Samsung Galaxy S23 FE: Everything you need to know

Samsung surprised the world back in 2020 when it unveiled a Fan Edition version of its Galaxy S20. This featured a slightly reduced spec sheet compared to its full-fat sibling, but brought the overall flavour of a Galaxy device to those who didn’t want to spend the ever-increasing amounts that it costs to bag a flagship phone these days.

This was followed by the Galaxy S21 FE a year or so later, and we were looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE too, but it never launched. That made us sceptical about whether we’d see the S23 FE or not, but the latest leaks suggest Samsung may be resurrecting the Fan Edition for 2023.

Here’s what you need to know.

When will the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE be released?

This is hard to predict given that the S22 FE never launched at all. We had expected Samsung to launch that phone some time around October 2022, shortly after the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, but that obviously didn’t happen, and it looks likely that it won’t launch at all now since the Galaxy S23 line has now arrived.

Korean publication Hankooki suggests that there will be an FE phone this year, but it will be branded the S23 FE, and will launch in August or September. Adding weight to that report, it suggests that the Galaxy A74 has been scrapped to prevent the two phones from cannibalising each other’s sales – which seems to be true, since we’ve since seen the A34 and A54 launch with no sign of the A74.

SamMobile says similar, but thinks the phone will launch initially in Q3 2023 – so July, August, or September – in “select markets.” A wider launch will then follow in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, which lines up neatly with GalaxyClub‘s warning that it can’t rule out a launch as late as early 2024.

GalaxyClub also spotted that Samsung only began testing European firmware for the phone in late May, which the site says is evidence that the phone itself is still months away, and will likely launch after the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. The phone has received its battery certification in South Korea at least, so is clearly on the way.

For reference, here’s when the previous FE phones made their debuts:

• Samsung S20 FE: October 2020
• Samsung S21 FE: January 2022

As you can see, there was a little more than a year between the two devices, but this was mainly down to the S21 FE being heavily delayed due to a combination of Covid-related disruptions to production and the worldwide shortage of processor chips.

Has the S23 FE been cancelled?

Now that most leakers have accepted that the S22 FE isn’t coming, speculation has turned to whether the S23 FE is really on the way or not. While sites including Hankooki (above) have reported that the phone is on the way, not everyone agrees.

Previously SamMobile reported based on “multiple sources” that not only was the S22 FE cancelled, but that it’s actually canned the FE line entirely.

The usually reliable leaker Yogesh Brar has also tweeted that “there is no Galaxy S23 FE in the development chain,” casting doubt on hopes for another Fan Edition.

Korean site The Elec reports slightly differently. It confirmed that the S22 FE has been cancelled, blaming that on the success of the S22 Ultra – that phone sold better than expected, and so Samsung is reallocating components to increase production. On the other hand the site reports that this is only a temporary setback for the FE, and that Samsung will launch a Galaxy S23 FE this year as planned, with an expectation to produce 3 million units.

How much will the Samsung S23 FE cost?

The phone likely isn’t launching, but we can use the previous models as a baseline of what to expect if the S22 FE somehow does still launch. So, here’s the pricing we’ve seen so far:

Samsung S20 FE: 

• 4G: £599/€649
• 5G: $699/£699/€749

Samsung S21 FE (5G): 

• 6GB + 128GB: $699/£699/€749 
• 8GB + 256GB: $769/£749/€819

While the S20 FE offered both 4G and 5G versions, this settled into the more standard 5G platform for the S21 FE and therefore the S22 FE. Hopefully Samsung will hold its prices for the new model, meaning you should expect shelling out around £699/$699/€749 for the entry-level configuration. 

What specs and features will we see in the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE?

As the S23 FE gets closer to launch, we’re beginning to get a sense of what to expect.

First up, we think we know what it will look like thanks to the leaker OnLeaks, who shared renders he made with SmartPrix:

Unsurprisingly, the design language closely matches Samsung’s other recent handsets, but the combination of a flat display and rounded edges means it most closely resembles the mid-range Galaxy A54.

OnLeaks even reports that the phone will measure around 158 x 76.3 x 8.2mm, with a 6.4in screen, which is an almost exact match for the size of the Galaxy A54 – there’s a chance Samsung is even reusing the exact same chassis here.

As for internal specs, the best information we have right now all comes from one source: a SamMobile report in April 2023, with the Q4 release date mentioned above and a surprisingly complete specs list.

The biggest twist is the claim that the S23 FE will be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 2200 chip in every market. This is the chipset found inside the Galaxy S22 flagship in Europe, but with Samsung shifting to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 worldwide in the main S23 line, it’s a little unexpected that it might step back to Exynos for the FE phone.

The Exynos 2200 has made an appearance on Geekbench in the S23 FE, but since then so has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Based on the differing model numbers, the current expectation is that in fact the Snapdragon will power the phone in the US, but the Exynos will be used everywhere else it goes on sale – just like happened in the S22 line last year.

Beyond the chip, SamMobile reports that the S23 FE will ship with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, and likely a similar choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The battery will be the same 4500mAh capacity as the previous FE phones, and a return of 25W wired charging is likely too, since seen in the phone’s Chinese 3C certification.

There is one more change reported though: an upgrade to a 50Mp main rear camera. This was reported by SamMobile and later corroborated by GalaxyClub, the latter adding that it will be the same 50Mp shooter found in the Galaxy S23 and S23+

We’ll update this article as more details become available, so be sure to check back periodically. If you want to see phones that you can actually buy, check out our guides to the best Android phones and best Samsung Galaxy phones.