First introduced in 2020 with the Galaxy S20 series, the Fan Edition became an instant hit, selling over 10 million units in that year alone. However, the next edition, the Galaxy S21 FE, did not replicate the success largely due to a price increase and overheating issues when in 120 Hz mode.
In 2022, the chip shortage that gripped the mobile industry together with the Galaxy S22 Ultra selling extremely well, made Samsung skip the Galaxy S22 FE and instead prioritize the available chips for the production of the Ultra model which had higher margins.
Now in 2023, and with the Galaxy S23 series now already launched, it seems like Samsung is looking to release the Galaxy S23 FE in the second half of the year. There were already rumours that the series had been discontinued, however, South Korean publisher Hankooki corroborates a report we provided earlier that the Galaxy A7x series is the one that will be getting the axe, to create room in this almost high-end space, and prevent the two Galaxy series from cannibalizing the sales off each other.
Furthermore, Samsung will look to release the Galaxy S23 FE in more regions, than just a few Asian countries, Europe and the US where the Galaxy S21 was released back in 2021.
It is not yet clear what the specifications for the Galaxy S23 FE will be at this point. However, with the Galaxy S23 series all being powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, it will not be a surprise to see the FE rock the same chipset or the older Snapdragon 8+Gen 1 developed by TSMC.
Finally, the Galaxy A73 released last year had poor sales at only 3 million units for the year. In order for Samsung to go back to the heights of 10 million units in this space recorded by the Galaxy S20 FE, it will have to strike a delicate balance of price and performance, yet not be too good to eat away at the sales of the more premium Galaxy S23, S23 Plus and the S23 Ultra.
