The FE, Fan Edition Galaxy smartphone, was intended for the fans, as Samsung claimed when the Galaxy S20 FE was launched back in September 2020. The FE series was supposed to offer a flagship experience by using the same processor found in the Galaxy S Series, but at a lower price point by making some compromises on body and camera quality.
When it was announced, Samsung claimed that the FE variant would follow up every Galaxy S Series release. Two years later, this promise is becoming difficult for the South Korean company to keep for a few reasons.
The first issue Samsung is facing is correctly finding a gap for the FE series in their high-end market. With the launch of the foldable line-up, the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Flip, Samsung has effectively five flagship devices launching every year. These are the two foldables, the base S Series model, the S Plus model and the S Ultra model.
Correctly pricing these five devices so that they do not eat into each other’s market share is hard enough without the added headache of adding an FE edition to the mix. This pricing issue might also explain Samsung’s failure to release the Galaxy Note 21 Series last year, which was followed up by the company announcing that they will not be releasing any more Galaxy Note devices.
The second issue contributing to the FE’s death is the supply chain issues Samsung faced for the larger part of 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a chip shortage, which meant Samsung had to prioritize manufacturing its best-selling devices at the cost of less popular ones.
The Galaxy S21 Series and the third generation foldables were the main beneficiaries, while the ill-fated S21 FE (pictured above) had to be delayed up to January 2022 for its release, with the S21 Series having been released almost one year ago at that time.
To seal its fate, the Galaxy S22 Series was released just a few weeks later, effectively ensuring that the S21 FE, which is carrying the name of last year’s flagship, would have it very difficult gaining a foothold in the market.
The disappointing reception of the Galaxy S21 FE seems to have caught Samsung’s attention, as they have reportedly cancelled the Galaxy S22 FE release. SamMobile report that SM-S900, which would have been the Galaxy S22 FE’s model number, no longer exists.
If the reports turn out to be true, then the price difference between the Galaxy A Series, which are the middle-range option for Samsung, and the flagship Galaxy S series is going to be massive for the rest of the year.
This is because the Galaxy FE edition used to be an option for people who wanted more performance than those offered by the middle-range devices, without paying a premium for a true flagship.
To fill this void, Samsung might price the base Galaxy S23 a bit lower than usual, while the Plus and Ultra models would still maintain their premium price tags. Lowering the Galaxy S23’s price also ensures that the South Korean company have a device that will take on the Pixel 7 which should also be launched later this year.
