Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) is a reimagining of the company’s traditional yearly flagship – with a mix of performance bumps and moves to allow for a cheaper price. The combo leaves us with a strong competitor in the newly fierce upper mid-range phone market.
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What we love – Welcome Snapdragon 865, boosted battery life and colours aplenty
Exynos chips have been the bane of UK Samsung fan’s lives for many years now, often dumping us with the lower-powered and less battery friendly Exynos over the just better Snapdragon model – with the additional cheek of selling it at the same price.
Samsung has finally succumbed to our Galaxy-wide cries and given the Galaxy S20 FE a Snapdragon 865 processor. The processor adds up to a speedier experience than on the UK version of the regular Galaxy S20 – finally catching up to the likes of OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 Pro – and offering better battery life than its regular brethren too.
The Galaxy S20 FE makes the Samsung flagship less boring. With the new phone, the colour options include: Cloud Navy, Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud Red, Cloud White and Cloud Orange.
It’s a welcome change from the stylish but relatively tame greys, blacks and bronzes we usually get on Samsung’s flagships – even if the new version does opt for a “glasstic” back over the more traditional premium glass rear.
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What we don’t like – No fast charger in box and camera is a mixed bag
The battery performance is certainly better on the new S20 FE but it still doesn’t get a fast charger in the box for filling it up at speed. The phone has support for 25W wired charging but you’ll only get a 15W charger in the box – leaving you to shell out for a faster charger to take advantage of the speed boost.
Samsung’s new take on the S20 FE offers a similarly great point-and-shoot experience to the S20, letting you take impressive shots with the main camera at a drop of a hat. The camera setup falls down a bit in Night mode and when it comes to zoom and ultra-wide shots.
The Night mode is decent but won’t match up to rivals like Google Pixel 5 and iPhone 11 Pro. The same goes for zoom and ultra-wide modes that offer softer images than the impressive main sensor. The results are far from terrible but there’s room for improvement.
Verdict
Galaxy S20 FE has added an extra level of excitement to this year’s Samsung flagship – from finally bringing a Snapdragon processor to the device in the UK to adding a bunch of vibrant colour options. There’s tough competition from OnePlus 8T and Pixel 5 but the S20 FE is ready for the fight.
Our Recombu reviews are created using data collected by Trusted Reviews Labs, utilising their testing expertise to bring you an easy-to-read, short-form review.
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