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We tested how Samsung’s new smartphone, the Galaxy S23 FE, which offers a lot at a relatively good price, and the accompanying new Bluetooth headset with a fair price-performance ratio, the Galaxy Buds FE, perform in practice.
The latest top-of-the-range mobile phones are almost so overwhelming that after a few weeks of use we simply realize that we hardly ever use so many of their features. But then what’s the point of paying hundreds of thousands of forints for it?
In 2020, Samsung introduced its first FE (Fan Edition), i.e. a fan-requested phone, the S20 FE, which was a great success at the time due to its excellent price-performance ratio. The S21 FE was nowhere near as successful, and the fact that it was only available late, at the beginning of 2022, due to a lack of chips played a major role in this.
And now here is the brand new S23 FE, which was also slightly delayed and only went on sale at the end of 2023. We took a look at what Samsung’s latest budget flagship offers for our money and also tested how the included Buds FE wireless earbuds play music in practice.
Family tree
It’s an open secret that the S23 FE aims to be some kind of streamlined S23, but where exactly does it fit into the Korean manufacturer’s lineup? Well, in terms of display size, it sits between the 6.1-inch S23 and the 6.6-inch S23+, but since its bezels are thicker than average, it’s larger than both sibling models, while its diagonal is 6.4 inches.
In terms of weight, the S23 FE also surpasses the two products in the premium category mentioned and weighs a whopping 209 grams. This means a weight increase of 32 grams compared to the S21 FE, but what is pleasing is that the back panel is no longer made of cheap plastic, but rather made of high quality glass.
The rounded side frame made of matt aluminum ensures a great feel and quality, and there is nothing to complain about in terms of workmanship either. The predecessor A54 already had dust and water resistance according to IP68, which is very similar in design to the S23 FE, but is significantly cheaper and only has protection class IP67.
The left edge is completely free, the volume and power buttons are on the opposite side and are easily accessible. At the top is the compartment with the double SIM slot, which cannot accommodate a microSD, and at the bottom you can see the 3.0 USB-C port.
For hands-free communication of medium quality and high volume, the phone uses two speakers, where not only the hardware proximity sensor but also the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor were omitted for cost reasons. The optical fingerprint sensor integrated into the display is generally not bad, but it is a little slower and a little less accurate than the more advanced sensor in the more expensive Samsungs.
Available in mint, graphite, cream and purple
© Ferenc László
Aging gorilla
While the predecessor, which debuted two years ago, still had the Gorilla Glass Victus protective glass, our current test object has the Gorilla Glass 5 protection from four years ago on both the front and back. Otherwise there is really no reason to complain, the high-resolution panel spoils our eyes with excellent image quality, high brightness, excellent contrast ratio and wide viewing angles.
The red dot represents the adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz as well as HDR10+ support and the AoD function. The OLED display has a completely flat design, only the corners are rounded.
The 6.4-inch format is quite tolerable, the usable area is 11.5 percent larger than the S23 and 5 percent smaller than the production S23+.
The resolution of the selfie camera integrated in the top center of the display has been reduced from 32 to 10 megapixels compared to its predecessor, but the image quality is still okay. The 4K/60 fps video recorder is a great thing, but it’s a shame that we have to do without autofocus.
The 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization takes 12-megapixel photos as standard, but in optimal lighting conditions it may be worth trying out the full resolution. The 12-megapixel wide-angle module does its job, but there is no autofocus on the S23/S23+ either.
The 8 megapixel telephoto lens with optical image stabilization and PDAF focusing, the 75 mm focal length provides 3x optical magnification, the digital zoom enables a maximum of 30x magnification.
The main camera’s video recorder can also record 8K/24 fps videos, although there are more ratios in 4K/60 fps mode. The other cameras don’t know this, so we have to make do with 4K / 30 fps.
inside rooms
Equipped with the latest Android 14 operating system and the One UI 6.0 user interface, the S23 FE performs excellently in terms of software, neither in terms of service nor in terms of ergonomics.
You can’t complain about the speed either, in any case Samsung could have found a more durable solution with the Exynos 2200 chipset, which is two years old and debuted in the S22 series. The 6 GB option has been discontinued, everyone gets 8 GB of RAM as standard, the flash memory has a capacity of 128-256 GB depending on the version.
There is no question that 5G, Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC are also worth our money and probably few people are surprised that the manufacturer only includes one cable with the cell phone. The charging head is an additional item and unlike Xiaomi, silicones are not included.
The so-called super fast charging is only 25 W, which means a total charging time of around 70 minutes. In fact, that’s even friendlier than the iPhone 15’s 110-minute level time, but significantly more depressing than the roughly 20-minute output delivered by the mid-range Xiaomi’s base-price 120W charger.
The battery, which can be operated wirelessly at a maximum of 15 W, has a capacity of 4500 mAh, which predicts a practical operating time of around a day. The predecessor also had the same battery, the S23 has 3,900 mAh, the S23+ has 4,700 mAh and the cheaper A54 has around 5,000 mAh.
In the US it is available with a more fuel-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset
© Ferenc László
And how are the earphones?
With the Buds FE, Samsung represents an innovation in the market for mid-range TWS (True Wireless Stereo) products. The first FE headset is aimed at everyone who absolutely needs active noise filtering, but is otherwise willing to make compromises.
The 5.6 gram earphones in a snow-white 40 gram housing with a USB-C port ensure they are comfortable to wear and sit firmly in our hearing organs.
The battery of the case has a capacity of 479 mAh, the earphones have a capacity of 60 mAh
© Ferenc László
Instead of the two, this time only a one-way sound system ensures decent bass, although the soundstage is a bit narrower than expected. With active noise filtering, you can expect around 5 hours of music playback time instead of the promised 6, which can be extended to 21-30 hours with the case.
At 33,000 HUF, the Buds FE, which can be operated simply by touching the touch surfaces on the sides, is not a bad buy. It costs about half as much as the top model Buds2 Pro, but unlike it cannot be charged wirelessly.
It offers normal, bass, soft, dynamic, bright and high EQ settings
© Ferenc László
Diploma
+: generally good quality, nice display, quick operation, correct camera quality.
–: It could be smaller, lighter and cheaper, the battery could be bigger and faster to charge.
It’s a good thing that Samsung continues to keep the FE line alive and even expanding it, as the demand for affordable products is perhaps even greater today than ever before.
Another problem is that the Galaxy S23 FE, like its predecessor, was apparently a little late again and if we had to wait that long for it, it could at least be a little cheaper.
At the time of writing our article, the 128GB version cost around HUF 280,000 and the 256GB version cost HUF 300,000, which is enough to buy a regular S23. The situation is somewhat improved by the fact that the S23 FE will be accompanied by a Buds FE until January 17th or while stocks last.
A good alternative is the Xiaomi 13T Pro, which offers a 6.67-inch display, 5000 mAh battery, 120 W charging power and 12/512 GB of storage for 300,000 HUF.
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