Samsung’s Galaxy S23 FE was skipped over when the company unveiled its new flagship lineup at this year’s Galaxy Unpacked event, but a Fan Edition version may soon be arriving. It’s been a long time coming since the company last offered a Galaxy S-series phone with fewer features, and an FE launch would be good news for anyone looking to pick up a powerful Samsung smartphone that won’t break the bank.
Samsung isn’t confirming that the Galaxy S23 FE will be getting a refresh, but it has been hinting at it recently. In a recent interview with Android Authority, VP of mobile at Samsung South Africa Justin Hume acknowledged that the company has an “FE-sized gap” between its midrange Galaxy A series phones and flagship Galaxy S models. Hume didn’t mention the Galaxy S23 FE specifically, but he did confirm that a “new solution” was coming to fill that gap.
Rumors have suggested that the Galaxy S23 FE will receive a significant upgrade in several departments. One of the most notable upgrades is a move to a more powerful Exynos processor. Rumors first surfaced at 91Mobiles and later at SamMobile claiming that the S23 FE will be powered by either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip for Europe and North America or Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 chipset for other markets. The latter is a step back from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but it should still offer plenty of performance for an FE device.
Aside from the power boost, the rumor mill is also suggesting that the Galaxy S23 FE will get an upgraded selfie camera and more storage. The former will be a switch to a 10MP sensor from the current 32MP one used in the S23 FE’s predecessors, while the latter is said to include an extra 8MP telephoto lens for better zooming capabilities.
Other rumors suggest that the Galaxy S23 FE will come with a choice of 128GB or 256GB of storage, and 6GB or 8GB of RAM. It will also likely offer 25W fast charging, which would be a welcome improvement for users who want to charge their phones quickly while on the go.
Samsung hasn’t announced when the Galaxy S23 FE will launch, but a Korean report from Hankooki expects it to arrive in August or September. That would be roughly three months after the rest of the Galaxy S23 line is available, but it could be closer to what happened with the Galaxy S20 FE three years ago when it arrived seven months after the rest of the Galaxy S20 lineup. A listing for the FE on the Wireless Power Consortium website also points to an imminent arrival.