Samsung’s affordable Galaxy FE series lands – Galaxy S23 FE, Tab S9 FE and Buds FE explained
Samsung is going all-in on its affordable FE range this year, with the company now unveiling cheaper variants for the Samsung Galaxy S23, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.
We haven’t 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 rethought its cheaper offerings and we’re going to explain everything that’s new.
FE originally stood for Fan Edition, although apparently it’s no longer an acronym: it’s just FE. The idea is to retain much of the quality and high specification of the flagship level products, while maintaining a mid-range price point. Here’s how the range breaks down…
Samsung Galaxy S23FE
We had heard a lot of speculation about the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and now it’s here: the phone runs on a 2021 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and comes with 128GB or 256GB of storage. You get a 6.4-inch screen, plus three rear cameras: a 50MP wide triple lens, a 12MP ultra-wide and an 8MP telephoto camera. There is also a 10MP selfie camera on the front.
Inside is a 4,500mAh battery that Samsung says will keep you going all day and night – keep an eye on 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 prices that matter most in making these devices attractive, and the Samsung S23 FE will retail for $599.99 / AU$999 (128GB) (UK prices 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 S9FE
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 only arrived in August, so Samsung has wasted no time in releasing an FE version. The big surprise is that the tablets meet IP68 specifications for water resistance. This means you can take them to the pool and they can take a quick dip (just be careful with salt water). Very few tablets are built with these durability specs.
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 obviously gets WiFi, but the smaller model gets a 5G option.
Both models are powered by a Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset, and both come with 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. The Plus model offers 8GB or 12GB of RAM with its storage options, as opposed to 6GB or 8GB on the smaller model. It also has a larger battery: 10,090 mAh instead of 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 full pricing details for different flavors and configurations for each region.
Samsung Galaxy Buds FE
Last but not least we have the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE, which in Samsung’s words offer “sound that fits just right.” These mid-range earbuds are available in graphite or white and offer a battery life of six hours with automatic noise cancellation, or 9 hours with ANC turned off. The case increases these figures to 21 hours and 30 hours respectively.
There’s the ambient sound mode we’ve seen on other Samsung Galaxy Buds, which still lets you pick up important external sounds, and Auto Switch for quickly switching 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 US prices coming soon). That makes them slightly cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, which will set you back $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$219.