Between declining profits largely caused by weaker and weaker memory chip demand and a hugely successful iPhone 14 family that almost put Apple at the number one spot in the Q1 2023 global smartphone vendor hierarchy, it may seem like Samsung has more important things on its plate right now than the potential revival of the once-popular Fan Edition line of relatively inexpensive Android high-enders.
But while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 are undoubtedly set to take priority among the company's future product releases, a Galaxy S23 FE could well follow just a few months after the highly anticipated next-gen foldable powerhouses.
Like the Galaxy S22 FE, this was at one point rumored to be nixed, which is however no longer the expectation of several typically knowledgeable and trustworthy publications like SamMobile and GalaxyClub over in the Netherlands.
A nice-sounding camera upgrade and a still-distant launch date
The latter of the two aforementioned sources has it on good authority today (translated here) that a Galaxy S23 Fan Edition is very much in the pipeline with a 50MP imaging sensor in tow. This will obviously be just one of several cameras found on the handset's back, with the number and specifications of the others remaining completely under wraps.
We also don't know anything else about this rumored primary rear-facing shooter of the S23 FE, but there's clearly a good chance it will be borrowed from the "standard" Galaxy S23 and the S23 Plus while vastly improving the real-world photography and videography skills of the early 2022-released Galaxy S21 FE.
The largely mysterious S23 FE could share its primary shooter with both the S23 (pictured above) and the S23 Plus (pictured here).
The newest member of the Fan Edition family comes with a largely unimpressive (by 2023 high-end standards, at least) 12MP main camera on deck doubled by an 8MP telephoto sensor and 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, delivering a decent but far from outstanding overall imaging experience.
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Unfortunately, it sounds like you'll have to continue playing the waiting game before you can get your hands on the next big FE phone, which will purportedly either be possible "late in the year" or in early 2024. By that latter point, of course, we'll probably know a lot (more) about the Galaxy S24 series of ultra-high-end handsets, which might have a big impact on the S23 FE's mass appeal.
That's most likely what buried the Galaxy S21 FE, which clearly and inexplicably came out far too close to the Galaxy S22 family after the successful S20 Fan Edition made its commercial debut all the way back in the fall of 2020.
Will the Galaxy S23 FE be cheaper than the S21 FE?
Although it's definitely premature for anyone to even try to answer that question with the information currently available to us, we'll just say that Samsungneeds to price the S23 FE more aggressively than its forerunner to make this year's (or next year's) list of the best budget 5G phones in the world.
The S21 FE (pictured here) is... not exactly the most appealing high-end phone out there.
That's especially true if the company decides to equip the Galaxy S23 FE with an Exynos 2200 processor around the globe, as recent speculation suggested. That's the same chip the Galaxy S22 family used "internationally" and it could prove a bitter disappointment for folks who've tried out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered S23, S23+, or S23 Ultra.
The S21 FE, which was released with a recommended price point of $699 and up attached to its name, shared a powerful Snapdragon 888 SoC with the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra, mind you, so we can probably hope to see the Galaxy S23 FE start at around $599 and thus go up against the likes of the OnePlus 10T, Google Pixel 7, and by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, Google Pixel 8.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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