Samsung may have just unveiled some new midrange phones in the form of the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72, packing in some premium features at lower prices, but it apparently has at least one other lower-cost option in its plans. A Galaxy S21 FE is reportedly in the works, according to a leaker with a good track record when it comes to Samsung's phones.
That leaker would be Evan Blass, who posted a roadmap for Samsung's product rollouts over the next six months. And at the end of that reported schedule stands a Galaxy S21 FE, which would presumably be a lower cost version of the Galaxy S21 flagships Samsung released earlier this year.
- Samsung Galaxy A52 vs. Galaxy A52 5G vs. Galaxy A72: The key differences
- Here are the best Samsung phones
- Plus: OnePlus 9 Pro 50W wireless charging tested — and it destroys Galaxy S21
The FE concept isn't a new one for Samsung. Last year, a few months after the Galaxy S20 launch, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S20 FE. That phone offered many of the same key features as the other S20 models — the same high-end processor and a display with a 120Hz refresh rate chief among those features — but at a much lower price. The Galaxy S20 FE cost $699, which was $300 less than the Galaxy S20's introductory price, and all you really had to give up was RAM and fancier cameras.
Doing the same thing with the Galaxy S21 FE will be a challenge for Samsung, as the phone maker already lowered the prices on its S21 models by $200 from their S20 equivalents. Furthermore, the Galaxy S21 already features a plastic casing as opposed to a glass and metal chassis — one of the other key differences between the Galaxy S20 FE and its pricier counterparts.
Blass doesn't include any details about what Samsung might leave out of the Galaxy S21 FE or what the phone might cost. But its presence on a rumored calendar as Samsung's August 2021 phone release is more evidence that we're not getting a Galaxy Note 21 this year. Samsung has already indicated that it may skip over a new Galaxy Note due to a global chip shortage.
Samsung is also rumored to be considering a push into foldable phones as potential replacements for the Galaxy Note series, though there's no mention of that in Blass' timeline.
In addition to the Galaxy S21 FE, Blass notes a few other Samsung product releases coming up this year. In April, the leaker says that Samsung will hold another Unpacked event to focus on PCs — specifically Galaxy Chromebooks as well as Galaxy Book laptops running Windows. A tablet release could follow in June, with July introducing more members of the Galaxy A phone family.
According to Blass, potential additions to the Galaxy A series include the Galaxy A22, a lower end phone than the A52 and A72 models unveiled this week, and the Galaxy A82. That phone will reportedly offer 5G connectivity plus a dual-use camera module.
