TheSamsung Galaxy S23 FEis fundamentally a more budget - well-disposed version of the flagshipSamsung Galaxy S23 , but how do the two comparability ?
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a amazingly able smartphone considering its £ 599/$599 Leontyne Price point , partake in quite a bit of the same technical school as its flagship choice . We ’ve spent a circumstances of time with both , and here ’s how they compare .
Pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a flagship with a cost tag to gibe , with an RRP of £ 849/$799 , while the Galaxy S23 FE is a mid - ranger with a more tantalising £ 599/$599 cost shred . Both are useable to buy now , with the S23 released in February 2023 and the S23 FE following in December 2023 .
That should mean the S23 FE is the cheaper of the two , and formally , that is indeed the eccentric . However , we ’ve already get word the Galaxy S23 drop lower than the S23 FE ’s £ 599 price tag in the UK in recent sales , intend you may in all likelihood get the full - fat flagship for less than the price - cutting FE .
That certainly confuses matter for the S23 FE , even if it does rest a capable smartphone when viewed singularly .
Design and screen
In terms of design language , the Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy S23 are near identical – and that ’s kind of the point . The FE , or Fan Edition , strain is based on the flagship , with the design of bringing the minimalistic design of the S23 to a meretricious price point .
That mean that both rollick the same combining of glass and aluminium with an identical camera cutout and rear . Well , almostidentical anyway .
There are pocket-sized differences that we noted in our S23 FE review , like the camera mental faculty start slimly further , slightly slurred bezel and the use of older Gorilla Glass 5 instead of Victus 2 , but for the most part , you ’re getting a very closelipped copy .
Both also skylark features like IP68 rubble and water resistance , a peculiarly strong marketing point for the iron at its mid - range damage period , though it is common among flagship .
The only notable difference between the two smartphones is the screen ; the regular Galaxy S23 sport a compact 6.1 - inch presentation , while the S23 FE cavort a larger 6.4 - inch display .
We were a particular fan of the even S23 ’s size in our review , noting just how decent it was to use and hold one - handed . The S23 FE ’s slightly larger dimensions imply this is n’t quite the same , but it ’s still a smaller alternative than the sea of 6.7 - inch choice .
Both are broadly similar with FHD+ result , Dynamic AMOLED 2X presentation tech , a 120Hz refresh charge per unit and support for HDR10 + , though the S23 does feature LTPO tech that lets it spend down to as little as 48Hz to improve barrage efficiency . It ’s also slightly brighter with a maximum brightness of 1750nits compare to the S23 FE ’s 1450nits , but this wo n’t be noticeable in most conditions .
Regardless of which you opt for , you ’ll get a crisp , vivacious display experience with inky blacks that AMOLED technical school is well regarded for .
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and S23 have a surprisingly interchangeable television camera setup despite the differences in price .
That means that both sport a trio of lens on the rear include identical 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide snappers , along with a telephotograph lens system . The S23 FE ’s telephotograph is a 3x 8MP sensing element while the even S23 has a higher megapixel 12MP 3x telephoto , but it ’s still telling to see a telephoto on a mid - range speech sound . That really assist the S23 FE bear out from the contention , even if it is close - identical to the flagship S23 .
That means that you ’re getting the same experience in most shooting scenario regardless of which smartphone you use . Both conquer high - quality jibe in well - light and low - Light Within scenario , with impressive dynamic grasp even in utmost lighting circumstance .
Here ’s a selection of S23 FE icon :
And here ’s a aggregation of S23 images :
The main camera is , of course , the best of the trine , but the 12MP ultrawide come in handy for capturing those scenic vistas .
There is a slight difference in telephotograph execution , with somewhat more particular found on the flagship S23 than the S23 FE , but it ’s negligible .
The substantial area where the S23 attract away from the FE discrepancy is with video , with the flagship able to record in the premium Super HDR data format – though how much that matters to you will be down to personal predilection .
Performance
Performance is one key area where the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE has been ‘ nerfed ’ to suit its loud price power point . That means it ’ll get with either theSnapdragon 8 Gen 1or theSamsung Exynos 2200depending on where in the Earth you add up from .
These are still open chipsets – they were flagship chipsets in early 2022 – and we find that the Exynos variant was still capable of politic daily performance , but it does fall behind the flagship Galaxy S23 .
That ’s because the Galaxy S23 , along with the rest of the flagship S23 aggregation , sports a custom version of Qualcomm ’s 2023 flagship , theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy . That make the S23 not only more muscular than the S23 FE but most of the 2023 flagship competition , with a higher clocked CPU and an additional GPU gist to eke out the best performance possible .
As you’re able to see , that translate to impressive carrying into action in our benchmarks across the board .
That said , you ’d be firmly - pressed to severalize the difference in mundane use , away from ecological niche cases like track games at top graphical preferences or export prospicient videos .
Elsewhere , the S23 FE hail with either 128- or 256 GB of computer storage , while the veritable S23 also boasts a 512 GB storage choice . Most users would struggle to fill 128 or 256 GB of storage , but if you ’re a real magnate user , the 512 GB S23 may suit your indigence better – especially considering neither come with a microSD plug-in slot .
Battery life
When it comes to battery life , the Galaxy S23 FE and S23 have fairly similar offering . That might voice odd count the S23 FE has a heavy shelling at 4500mAh compared to the steady S23 ’s 3900mAh cell , but the differ screen size aid balance things out a bit .
That means that regardless of the modeling you ’ll go for , you ’ll get unanimous all - day battery spirit . Our reviewer found he could comfortably get through the day with both role model , with the S23 FE unremarkably end up with around 20 - 30 % left in the tank car , while the even S23 would often be left with around 20 - 25 % .
With its smaller LTPO - enabled display , the veritable S23 is a small more power - efficient , however – something backed up by our benchmark test , which you could see below .
When it does come to time to top up , both phones pop the question 25W charge , though neither comes with a 25W charging brick in the corner . That means they ’re pretty equally tied in terms of charge speeding , with neither offering the most rapid experience ever , but the S23 advance a full charge in a quick 80 minutes compared to the S23 FE ’s 97 minutes .
