Update: In light of the new information that we've received about the Galaxy S23 FE, the smartphone will be launched in Q3 2023 but will be available only in select markets. A wider release of the phone will happen in Q4 2023 and in Q1 2024.
As we reported earlier, the upcoming Fan Edition phone will use the Exynos 2200 processor with the AMD-powered Xclipse 920 GPU.
There have been many conflicting rumors about the Galaxy S23 FE in recent months to make your head spin, especially if you follow the news as regularly as we do. The confliction has been about whether or not the Galaxy S23 FE is actually going to be released or if Samsung will skip making a Galaxy S Fan Edition for the second time in a row.
Well, it seems the former is true, according to what we're hearing: Samsung really is planning to launch a Galaxy S23 FE, and it will arrive sometime in the fourth quarter of 2023. And it could have a surprise in store, one that may or may not make you happy.
Step aside, Qualcomm: Galaxy S23 FE coming with Exynos chip worldwide
The Galaxy S23 series launched earlier this year and is exclusively powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, but with the Fan Edition, Samsung is apparently going to flip the script: The Galaxy S23 FE will be powered by the Exynos 2200 chip in all markets, including the USA!
Yes, the Exynos 2200, the chip that powered the Galaxy S22 series in Europe, will also power the S23 FE, from what we've heard. The Exynos 2200 was Samsung's first chip with an AMD GPU and was, if we're being honest, quite a mess, which is probably why Samsung decided to go all in with Qualcomm for the S23 series.
The Exynos 2200 will be nearly two years old by the time the Galaxy S23 FE makes its debut, so it will hopefully not cause the kind of issues we saw on the Galaxy S22 lineup. In fact, Samsung better make sure that is the case if it is planning to use the chip for the US market, where customers and Samsung fans have been spoiled by Snapdragon chips on high-end Galaxy phones for many years while customers in the rest of the world have suffered the increasingly problematic Exynos chips.
Galaxy S23 FE will bring an upgraded rear camera
Anyway, let's talk about some other Galaxy S23 FE specs that we have learned about. One of the S23 FE's biggest upgrades could be a 50MP rear camera. The S20 FE and S21 FE used the same 12MP rear camera as the standard S20 and S21 models, and with Samsung upgrading the main camera to a 50-megapixel sensor on the (non-Ultra) Galaxy S22 and S23, we guess it's only natural that the S23 FE get the same upgrade.
The S23 FE will come in 128GB and 256GB storage tiers, and we assume there will be 6GB or 8GB of RAM accompanying that storage. We also learned that the S23 FE will have the same 4,500 mAh battery as its predecessors, likely with 25W fast charging (though we won't say no to Samsung doing a little charity by adding 45W charging support while keeping the price of the phone the same as the S20 FE and S21 FE).
And finally, it seems Samsung is bringing the model numbers for the Galaxy S FE series in line with what it has been using for the flagship S line since last year. The S23 FE will have model number SM-S711x – notice the 7xx series of numbers here is what Samsung also uses for the Galaxy Z Flip lineup, indicating that while these are high-end devices, they aren't supposed to be considered proper flagships.
While we make sure we only put exclusive information out there if we trust the source, it's always possible a few details could change by the time the new phone makes it to market. As usual, we'll keep you updated whenever new information pops up, so stay tuned!
