Samsung have tweaked the specs and features to create a more affordable flagship model

Samsung have been clearly keeping an eye on OnePlus’ product strategy and have released a new version of the Samsung S20, but rather than go down the ‘Lite’ route when it comes to naming, they’ve branded this remodel the ‘Fan Edition’.  It’s basically a stripped back Samsung Galaxy S20 but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the feature set and price point make it one of the most attractive smartphone models around – that range of new colours helps give it a fresh new look too.

The S20 FE (to give it it’s official name) is arriving in the UK on October 2 and there are two versions: a £599 4G model and a £699 5G model. So it sits nicely between the S10 and the S20.

It’s got a ‘hazed’ finish – which is similar in texture to that seen on the S20 and Note 20 Mystic Bronze, that makes it less prone to finger marks. The range of colours available at launch include navy blue, mint green, red (our favourite), orange (our second favourite), white and lavender. The S20 FE is 8.4mm thick and weighs in at 190g (so standard stuff there).

In terms of the full spec, you get a 6.5 inch Full HD AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate for super smooth scrolling (see it and you’ll never want less that 120Hz on your phone again), an 8 megapixel telephoto lens with Samsung’s 30x ‘Space Zoom’, a 4500mAh battery with wirless charging and IP68 water resistance. On the rear, in addition to the telephoto lens, you get a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens too, plus Night Mode.  Round the front, a 32MP selfie camera sits in a central-punched hole on the screen.

So, what’s missing? Well not too much. No 8K video, the fingerprint sensor works but it’s not ‘ultrasonic’ and the Gorilla Glass on the front is version 5 rather than 6 (we still recommend not dropping any phone to test it’s glass strength). For charging, it’s fast charging but not the fastest on the market, so you get 25W ‘super fast’ wired charging, or 15W if you go wireless.

Powering the S20 FE, the 4G model will run Samsung’s Exynos 990 chip, whereas the 5G S20 FE uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processes – this helps explain the higher price point, but also is going to win over a lot of customers who recognise just how much of an improvement that is versus the Exynos 990.

Other features include stereo speakers with AKG tuning, NFC for Samsung Pay and Knox, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.  Memory cards of up to 1TB are compatible if you need more space for photos and videos (though really you should just  get yourself a free Google Photos account with unlimited storage).

If you pre-order from Samsung, they’re throwing three months of Xbox Game Pass and a Moga XP5-X+ controller or a Samsung Galaxy Fit2 fitness tracker.

Overall it’s a compelling package and refresh for the already popular S20 series – most of the features of Samsung’s main flagship, but with a more affordable price.

It’s available to pre-order over on Samsung’s site now or at Carphone Warehouse.

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