the increasing reluctance of buyers in spending on mobile phones valued $900 or above.
With 120Hz screen, dust resistance, IP68 water resistance, great battery life, or camera that remain the strong points of any flagships by Samsung, S20 FE gives up almost all “luxury things” like a glass back design, narrow-border screen, 50X zoom camera.