Samsung’s going all-in on its affordable FE range this year, with the company now unveiling cheaper variations for the Samsung Galaxy S23, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.
We’ve not seen a new Galaxy FE phone since the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE launched in January 2022, and the label has never been applied to tablets or earbuds before. Samsung has clearly had a rethink about its lower-cost offerings, and we’re going to explain everything that’s new.
FE originally stood for Fan Edition, though apparently it’s no longer an acronym – it’s just FE. The idea is to keep a lot of the quality and high specs of the flagship-level products, while keeping more of a mid-range price point. Here’s how the range breaks down…
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
We’d heard a lot of speculation about the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and now it’s here: the phone runs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor from 2021, and comes with either 128GB or 256GB of storage. You get a 6.4-inch display, plus three rear cameras – a triple-lens 50MP wide, a 12MP ultrawide and an 8MP telephoto camera. There’s also a 10MP camera selfie camera on the front.
Inside, there’s a 4,500 mAh battery which Samsung says “keeps you going all day and into the night” – stay tuned for our review for confirmation. Your color options are Mint, Purple, Cream, or Graphite. As you’d expect, Android 13 is on board.
It’s really the pricing that’s most important in making these devices appealing, and the Samsung S23 FE will retail for $599.99 / AU$999 (128GB) (UK pricing coming soon). That compares to a starting price of $799.99 / £849 / AU$1,349 for the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 with 128GB of storage.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 only arrived in August, so Samsung has wasted no time in getting an FE version out. The big surprise is that the tablets meet IP68 specifications for water resistance. That means you can take them to the pool and they can take a quick dip (be careful with saltwater, though). There are very few tablets that are built with this durability spec.
There are actually two models available: a 10.9-inch (2304 x 1440 pixel) Tab S9 FE, and a 12.4-inch (2560 x 1600 pixel) Tab S9 FE Plus. The larger FE Plus model will have Wi-Fi, of course, but the smaller model will have a 5G option.
A Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset is driving both models, and both come with either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. The Plus model offers 8GB or 12GB or RAM with its storage options, as opposed to 6GB or 8GB on the smaller model. It also has a larger battery – 10,090 mAh rather than 8,000 mAh.
As for pricing, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE will cost $449.99 / AU$749 (UK pricing coming soon) for the 128GB Wi-Fi model, and we’re still waiting for all the pricing details for various flavors and configurations for each region.
Samsung Galaxy Buds FE
Last but not least, we have the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE, offering “sound that fits just right” in the words of Samsung. Available in graphite or white, these mid-range buds offer six hours of battery life with automatic noise cancelling on, or 9 hours with ANC off. The case bumps those figures up to 21 hours and 30 hours respectively.
There’s the ambient sound mode we’ve seen on other Samsung Galaxy Buds, allowing you to still catch important external sounds, and Auto Switch for quickly jumping between different audio source devices (as long as they’re made by Samsung).
You can pick up the Galaxy Buds FE in Graphite or White, and they’ll cost you $99.99 (UK and AUS pricing coming soon). That makes them a little cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, which will set you back $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$219.
