If you’re eager to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE then the latest news is mixed – or rather, it could be good or bad, depending on where you are in the world.
That's because SamMobile claims to have learned that the phone will launch in Q3 of this year, meaning sometime between the beginning of July and the end of September. That’s earlier than we were expecting, as the same site had previously said the Galaxy S23 FE would land in the fourth quarter of this year.
However, according to SamMobile this initial launch will only be in select markets, with the rest of the world getting the Galaxy S23 FE during the final three months of 2023 and the first few months of 2024.
So if you’re in one of the select markets that’s reportedly getting the phone in Q3, you might not have long to wait at all. But other regions could be waiting as long as we’d previously expected or even longer, in the case of places that don’t get the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE until next year.
Beyond that, this leak reiterates earlier claims that the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE will have an Exynos 2200 chipset. That’s the same chipset as European models of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series use, so it’s a little dated, but then that should help Samsung keep the cost of the phone down.
We would however take this leak with the requisite pinch of salt. Not only are leaks never guaranteed to be accurate, but – at least when it comes to the release date – SamMobile is changing its previous claim, so in at least one instance the site is going to be proved wrong on this.
The right chipset at the right time
We hope the site is right though, both in terms of the release date (at least for the places that might get it in Q3) and in terms of the chipset.
One issue faced by previous FE models was baffling release timing, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for example launching just a month before the Galaxy S22. That made it almost instantly feel dated, and on top of that it was long enough after the launch of the standard Samsung Galaxy S21 that price cuts to that flagship meant the FE wasn’t much if any cheaper, so it didn’t have a clear selling point.
If Samsung launches the Galaxy S23 FE in the next few months, there will still be a long gap before the Samsung Galaxy S24 series launches, and the price of the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 likely won’t have been reduced by significant amounts. Though of course in regions that are waiting longer for the S23 FE, Samung could run into the same issues as in previous years.
As for the chipset, Samsung typically uses high-end Snapdragon ones in its FE models, but by using an in-house Exynos chipset and one that’s a bit older at that, the company can likely save some money, potentially leading to a lower price for the Galaxy S23 FE. If it’s priced cheaper, then it will be further differentiated from the standard Galaxy S23, making it a more attractive option, and a contender for our list of the best Samsung phones.
