Order the King of Android! Get your Galaxy S25 Ultra today! Follow us on Google news!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.

News For You
Notifications

Galaxy S23 FE vs S21 FE: Slight upgrade in a beautified package

Phone
By 

Last updated: October 4th, 2023 at 01:43 UTC+02:00

Samsung's back at it again with a new Fan Edition smartphone. The direct sequel to the Galaxy S21 FE will go on sale as the Galaxy S23 FE on October 5 in select markets (and reach more countries by the end of the month), and it's high time for a direct comparison between the two devices.

Have things changed over the past one and a half years? To keep things simple, we can summarize that the Galaxy S23 FE outmatches the Galaxy S21 FE primarily through an upgraded design, display, camera system, and chipset. It also ships with Android 13 and One UI 5.1. You'll find more details below.

Story continues after the video

Galaxy S23 FE feels like a higher-quality phone

The Galaxy S21 FE was announced roughly at the same time as the Galaxy S22 series last year but didn't borrow too many design elements from the flagship series.

In contrast, the Galaxy S23 FE looks a lot closer to the Galaxy S23 and S23+. It has a flat design, circular camera cutouts, an aluminum frame, and a Gorilla Glass 5 back panel. The upgraded materials added a bit of weight, too, which helps the Galaxy S23 FE feel like it's a higher-quality phone. It weighs 209 grams, whereas the Galaxy S21 FE weighs roughly 177 grams.

Even though display specifications look the same on paper, the Galaxy S23 FE's 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display now benefits from Vision Booster technology, which helps the panel reproduce colors more accurately in varying lighting conditions.

The camera system now consists of a 50MP primary shooter with Adaptive Pixel tech, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. The Galaxy S23 FE offers 2x portrait zoom, OIS, VDIS, Nightography, and a full-fledged Director's View.

For this year's Fan Edition model, Samsung improved the performance through the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200 chipsets (market-dependent). The company ditched the 6GB of RAM version, so the Galaxy S23 FE starts at 8GB of RAM paired with 128GB or 256GB of storage.

Check out our specs sheets below for a more in-depth look at the hardware differences between the two models, and don't forget our hands-on video above if you want to get a better feel of how the build quality and design have changed.

slide 1 to 2 of 2

General Information

  • Model Name

    Galaxy S23 FE

    Galaxy S21 FE

  • Model type

    Bar

    Bar

  • Colors

    Mint ()Cream ()Graphite ()Purple ()Indigo ()Tangerine ()

    Graphite ()Lavender ()Olive ()White ()

  • Announced

    2023, October

    2022, January

  • Released

    2023, October

Physical specifications

  • Dimensions

    Bar: 158 x 76.5 x 8.2 mm

    Bar: 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm

  • Weights

    209g

    177g

  • IP rating

    IP68

    IP68

Operating system

  • Operating system

    Android 13

    Android 12

  • One UI version

    One UI 5.1

    4.0

Networks

  • SIM

    Dual SIM model

    Dual SIM model

  • SIM card sizes

    Nano-SIM (4FF)

    Nano-SIM (4FF)

  • Networks

    2G3G4G5G

    2G3G4G5G

  • eSIM support

    Yes

    No

Display

  • Kind

    Main Display

  • Name

    Infinity-O Display

    Infinity-O Display

  • Technology

    Dynamic AMOLED 2X

    Dynamic AMOLED 2X

  • Size

    6.4 inch / 162.6 mm

    6.4 inch / 162.6 mm

  • Resolution

    FHD+ / 2340x1080 pixels

    FHD+ / 2400x1080 pixels

  • Pixel density

    411 PPI

    411 PPI

  • Refresh rate

    120Hz

    120Hz


Phone Galaxy S21 FEGalaxy S23 FE Buy now!
Scroll for more related content
News For You

You might also like

Galaxy S23 FE gets February 2025 security update in Korea

Galaxy S23 FE gets February 2025 security update in Korea

Recently, Samsung released software updates to the Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S24 series that offered the February 2025 security patch. Now, the company is rolling out the latest security update to its flagship lineup of smartphones from 2023. However, only one of the devices in it is getting it at the moment, the Galaxy […]

  • By Abid Iqbal Shaik
  • 4 days ago
Best Samsung Phones in February 2025 – Picked by experts

Best Samsung Phones in February 2025 – Picked by experts

Why These Are The Best Samsung Phones This Month Samsung's smartphone lineup is incredibly diverse. The company offers great devices across the entire price spectrum. The Galaxy S25 is undoubtedly one of the best Samsung phones of 2025, as it offers the best specs of any device from the company. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 […]

  • By Adnan Farooqui
  • 2 weeks ago
You can upgrade to the Galaxy S24 FE for as low as $249

You can upgrade to the Galaxy S24 FE for as low as $249

If you're rocking a 2023 or older Fan Edition smartphone and searching for an upgrade, the Galaxy S25 series probably looks very appealing at the moment. However, if you're in the market for an upgrade on a tighter budget, Samsung has new and enhanced trade-in discounts for Galaxy S24 FE buyers. Thanks to these new […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 2 weeks ago
What is the newest Samsung phone? – January 2025

What is the newest Samsung phone? – January 2025

It has often been difficult to keep track of the newest Samsung phone given that the company releases so many throughout the year. Samsung has dozens of models across different series which cater to all price ranges. This page will be updated on a monthly basis to ensure that you can always know what is […]

  • By Adnan Farooqui
  • 4 weeks ago
More Galaxy S21 FE units get January 2025 security update in USA

More Galaxy S21 FE units get January 2025 security update in USA

Earlier this week, Samsung released the January 2025 security update to the Galaxy S21 FE in the US. However, the update was only released to the carrier-locked variant of the phone. Now, the update is also available for factory-unlocked models in the USA. Factory-unlocked Galaxy S21 FE units get January 2025 security update in the […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 1 month ago
Galaxy S21 FE is the latest to get January 2025 security update

Galaxy S21 FE is the latest to get January 2025 security update

Samsung has released a new software update to the Galaxy S21 FE. While it isn't the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 update that you've been waiting for, it is something that improves your phone's security. It brings the January 2025 security patch to the device. Galaxy S21 FE gets January 2025security update in USA The […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 1 month ago