OCT 31, 2023
NimishAndAkriti
Samsung's Galaxy S series is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to Android flagships. And worth its price in gold. The problem is that its price IS actually quite a fair bit of gold. The Galaxy S23 starts at a rather steep Rs 79,999. That is why the FE (Fan Edition) series exists - to get you some of that flagship stuff at a lower price. A sort of Lite version of the real flagship. That's what the S23 FE tries to be. A sort of affordable flagship.
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From what we have seen so far, the S23 FE does get a lot of things right. There are a lot of flagship feels to it, starting from the design, which follows the S23 design of three cameras in a row on the glass back, arranged independently instead of being part of a "camera unit." The build is Gorilla Glass in front and back, with a aluminium frame. Our Mint Green shade looks subtly classy, although it is so subtle that it can be mistaken for being white.
The phone feels very solid, and actually, a little heavy. It is not very tall by modern standards (it is shorter than the OnePlus 11) but at 8.2 mm thickness and 208 grams weight, is a little on the tubby side. Speaking of the sides, they are straight, but not sharply so. You get IP68 dust and water resistance. This is a pretty solidly built device. It feels a little chunky but reassuringly so.
There is some good hardware there too. The display is a superb (his is a Samsung) 6.4 inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x one with 120 Hz refresh rate. There are three very good cameras at the back - a 50 MP main with OIS, a 8 MP telephoto with 3x zoom, and a 12 megapixel ultrawide, with many of Samsung's flagship photography features. There's a big 4500 mAh battery with support for 25W charging and even wireless charging but no charger in the box.
This being a Samsung, you also get the OneUI interface on top of Android 13, with assurance of four OS updates. The sole fly in this FE ointment could be the processor - the Indian edition of the S23 FE is powered by an Exynos 2200. We have never really had any major issues with Exynos (and Google itself is using it for its Tensor processors), but there is a very vocal segment out there which considers the chip to be a mediocre performer with heat issues.
All of this comes at a starting price of Rs 59,999. That is a healthy 25 per cent lesser than the S23, but on the flip side, is still higher than the OnePlus 11, which has A snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip (same as seen in the S23 proper), Hasselblad cameras, 5000 mAh battery and 80W charging (and a 80W charger too!). In fact, the price is too close to the S23, which some retailers are offering at lower prices.
So how good is the Galaxy S23 FE? It has the looks and the specs, definitely. And from what we have seen so far, it definitely is no slouch in the performance department. It's headache, however, is the presence of the OnePlus 11. It's a no-brainer for Samsung flagship fans on a tight budget, but bring other brands into the picture and it is a tight finish. It is a pretty good device, but hey, it's got competition. And that's good.