Best-kept Samsung secret! Cheaper flagship-grade phone than Galaxy S23 to steal show soon?

Although the Galaxy S21 FE (indeed) didn’t make much sense priced at $700, thanks to discounts and resale offer, the Fan Edition phone soon turned into what was arguably the best Android flagship phone in terms of sheervalue, and things stayed this way throughout 2022! That’s a spectacular turn of events for what was expected to be an irrelevant device, and even if the only reason for that is the fact that Samsung (or Android in general) phones depreciate in value quicker than Bitcoin, what matters is the bottom line!

And the bottom line is that according to Amazon reviews (one of the few public review metrics available to the public), the S21 FE was a very popular phone and a very liked one too! In fact, perhaps evne more popular than the Galaxy S22 (again, on Amazon!) , and with better reviews overall. Hence, it’s fair to say the S21 FE was the people’s choice of flagship-grade Samsung phone for 2022.

That's why the potential existence of a brand new Galaxy S22 FE is a real reason to be excited, rather than confused (like we were back when Samsung launched the S21 FE)! Is the Galaxy S22 FE going to make a surprise appearance during Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked event on February 1 and should you buy it instead of the new Galaxy S23?

Galaxy S22 FE rumored to launch alongside Galaxy S23, “threatening” Samsung’s real flagship phones for 2023

Though rumors throughout 2022 made us believe it’s increasingly likely the S21 FE was Samsung’s last Fan Edition phone, pointing towards the end of the road for Samsung’s affordable flagship series, the FE might not be dead after all!

Leakster by the name of Connor or @OreXda on Twitter is now telling us to hold our breath for the… Galaxy S22 FE, which (if its existence wasn’t enough of a surprise), might be unveiled during the Galaxy S23 launch event (scheduled for February 1), or during the “Unpacked: Part 2”, which hints at a different Samsung event that might be help soon after the Galaxy S23 launch.

In a series of Tweets/replies, Connor and another leakster by the name of RGcloudS seem to have unveiled a few more details about the Galaxy S22 FE and Samsung’s future plans for the “FE” line:

• Galaxy S22 FE is (sort of) expected to replace what would’ve been the Galaxy A74, or Samsung’s high-end “A” series mid-range phone for 2023

• Galaxy S22 FE (according to conflicting reports) might be powered by last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset (not the 8+ Gen 1) or the Exynos 2200, which was notably left out from the S21 FE last year in favor of the Snapdragon 888; since the 2200 isn't a better chip than the 8 Gen 1, the only logical reason for Samsung's alleged decision to go back to using the Exynos 2200 is that the company might have piles of 2200s laying around

• Galaxy S22 FE is said to pack Samsung’s own 108MP ISOCELL HM6 primary camera sensor, measuring 1/1.6-inches, with support for up to 8K 24fps video, PD autofocus, and 9-to-1 pixel-binning (snaps 12MP photos by default); perhaps the most notable Android phone with this camera sensor is the Xiaomi 12T, which delivers very good photo and video quality

• Galaxy S22 FE is now set to be the very last “Fan Edition” phone launched by Samsung, as multiple leaksters tell us not to expect a Galaxy S23 FE around this time next year, meaning if it does exist, the S22 FE would be the last Galaxy phone of its kind

As long as it exists, a fairly-priced Galaxy S22 FE could easily become the best-value Android flagship phone for most of 2023

I can immediately tell you that I still wouldn’t be too quick to celebrate! In other words, the leaks are telling us thereis a Galaxy S22 FE, and even that the FE is expected to slide in the place of what would’ve been the Galaxy A74 (reportedly retired by Samsung) - that means the FE “could” cost as low as $500, because... that's the price of last year's A74 (converted from INR).

That being said, itseems like the leaks don’t take into account the fact that (unlike the Galaxy A73 which was exclusive to India) the Galaxy S22 FE should launch globally, meaning the $500 (INR 41,999) price is highly (and I mean highly) unlikely to pan out!