SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE 5G

A Prudent Customer

10.09.2022

A Good Phone with a not-so-good Battery!

A Good phone with a not-so-good battery. Listing down Pros & Cons after 1 month+ use: PROs: 1. Screen/Display is awesome matched with 120hz refresh rate 2. Camera does a good job 3. Very light weighing phone, a breeze handling it & does not seem like a load in the trouser pocket 4. Looks modest but feels premium 5. RAM/CPU work well, no slowness or hanging observed so far! 5. Its 5G! CONs: 1. Battery drains off quite fast, a full charge lasts max 10-12 with daily general operations. Hence I need to charge the phone twice when at home (Hint: Good to put it in 'Power saver' mode when out, this lasts for 24 hrs +) 2. Phone does get slightly heated up/warmed up when used for long calls or intensive games (15 min +) 3. Its Gorilla-3 display (most premium phones have Gorilla-6) 4. Plastic panel at the back makes it look like a modest/budget phone (said that, as most of us use protective covers, back panel won't be visible anyways!) Conclusion: Phone is not worth the original / MRP price-tag but definitely a good buy on "offer days". 'Power Saver' mode brings down refresh rate to 90hz (from 120hz), switches off 'Always on' display & reduces CPU capacity to 70%. You will feel slight difference in display quality if not other functions work fine in this mode. PS: My observations are keeping my older phone as benchmark (Oppo Reno2f - 8gb/128gb) *Edit 1: Though the Phone calls itself 5G, it does not connect to Airtel 5G nor Jio 5G. Airtel app throws up a message "This handset is not 5G compatible" (Not sure if issue is from Airtel or Samsung). Contacted Samsung Support - one of the technician asked me to wait for Android 13 update after which it should work, as per another technician the phone is 5G ready and fix needed from Airtel side (they do not seem to be on the same page!) **Edit 2: Today I received OS update for my device. Phone software updated from Android 12 to 13. Post this Airtel App is detecting it as a 5G compatible device. So issue was from Samsung side. CONCLUSION: The device becomes 5G compatible post Android 13 Update !

GVR

15.08.2022

Good for the price.

It's been about 15 days since I got this phone. I got it for 29990 on prime day sale. For the price it's good. Pros : 1. Camera. Coming from Poco X2, the camera quality on this is amazing according to the price. It gives you good colours, contrast, focus, and everything that you want. It has OIS which is very apparent while recording. At 4k60 the stability is worse. But set it to 1080p60 and the videos will be amazingly stable. And the main advantage of OIS other than stable video is GREAT night mode shots. Hold the phone stable for a while and along with OIS you will get great photos with accurate colors and nice exposure. Attached samples. 2. Display : Absolutely best. Samsung displays are the best. 120hz FHD. Flows smoothly. Colors and calibration is top notch. Brightness is good but I felt it's a little insufficient under direct sunlight. It's visible but could be better. 3. OneUI : The main reason for upgrading to this phone was software. OneUI4.0 is the absolute best android skin right now. It has way too many customisations in it and let's you personalise your phone to a very high degree. Like there's a feature to read out the name of the person who's calling if your wearing headphones. It took me 3 days to fully go through all the settings and change them to my needs. Also Knoxx security is a special mention. Knoxx security is a software and hardware feature in samsung phones which protects your phone from all kinds of attacks and keeps your data safe. Even if it gets stolen you can remotely delete all your data. Secure folder allows you to store data in a separate storage. And many more such good features. While being a very feature rich and storage heavy skin, it still feels very very smooth and fast to use. Unlike MIUI or other skins, it doesn't stutter much and bugs are less. There are many other small pros like good stereo speakers. Nice premium build quality. Good data and wifi speeds. Other such features that you won't notice but definitely make a difference in your experience. Cons 1. Software. I know I said it's a pro but I say this in the aspect of updates. This phone was launched in 2021 March in India and samsung promises 3 year android version updates and 1 additional year of security updates. But there's a lot of confusion regarding if or not this phone will receive Android 14. It will receive A13 for sure. There's a lot of debate on what they will do with14 because of global version launch date being earlier and yada yada. Basically the phones life maybe 2.5 to 3 years if they give a14. But 1.5 to 2 if not. I researched on the Internet a few people say that it will receive a14 while I was few say it's not. It's hard to say who's correct. So assume it's not getting a14 if you are going for it. 2. Battery. The battery on this phone is 4500mah and it's good enough for a days use. But that's because I use it lightly. Not much online streaming. No gaming light social media and other usual stuff. If you use it even a tad bit more heavily, you will run out within a day. If you're going outside for the better part of a day,like a day trip to somewhere nearby,it's better keep a power bank handy. In terms of Screen on time numbers, I once got 7 hours of sot on light usage, 1 hr YouTube and 1.5 hr streaming. I was at home and used wifi all the time. I got 3 hrs sot when I went outside for a day trip. I took many photos and videos and the phone shutdown before I could reach home. On a mixed use day, you can get 4.5 to 5.5 hours of sot. Final verdict : The life of the phone in terms of Software Support is not great but you will get on time updates and almost no bugs in the software. So if you want to buy it you can and exchange it after maybe 2 years for other models. But if you planning on using it for longer than 2 years, better avoid it. In the upcoming diwali and dussera sales, the price might further drop to 25k even. I am just speculating but keep in mind your requirements and go accordingly. As always amazing delivery by Amazon.

Kevin Rufus

13.05.2022

Beautiful Phone - Gets you close to the flagship experience

To begin with, I had to return the initial product delivered to me. It had minor bumps on the left side of the screen in the (edgy) place where the screen is fitted to the body but had no other problems with it functionally. I made a complaint call to amazon and got my replacement the same day itself. I have been using the replacement for a week now. Overall cost was around 31k INR via coupons & Amazon Summer Sale'22. First and foremost, I had made a conscious decision to replace this phone by the end of they year even before I clicked the purchase button because I somehow felt that I was very late to buy it (was released in 2020; and the 2022 variant is not available in India so far). But the handset is impressive and those of you looking for a future proof phone, this product will definitely be viable for another couple of years at the least if not more. Its a bit lengthy and definitely is chunkier than most phones I have handled (which is actually not that many; definitely no flagships or ultras) but the weight is nicely distributed and is very comfortable to hold. However, the finish both front and back despite looking so elegant are prone to be muddled by finger prints (I constantly wipe the screen and back with a micro fiber cloth just to admire it in its pristine form ;p). Display is extra-ordinary (120 Hz by default). Perhaps it is the USP of this product and Samsung screens are anyway the golden standard in this part of the globe at least. Smooth screen transitions, buttery responsive to touch (can be adjusted). Overall display and screen are flagship-grade. I am very careful with most of my electronics so the gorilla glass 3 (I have seen some reviews where people have dropped this phone and completely lost their screen - usually through shattering) does not really bother me and there is no direct impact on resolution or touch as far as I am concerned. The snapdragon 865 compliments the screen and display with good handling of most common applications, the phone OS and the manufacturer specific features. I have never had any stutter or slowness so far but then it has only been a week and I will update this section after a few months of usage. There was noticeable heating while setting up the phone and never after that I am in no means a power user (but the SD865 is making me feel like one :p). I consume high amounts of streaming media, moderate time with messenger & email apps and the occasional games and I can say that my phone sees moderate to less screen-on time on a regular day. The battery is fit enough and more to handle these requirements and the 8GB RAM is sufficient. I plan to do some stress tests on the battery and RAM; will add the outcomes in the next update to this review. The charging is also fast (via the in box 15W adapter) and I have not plugged in my phone more than once in 48 hrs (for a full charge-discharge cycle: 100% to 10%). The cameras for which I had no expectations because I am not a big user of them seem to be a very big step up from my Nokia 6.1. Good colors when there is sufficient lighting around, good quality of zoomed in/out pics; adequate for a user like me and from the reviews I have heard of the phone they can be punchy enough to produce some magical shots in the hands of a knowledgeable user. Audio is excellent; could not expect more. Strong but filtered output from the receiver even if I keep the phone around my ears instead of pressing them against the ears. The bottom speaker is also sturdy and it pairs well with the receiver to produce a fluent stereo experience. I have already moved on from the 3.5mm jack; I am using the Samsung buds pro and loving it. So as you may have observed, I have just graduated to a no-compromise midship segment of smartphones and my next handset will definitely be a pure flagship. The S20 FE has in its first week, made a great impression and I do not see myself going back to budget or mid range phones from here (that in my opinion is a good impact for a fan edition handset). People, this is a very underrated phone (S21 FE seems like an unimpressive hollywood sequel to the S20 FE as per my understanding). Go for this phone - it is a blessing at the 30-40k range for users like me who are looking to move up towards the flagship experience.

Mohammed Suhail

27.08.2021

WORTH BUY ! THE BEST

It's been 15 days since i using the device extensively. I bought it on the Last freedom sale for Rs. 41,999 ( including 6k instant discount coupon). First let me be clear , I bought ' S20 FE 5G 'with Snapdragon 865 , not ' S20 FE with Exynos ' and i am a user who uses phone most of the time . This review may be long but it's worth to read it if you're buying this product. Let me divide between the Pros and Cons. First i would like like to start with Pros of the Device , Pros : 1. Display : Samsung has been already popular for it's AMOLED Displays but i saw some of the reviewers wrote about some display issues here . They might have got some defective Piece. I have no issues with my display . It's been long time i saw a great display like this ... with 120Hz it is Super Smooth. Also , it is very bright on outdoors and can decrease it to very low while using at low light conditions ( PS : No tint issues ) The in display finger print scanner is very fast and didn't faced any issues with it . 2. Stereo Speakers : As an extensive multimedia user , this is one of the most favorable feature for me. Believe me , you can't find any other device with such great Sound quality in this price segment , it's almost like flagship devices .. Both the speakers are adequately loud. 3. Battery : As a person who's shifting from a normal 60Hz Device phone , i was very worried about the battery life of this device at 120Hz but it surprised me very well .. Initially i thought i would need to switch to 60Hz for better battery life for daily usage. But I didn't even thought this device would give this much great battery life at 120Hz. At 120Hz , I am getting around 7 hours of minimum SOT ( Screen on Time ). The maximum SOT i got at 120Hz is 9Hours 13 minutes. I didn't checked battery life at 60Hz because i didn't use it at 60Hz even a single day . The battery life is Excellent. 4. Rear Cameras : I am not a very good photographer or something , i am just an ordinary person who use camera occasionally. I was very excited to use the telephoto lens which only can be found on flagship devices and it performs very well.. Added Some Camera Samples above ( Pic 1 : Ultrawide , Pic 2 : Telephoto [ Pic may not be clear as it was when taken due to compression of the image while uploading ) Both the three Cameras ( Primary + Ultrawide + Telephoto ) performs very well. If you're a camera guy you should definitely check this out. 5. Performance & RAM Management : I'm not a gamer , I use my device for daily usage of social media , ott platforms , Calls , messages etc. but i use it extremely. I didn't faced any kind of heating issues with the device until now. Also ,Ram management of the Device is excellent , I am a person who uses 4-5 apps background at single time and i didn't have any issues of closing down the apps . 6. ONE UI : I was a stock Android guy , but One UI actually surprised me , it is very well optimised and very user-friendly for single hand usage.. initial days i found it little hard to use the stock menu of one Ui but I'm now got used to it. PS : I didn't found any kind of ads on my device as i didn't sign up or used any samsung Apps. 7. Build Quality : Even though its back is made up of plastic , the overall build quality is super Premium the Aluminium frame gives us a feel like using a flagship device.. 8. Future Proof : The device has 9 5G Bands , IP68 Rating , Wireless Charging which are very hard to find on any device in this price bracket. IP68 & Wireless Charging are mostly only found on Flagship Devices . Its good to see samsung brings it at lower price. This is the best future proof device as of now. So these are the Major pros i noticed as of now . Now let's move to the Cons. Cons : 1. NO HDR SUPPORT ON NETFLIX : As an extensive multimedia user , i found it very frustrating. even mid range devices offering HDR support on Netflix , Samsungs Flagship Killer doesn't have HDR support. IT WILL NOT BE FIXED VIA OTA UPDATE . 2. No 256GB Variant : This is actually not a problem for most of the people but as a power user who uses Dual sim , i found it little difficult. But if you're a single sim user , luckily it have hybrid solution .. so you can use a Sim card + expandable memory card ... 3. Gorilla Glass 3 : Other competitors are providing atleast GG5 in this price range. But S20 FE 5G has just GG3 ( Which also I'm not sure as it is not mentioned officially anywhere ). But at the end of the day , GLASS IS GLASS & IT WILL BROKE. 4. No headphone Jack : It is not any kind of unusual thing . most of the phones above 30K segment doesn't have headphone jack. So we have to buy 3.5mm to Type C adapter , type c earphones or bluetooth solutions . Note : Only Buy original Samsung type c adapter else it may not support. 5. No 25W charger : It is not actually a con for me as i prefer Low watt charger which is good for battery health and beneficial for long term usage . but it may be a con for you , Although the device supports 25W charging . Only 15W charger is provided inside the box .. They should have given 25W inside the box. I didn't have any issues with 15W charger but it would be great if they bundle it with 25W as competitors are way ahead in terms of charging speed. For the reference of Charging speed , Both 15W & 25W will full charge the device almost at the same time but using 25W you can get about 50% within 30 minutes where as 30% with 15W charger. Full charge time i usually takes is 1hour and 35 minutes. 6. Front Camera : I am not a selfie guy , but if you're a person who's looking for a selfie device just don't buy it . it's not like the front camera quality is really bad or anything but it's not even near to the rear camera quality and you can find better selfie smartphones in this price range CONCLUSION : If you're a person who wants a device for normal day to day usage with good battery life , great rear cameras , great performance , better software support , better build quality and use it for more than 3 years & the cons mentioned above doesn't bother you Just buy it , I am sure you won't be disappointed.

MrAbramski123

10.08.2024

Dropped my FE countless of times, and nothing is wrong with it. A case and screen protector really helps

Anonymous

26.07.2024

Mine is fubar from the tiniest drop, save your money and buy something newer.

Jacek

24.04.2024

What is your phone manufacturing date and how long do you have it?

You can find manufacturing date in the phone serial number:
The 4th digit is the year and the 5th digit the month, for example RFCT6XXXXXX means, that phone was manufactured in June 2022.

N - 2020
R - 2021
T - 2022
W - 2023
X - 2024

its a smurf

20.03.2024

Its normal sorry

Jacek

21.02.2024

Gaming really takes a toll on battery life. And it's not a gaming phone, keep that in mind. Try to switch off anything you don't need while gaming, maybe that will help a little.