The Galaxy S23 FE is your access pass to an epic Camera and Nightography. improved Performance. advanced Display. long lasting Battery and epic Design1. With the Galaxy S23 FE. get a hold of an improved rear Camera with 50MP Wide lens. Telephoto and Ultrawide1 so you can take epic photos and videos. day or night. in vivid. rich detail ready to share with friends and be the group? s unofficial photographer. Enjoy an improved chipset and bigger vapour chamber for better cooling and performance1.
The Galaxy S23 FE is your access pass to an epic Camera and Nightography. improved Performance. advanced Display. long lasting Battery and epic Design1. With the Galaxy S23 FE. get a hold of an improved rear Camera with 50MP Wide lens. Telephoto and Ultrawide1 so you can take epic photos and videos. day or night. in vivid. rich detail ready to share with friends and be the group? s unofficial photographer. Enjoy an improved chipset and bigger vapour chamber for better cooling and performance1.
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The lowest price for Samsung Galaxy S23 FE 5G 256GB - Mint (SM-S711BLGEATS)*AU STOCK*, 6.4', Full HD+, 120Hz, 8GB/256GB, 50MP/10MP, IP68, 4500mAh, 2Y right now is $835.00.
Prices last updated 22 Oct 2024.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE 5G 256GB - Mint (SM-S711BLGEATS)*AU STOCK*, 6.4', Full HD+, 120Hz, 8GB/256GB, 50MP/10MP, IP68, 4500mAh, 2Y
The Galaxy S23 FE is your access pass to an epic Camera and Nightography. improved Performance. advanced Display. long lasting Battery and epic Design1. With the Galaxy S23 FE. get a hold of an improved rear Camera with 50MP Wide lens. Telephoto and Ultrawide1 so you can take epic photos and videos. day or night. in vivid. rich detail ready to share with friends and be the group? s unofficial photographer. Enjoy an improved chipset and bigger vapour chamber for better cooling and performance1.
The Galaxy S23 FE is your access pass to an epic Camera and Nightography. improved Performance. advanced Display. long lasting Battery and epic Design1. With the Galaxy S23 FE. get a hold of an improved rear Camera with 50MP Wide lens. Telephoto and Ultrawide1 so you can take epic photos and videos. day or night. in vivid. rich detail ready to share with friends and be the group? s unofficial photographer. Enjoy an improved chipset and bigger vapour chamber for better cooling and performance1.
Last updated at 22/10/2024 19:16:11
originally posted on samsung.com
How fast and smoothly the system runs. The customisation. As always with Samsung devices. Most of all the ability to connect to other devices seamlessly! However due to all these things I find my self endlessly scrolling through apps and settings (which I guess is your goal) however 30% of that time is spent worrying about which app is unsafe or if my device has been hacked as it runs do fast đââď¸ I sometimes find myself feeling like I'm in a race against malware to remove it from my device. This however nay just br a simple case or my own personal "paranoia". I Would really like to just factory reset my phone at times and only download the apps I feel I need. The reason for this is simple. After using smart switch which BTW is fantastic, downloading countless apps ... MoreHow fast and smoothly the system runs. The customisation. As always with Samsung devices. Most of all the ability to connect to other devices seamlessly! However due to all these things I find my self endlessly scrolling through apps and settings (which I guess is your goal) however 30% of that time is spent worrying about which app is unsafe or if my device has been hacked as it runs do fast đââď¸ I sometimes find myself feeling like I'm in a race against malware to remove it from my device. This however nay just br a simple case or my own personal "paranoia". I Would really like to just factory reset my phone at times and only download the apps I feel I need. The reason for this is simple. After using smart switch which BTW is fantastic, downloading countless apps some of which I don't even use, aswell as the aforementioned speed of the system ui. To put it simply... It can be overwhelming. However this is a nit pick and also most likely due to the fact I went from the A14 to the Samsung Galaxy s22. I love Galaxy devices they are an absolute gem đ in the modern age of technological advancements. I just wish thier was a button built in that removed everything I didn't want without worrying about loosing data. Overall I have given this device a 5 star rating. Lastly I would like to inform you that for a user like myself and many others the option of Gemini vs Google Assisant or Which default assistant to use is very hard to decide as I feel I have no incline on which one I should be using. Thanks very much samsung for creating this device all the from the Heads to tbe Devs and the factory workers assembling the devices to the janitor sweeping the floors as Samsungs headquarters I think you all and would like you too know I and millions of others. Are both thankfully and great full to have you in this technological world.đ đ˛Yours sincerely - Stewart Knox
originally posted on samsung.com
So happy I bought this phone, as a long time user of Samsungs in the past a few years ago I thought I would try another brand as the specs looked great, big mistake and so glad to finally be back on a Samsung.As soon as I received the phone and had it in my hand and used it I knew the build quality has not gone downhill at all but actually improved, full metal making it feel very sturdy and durable. It is a great size screen (handy for someone with aging eyes like myself lol).I wasn't looking forward to spending time transferring everything from my old phone but I didn't need to worry. As soon as I switched the phone on and it started the setup it asked if I wanted to transfer my data from my old phone, simply connected the old and new phone using a lightning to ... MoreSo happy I bought this phone, as a long time user of Samsungs in the past a few years ago I thought I would try another brand as the specs looked great, big mistake and so glad to finally be back on a Samsung.As soon as I received the phone and had it in my hand and used it I knew the build quality has not gone downhill at all but actually improved, full metal making it feel very sturdy and durable. It is a great size screen (handy for someone with aging eyes like myself lol).I wasn't looking forward to spending time transferring everything from my old phone but I didn't need to worry. As soon as I switched the phone on and it started the setup it asked if I wanted to transfer my data from my old phone, simply connected the old and new phone using a lightning to C-USB cable and away it went and transferred everything I told it to, pictures, videos, sms, contacts, app including Whatsapp and Line etc (Could have used Wifi or Bluetooth instead of cable).A week later I am still so happy for getting the S23 FE, I continue to notice the differences between my old Samsung S10 and my previous phone and the new S23 - The screen quality is so much better it is clearer, crisper and has a more true colour, noticeable when watching TV/Films or looking at high quality photos.The speed of opening, switching and running apps is so much faster and smoother and mobile games I play (such as Kings of Avalon) open much faster and the sensitivity and scrolling speed is much better.One of the reasons I switched to my old phone was because of the specs of its cameras and the photo and video quality, they looked impressive and that the photos would be spectacular, well they weren't ! No matter what settings I tried and the conditions they always looked pretty dull and zooming in became very grainy. The first pics I took on the S23 without making any adjustments to the settings was much better, brighter, clearer, more depth to the photo and I could zoom in a lot further before it started to get grainy!Sound - the sound on the old phone can be pretty quiet and soft, and even at full volume it could be hard to hear in a big room, thankfully the sound on the S23 is much louder (without loosing any quality) so another thumbs up.If like me (used to) you made your choice on impressive looking specs STOP ! The S23 FE has slightly lower specs - but still pulls a punch at a 3rd of the cost.
originally posted on samsung.com
The Ultra is for the power user, so here is a power-user response. Improved screen, battery, camera and features at this level, is a given. What I've used my previous generation Ultras for, is a tonne of multimedia editing: pro photo and video campaigns, audio overlays, home movie highlight reels etc. Here's why I don't give this phone 5 stars: 1) While the new AI features are great, I wish they worked offline, in airplane mode. Unfortunately, they "cannot complete" unless online. 2) When it comes to video editing, there are some critical features Samsung removed, which I'm not happy about: Bring back the ability to smooth faces, skin tone, eye prominence etc, when editing videos. You have given us no AI features to apply when editing Gallery-saved videos. 3) You ... MoreThe Ultra is for the power user, so here is a power-user response. Improved screen, battery, camera and features at this level, is a given. What I've used my previous generation Ultras for, is a tonne of multimedia editing: pro photo and video campaigns, audio overlays, home movie highlight reels etc. Here's why I don't give this phone 5 stars: 1) While the new AI features are great, I wish they worked offline, in airplane mode. Unfortunately, they "cannot complete" unless online. 2) When it comes to video editing, there are some critical features Samsung removed, which I'm not happy about: Bring back the ability to smooth faces, skin tone, eye prominence etc, when editing videos. You have given us no AI features to apply when editing Gallery-saved videos. 3) You can't use half of the video editing features on a slow-mo or UHD video. Fix this. 4) Samsung removed the Create Video Highlight ability. Studio is tediously manual, and keeps coming up with "close open editors before you can continue". Gallery Stories is way too basic and doesn't hold a candle to the old Generate Highlight feature. I want to edit mixed audio volumes in a Highlight/Story, but you can't anymore. I want to re-order selected clips and set the duration of an overall Highlight/Story, relying on the AI to quickly and automatically identify the best parts of long video clips and use them as exerpts in the Highlight. But you can't anymore. I don't want to have to manually scrub through every single video tediously in Studio. I find it perplexing that you could do this on the S21 Ultra in One UI 5, but now it's all been removed, on a phone that claims to be packed with AI features. These features saved SO MUCH time. It's a massive step backwards. 5) The AI Generative Wallpapers are nice, but very restrictive. I should be able to type whatever adjective and noun I want, not only be forced to select from a half-dozen flowers and minerals and paintings. 6) Bixby is still dumb as nails and frustratingly cannot be used like an on-device Chat GPT. I can't ask it to read aloud text on screen in Chrome browser or anywhere, the way I can with Google Assistant. When will the phone's built in assistant actually let me consume content hands-free without looking at the phone? I don't want to be forced to only use Samsung Internet in order to use accessibility features like this. 7) Finally, when it comes to burst mode shots, I'd like to see the "best shot" blended AI feature that is currently a Google Pixel 8 exclusive, brought to the Samsung Ultra, please, so that it can detect all the heads and eyes among a set of burst photos and generate them all into one seamless perfect shot, discarding all the others.
How fast and smoothly the system runs. The customisation. As always with Samsung devices. Most of all the ability to connect to other devices seamlessly! However due to all these things I find my self endlessly scrolling through apps and settings (which I guess is your goal) however 30% of that time is spent worrying about which app is unsafe or if my device has been hacked as it runs do fast đââď¸ I sometimes find myself feeling like I'm in a race against malware to remove it from my device. This however nay just br a simple case or my own personal "paranoia". I Would really like to just factory reset my phone at times and only download the apps I feel I need. The reason for this is simple. After using smart switch which BTW is fantastic, downloading countless apps ... MoreHow fast and smoothly the system runs. The customisation. As always with Samsung devices. Most of all the ability to connect to other devices seamlessly! However due to all these things I find my self endlessly scrolling through apps and settings (which I guess is your goal) however 30% of that time is spent worrying about which app is unsafe or if my device has been hacked as it runs do fast đââď¸ I sometimes find myself feeling like I'm in a race against malware to remove it from my device. This however nay just br a simple case or my own personal "paranoia". I Would really like to just factory reset my phone at times and only download the apps I feel I need. The reason for this is simple. After using smart switch which BTW is fantastic, downloading countless apps some of which I don't even use, aswell as the aforementioned speed of the system ui. To put it simply... It can be overwhelming. However this is a nit pick and also most likely due to the fact I went from the A14 to the Samsung Galaxy s22. I love Galaxy devices they are an absolute gem đ in the modern age of technological advancements. I just wish thier was a button built in that removed everything I didn't want without worrying about loosing data. Overall I have given this device a 5 star rating. Lastly I would like to inform you that for a user like myself and many others the option of Gemini vs Google Assisant or Which default assistant to use is very hard to decide as I feel I have no incline on which one I should be using. Thanks very much samsung for creating this device all the from the Heads to tbe Devs and the factory workers assembling the devices to the janitor sweeping the floors as Samsungs headquarters I think you all and would like you too know I and millions of others. Are both thankfully and great full to have you in this technological world.đ đ˛Yours sincerely - Stewart Knox
So happy I bought this phone, as a long time user of Samsungs in the past a few years ago I thought I would try another brand as the specs looked great, big mistake and so glad to finally be back on a Samsung.As soon as I received the phone and had it in my hand and used it I knew the build quality has not gone downhill at all but actually improved, full metal making it feel very sturdy and durable. It is a great size screen (handy for someone with aging eyes like myself lol).I wasn't looking forward to spending time transferring everything from my old phone but I didn't need to worry. As soon as I switched the phone on and it started the setup it asked if I wanted to transfer my data from my old phone, simply connected the old and new phone using a lightning to ... MoreSo happy I bought this phone, as a long time user of Samsungs in the past a few years ago I thought I would try another brand as the specs looked great, big mistake and so glad to finally be back on a Samsung.As soon as I received the phone and had it in my hand and used it I knew the build quality has not gone downhill at all but actually improved, full metal making it feel very sturdy and durable. It is a great size screen (handy for someone with aging eyes like myself lol).I wasn't looking forward to spending time transferring everything from my old phone but I didn't need to worry. As soon as I switched the phone on and it started the setup it asked if I wanted to transfer my data from my old phone, simply connected the old and new phone using a lightning to C-USB cable and away it went and transferred everything I told it to, pictures, videos, sms, contacts, app including Whatsapp and Line etc (Could have used Wifi or Bluetooth instead of cable).A week later I am still so happy for getting the S23 FE, I continue to notice the differences between my old Samsung S10 and my previous phone and the new S23 - The screen quality is so much better it is clearer, crisper and has a more true colour, noticeable when watching TV/Films or looking at high quality photos.The speed of opening, switching and running apps is so much faster and smoother and mobile games I play (such as Kings of Avalon) open much faster and the sensitivity and scrolling speed is much better.One of the reasons I switched to my old phone was because of the specs of its cameras and the photo and video quality, they looked impressive and that the photos would be spectacular, well they weren't ! No matter what settings I tried and the conditions they always looked pretty dull and zooming in became very grainy. The first pics I took on the S23 without making any adjustments to the settings was much better, brighter, clearer, more depth to the photo and I could zoom in a lot further before it started to get grainy!Sound - the sound on the old phone can be pretty quiet and soft, and even at full volume it could be hard to hear in a big room, thankfully the sound on the S23 is much louder (without loosing any quality) so another thumbs up.If like me (used to) you made your choice on impressive looking specs STOP ! The S23 FE has slightly lower specs - but still pulls a punch at a 3rd of the cost.
The Ultra is for the power user, so here is a power-user response. Improved screen, battery, camera and features at this level, is a given. What I've used my previous generation Ultras for, is a tonne of multimedia editing: pro photo and video campaigns, audio overlays, home movie highlight reels etc. Here's why I don't give this phone 5 stars: 1) While the new AI features are great, I wish they worked offline, in airplane mode. Unfortunately, they "cannot complete" unless online. 2) When it comes to video editing, there are some critical features Samsung removed, which I'm not happy about: Bring back the ability to smooth faces, skin tone, eye prominence etc, when editing videos. You have given us no AI features to apply when editing Gallery-saved videos. 3) You ... MoreThe Ultra is for the power user, so here is a power-user response. Improved screen, battery, camera and features at this level, is a given. What I've used my previous generation Ultras for, is a tonne of multimedia editing: pro photo and video campaigns, audio overlays, home movie highlight reels etc. Here's why I don't give this phone 5 stars: 1) While the new AI features are great, I wish they worked offline, in airplane mode. Unfortunately, they "cannot complete" unless online. 2) When it comes to video editing, there are some critical features Samsung removed, which I'm not happy about: Bring back the ability to smooth faces, skin tone, eye prominence etc, when editing videos. You have given us no AI features to apply when editing Gallery-saved videos. 3) You can't use half of the video editing features on a slow-mo or UHD video. Fix this. 4) Samsung removed the Create Video Highlight ability. Studio is tediously manual, and keeps coming up with "close open editors before you can continue". Gallery Stories is way too basic and doesn't hold a candle to the old Generate Highlight feature. I want to edit mixed audio volumes in a Highlight/Story, but you can't anymore. I want to re-order selected clips and set the duration of an overall Highlight/Story, relying on the AI to quickly and automatically identify the best parts of long video clips and use them as exerpts in the Highlight. But you can't anymore. I don't want to have to manually scrub through every single video tediously in Studio. I find it perplexing that you could do this on the S21 Ultra in One UI 5, but now it's all been removed, on a phone that claims to be packed with AI features. These features saved SO MUCH time. It's a massive step backwards. 5) The AI Generative Wallpapers are nice, but very restrictive. I should be able to type whatever adjective and noun I want, not only be forced to select from a half-dozen flowers and minerals and paintings. 6) Bixby is still dumb as nails and frustratingly cannot be used like an on-device Chat GPT. I can't ask it to read aloud text on screen in Chrome browser or anywhere, the way I can with Google Assistant. When will the phone's built in assistant actually let me consume content hands-free without looking at the phone? I don't want to be forced to only use Samsung Internet in order to use accessibility features like this. 7) Finally, when it comes to burst mode shots, I'd like to see the "best shot" blended AI feature that is currently a Google Pixel 8 exclusive, brought to the Samsung Ultra, please, so that it can detect all the heads and eyes among a set of burst photos and generate them all into one seamless perfect shot, discarding all the others.
Moved from a ROG Phone 5 to an S24 Ultra.Most phones nowadays accomplish all that we ask of them, so it's difficult to differentiate based on speed or core functionality.The Galaxy S24 Ultra does not disappoint - it's got an IP68 rating, a great camera setup, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, and an S Pen. For most people, this will make a great daily driver device. But the problem is, most other phones, including its siblings in the Galaxy lineup, will as well.What a buyer of this device is looking for is unparalleled function with no compromise on form - and that's where the Galaxy S24 Ultra does fall short.Let's look at hardware first. Despite its large footprint, it doesn't have the largest battery in its class - presumably because of the space taken up by ... MoreMoved from a ROG Phone 5 to an S24 Ultra.Most phones nowadays accomplish all that we ask of them, so it's difficult to differentiate based on speed or core functionality.The Galaxy S24 Ultra does not disappoint - it's got an IP68 rating, a great camera setup, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, and an S Pen. For most people, this will make a great daily driver device. But the problem is, most other phones, including its siblings in the Galaxy lineup, will as well.What a buyer of this device is looking for is unparalleled function with no compromise on form - and that's where the Galaxy S24 Ultra does fall short.Let's look at hardware first. Despite its large footprint, it doesn't have the largest battery in its class - presumably because of the space taken up by the S Pen's slot. At the same time, the 5000mah battery will comfortably get you through the day. There are phones on the market with IP68 rating, alongside a side USB-C port (for landscape gaming) with a 3.5mm jack - here the Galaxy S24 Ultra just brings the standard singular USB-C port on the bottom. There are no auxilliary displays on the rear of the phone, and again Samsung has persisted with no notification LED on the front side either. Again, it's been in the design language since the S10 era and expected, but it does feel like an incremental refinement rather than a bold step forward in innovation. The speaker set up is again standard, but lacking if you hold your phone in landscape as you'd likely obscure the primary speaker.In terms of software, Samsung's claim to fame this generation is Galaxy AI. While some might find these features useful, for someone whose phone is primarily a transactional and away-from-home substitute for a computer - it didn't take long for me to completely disable Bixby and image processing (which didn't produce quite natural looking images anyway). The battery care features are appreciated, but more polish would have been expected - for example - why not offer the user an option in the notifications pane to skip the charging limit once, or enable fast charging once - this would be such a quality of life improvement for those wanting to have those options set to preserve battery lifespan, but still allow exceptions (say when travelling) without having to dig through the menus to turn them off/on and remember to do the opposite.The same thing does with "Do not Disturb" mode - with AI and machine learning surely it would be easy enough to implement either an algorithm or more options to have the mode play nicely with bedtime/sleep mode, with again a notification to temporarily disable it for 30 minutes or for the day.That said, the software is solid out of the box, and so is Samsung's dedication to support the phone with regular updates. While I would like to see Samsung continue to push the envelope personally, I understand that they're unlikely to do this with the standard S series (kudos to them on the Z series though) - nevertheless, one can keep hoping!
The Galaxy S23 FE has most of the components (wireless charging, IP68, 120hz AMOLED screen, solid cameras, big battery, reasonable styling) required to reach the heights achieved in the now-classic Galaxy S20 FE, but lacks the most crucial part of why that was so exceptional (at least here in the UK) and ironically highlights again why the S20 FE was so special - the Exynos based SOC.The S20 FE was *SO* good in the UK market because it brought the Snapdragon 865 SOC to an affordable local phone in a generation where the Exynos processor was significantly worse than the SD counterpart. Which was also the case for the S22 generation from which the S23 FE gets its SOC.I have upgraded from a 3.5 year old Galaxy S20+ 5G which I got imported in order to get the ... MoreThe Galaxy S23 FE has most of the components (wireless charging, IP68, 120hz AMOLED screen, solid cameras, big battery, reasonable styling) required to reach the heights achieved in the now-classic Galaxy S20 FE, but lacks the most crucial part of why that was so exceptional (at least here in the UK) and ironically highlights again why the S20 FE was so special - the Exynos based SOC.The S20 FE was *SO* good in the UK market because it brought the Snapdragon 865 SOC to an affordable local phone in a generation where the Exynos processor was significantly worse than the SD counterpart. Which was also the case for the S22 generation from which the S23 FE gets its SOC.I have upgraded from a 3.5 year old Galaxy S20+ 5G which I got imported in order to get the Snapdragon 865 based model. Honestly, the S23 FE feels like a direct side-grade in all ways; performance is not noticeably different (perhaps a touch snappier here and there), I've got less RAM, and the battery life on my brand new Exynos based S23 FE is basically identical to where my 3.5 year old Snapdragon based S20+ 5G - I get the same screen-on time as a 3.5 year old phone battery, after 3.5 years of fairly heavy usage.It's just really bad, and shouldn't have happened. This is a lesson already learned many times over for Samsung, and a message reiterated by countless reviewers and tech-influences across social media; the Exynos chips just are not good enough for the top end, especially when some of the international markets (US, China, etc) get a Snapdragon SOC for the exact same phone.The phone performs fine, but the CPU gets hotter than it should doing simple tasks, and burns through battery faster than it should doing them too. I would happily take a core-sheduler update that left the SOC in lower power states (less performance) more often to maximise battery . The phone is fine in basically every capacity except for SOC efficiency.If they had just put the S23's Snapdragon 8 Gen2 into the phone just like what happened with the S20 FE getting the Snapdragon 865 - even if it cost £50 more which I would gladly have paid - then the S23 FE would have been a worthy successor to that classic model.Unfortunately the dark cloud of poor-quality Exynos SOCs is *STILL* affecting Samsung's global high-end phone SKUs. I wanted it to be otherwise, and was happy to try given the good deal I got on the phone plan, but it's patently clear to me that this will be just a 2 year phone and then I'm going to switch, which is a shame given the software updates promised etc. If the phone had the performance of the S23 with the Snapdragon, then I would likely have kept it for 3.5-4 years, as I do when I'm really happy with my phone.3/5 ... but it would have been 4.5/5 if it had a Snapdragon SOC.
Firstly received my phone just little over a week before I went on holiday so perfect time to get used to a new phone.Firstly the unboxing was simple and compact, the box consisted of the Phone and a cable (luckily I already had my brick from a previous model of this phone.First thing I did notice was the weight of the phone thereâs definitely a weight difference from the 20fe as to be expected with all the additional features this phone as.The operating system is easy very user friendly and enjoyed the slight improvement.The selling features for me on this are the battery and the camera.The battery is incredible and will last a full day of continuous use as normally I wouldnât be on the phone as much as I have been while on holiday but Iâm always left ... MoreFirstly received my phone just little over a week before I went on holiday so perfect time to get used to a new phone.Firstly the unboxing was simple and compact, the box consisted of the Phone and a cable (luckily I already had my brick from a previous model of this phone.First thing I did notice was the weight of the phone thereâs definitely a weight difference from the 20fe as to be expected with all the additional features this phone as.The operating system is easy very user friendly and enjoyed the slight improvement.The selling features for me on this are the battery and the camera.The battery is incredible and will last a full day of continuous use as normally I wouldnât be on the phone as much as I have been while on holiday but Iâm always left with a lot of percentage left, despite all the heavy use itâs had and the super fast charging is a god send if you forget to put it on charge over night.Now the camera as anyone I do love a good selfie and taking pictures and Iâve been blown away with the vibrant and clarity of this phones both front and back cameras, simply amazing picks up all the little details my previous phone didnât.The phone to me is very fast and responsive from checking social media apps or browsing on the phones internal web browser, Iâve not really had any problems to report on this, simply one of the best phones Iâve had in the past 5 years.The screen brightness and performance is top notch everything is smooth and flawless and which this phone.Not major tech savvy but this phoneâs functionality has been a delight to handle on a daily basis and overall would especially recommend this phone if you like to play games on your phone and previously mentioned the phones camera alone is the star of the show for me.
Samsung has given the S23 series the FE treatment, which typically means some mid-year tweaks to the series resulting in enough changes to allow a lower price-point without making too many compromises.The first thing I noticed when picking up my 256GB model in white, was the weight. At over 200g, this is not a light phone... but as I discovered, a lot of that must be to do with the fact that this phone lasts all day on a full charge thanks to its generous battery.And while using the phone, I really came to appreciate the display. At around 6.5 inches, it feels just right in terms of size, while being really bright and crisp. Photos and videos I took using the phone's capable array of cameras looked really colourful on the screen and the experience was not short ... MoreSamsung has given the S23 series the FE treatment, which typically means some mid-year tweaks to the series resulting in enough changes to allow a lower price-point without making too many compromises.The first thing I noticed when picking up my 256GB model in white, was the weight. At over 200g, this is not a light phone... but as I discovered, a lot of that must be to do with the fact that this phone lasts all day on a full charge thanks to its generous battery.And while using the phone, I really came to appreciate the display. At around 6.5 inches, it feels just right in terms of size, while being really bright and crisp. Photos and videos I took using the phone's capable array of cameras looked really colourful on the screen and the experience was not short of premium. If I have one criticism, it is that the selfie camera is not as good as the ones on the back - especially when taking group selfies.Other than capturing memories, the phone also copes with other tasks without any issue. The performance is snappy, even when doing more than one thing at a time like listening to music while browsing or chatting with friends, or while playing games. I didn't feel like I needed to close any apps that were running in the background or that the phone was slow or laggy in any way. And the 256GB of storage meant I never had to worry about the number of apps or games I had installed.The S23 FE managed to connect to the various wearables I use (my earbuds, headphones and watch) and my car's Android Auto without any issues and I never experienced any issues when using associated features. Charging it up was fast and wireless charging worked perfectly, including reverse-charging which I used for my Buds FE. And this was true despite the case I had it in (and I would recommend a case given the slippery glass back!).Overall then, Samsung has succeeded in its objective of giving the S23 series a good send-off. The S23 FE is a phone that looks and feels premium, runs like a premium phone but does not cost the near £1000 most premium phones cost these days. I would say it is a smart purchase for anyone in the market for a phone just now.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 is an unremarkable phone at first glance. Its 6.2 inch AMOLED slots neatly within the expectations for an average consumer in 2024, whilst its 256 Gigabytes of base storage is perfectly ample for all but the most demanding of mobile photographers, gamers or videographers. The 4000 mAh battery is dependable, and the colored Aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass back bears what can only be described by as a tired design, adorned by every member of Samsung's line up at every price range. However, look beyond the first glance, and there is absolutely no denying the brilliance of this year's flagship compact phone from Samsung. That display that at first glance seems to just meet expectations? It's a brilliantly bright AMOLED that renders colors with a ... MoreThe Samsung Galaxy S24 is an unremarkable phone at first glance. Its 6.2 inch AMOLED slots neatly within the expectations for an average consumer in 2024, whilst its 256 Gigabytes of base storage is perfectly ample for all but the most demanding of mobile photographers, gamers or videographers. The 4000 mAh battery is dependable, and the colored Aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass back bears what can only be described by as a tired design, adorned by every member of Samsung's line up at every price range. However, look beyond the first glance, and there is absolutely no denying the brilliance of this year's flagship compact phone from Samsung. That display that at first glance seems to just meet expectations? It's a brilliantly bright AMOLED that renders colors with a punch that is almost overwhelming at first glance, and which refreshes at a silken-smooth 120Hz. The panel is bordered with bezels that are so razor-thin that they give the phone an air of refinement and subtle class from the very first glanceâthe entirety of the gorgeous screen remains completely unadorned with any obnoxious obstructions, save for a tiny hole-punch selfie camera. And whilst the back panel does indeed resemble every single member of Samsung's lineup from the past year, its smooth, satin-touch back exudes a reassuring feel of quality whilst still maintaining a sleek and minimalist profile that renders the device instantly recognisable as a Samsung. Moreover, you can color that back panel in a number of distinctive hues and tones that range from understated and clean to just outright funâI chose to split the difference with my model with the Cobal Violet finish, which I found to be just the right balance between unique and dressy in every lighting condition. All in all, the phone feels built like a tank, but with all of the grace and composure of a Porche 911âevery surface feels meticulously engineered and crafted whilst still being light and dainty enough for me to easily wield the phone with just one hand. Wins for the Samsung come to be far more than just skin deep thoughâthe S24 on Samsungâs OneUI 6.1 is the smoothest I can remember a Galaxy phone being, and it brings all of Samsungâs trademark software customizability and tidy visual design to a platform that feels smooth and fluid at every swipe. The last version of OneUI I had the pleasure of using was OneUI 4 based on Android 12, and whilst OneUI 6.1 still very evidently maintains a distinctive and coherent Galaxy character, the entirety of the experience feels so much more refinedâmuch is made online of the improvements Samsung have brought to the animations, but in my mind the sheer brilliance of OneUI goes much further than just the nice few frames that play when you swipe to close an app. Almost every substantial action you take is rewarded by a reassuring vibration from the phoneâs excellent haptic feedback system, whilst the new quick panel and fonts look distinctive without being obnoxious in its brandingâeverything just feels well-considered, almost articulate. In short, the software just feel deliberateâthe entire experience exudes confidence in its identity, and it is executed in a manner so refined and intuitive that it has honestly become my favorite skew of Android. Beyond this, however, it is impossible to ignore the real headline feature of the S24 series this yearâGalaxy AI. If, like me, youâve come to find yourself tired of the word âAIâ being plastered on every product youâve come across over the past few years, I get itâat this point, AI is a somewhat tired trope that has lost its meaning in a sea of marketing buzz and mediocre products. The S24s, however, arenât quite at that point, thoughâCircle to Search, for example, is a legitimately well-thought out tool that pairs brilliantly with the replacement of Google Assistant for the ChatGPT-slaying Gemini chatbot on Android phones, and the summarization features on Samsung Internet have legitimately caused me to consciously chose Internet over Google Chrome. Live translation over phone is also a fantastic idea, although it is curtailed by being finnicky to set up and requiring you to select a language in the settings menu of the dialer before initiating a call. I found many features to be like thisâthey arenât clearly advertised to the user, and I only found out about them later, when making a conscious effort to find out more about Galaxy AI on the internet. In my mind, in order to appeal to a more general audience, Samsung needs to very clearly advertise the presence and utility of Galaxy AI within its own apps, and make them more accessible to users simply using the phone in daily life, rather than hiding them behind menus that makes taking full advantage of your phone a conscious effort rather than a natural part of a daily workflow.Driving all of these efforts is the Exynos 2400 processor, a truly mighty ten core ARM based beast that performs brilliantly in day-to-day performance and a spot of gaming. Whilst I donât have a phone equipped with this yearâs very latest Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, to compare the 2400 with, the handsetâs performance, much like the rest of the phone, has been dependable, reliable, and honestly somewhat unremarkable in that I never once had to think about it. I never was left wanting more power, and throughout my entire experience of the phone, including setup, the chip never heated beyond the slightest of warming, and even then, the heat dissipated very quickly once I stopped pushing the device. This seems to speak of a fairly efficient system, then, which was verified easily by my experienceâonly a few days after setup, I went for a road trip in which the S24 lasted me the entire day away from the plug after I left the house with just over 50% battery. Granted, I didnât use the phone particularly muchâmusic playback, navigation and the occasional text messages and videos were just about the extent of the deviceâs hardship, but for my use case, the S24 delivers absolutely outstanding battery life within that petite frame and can just about last me two days of fairly regular use.Finally, then, the camerasâhow are they? In my experience, Samsung has made very sensible decisions when it comes to the hardware. The S24 is equipped with a 50 MP Wide camera, a 10 MP 3x telephoto and a 12 MP ultra-wide angle camera. This setup always delivers very pleasing, fairly vibrant photos in good lighting, with appealing if not quite natural colors in almost all lighting conditionsâI did occasionally find myself missing the contrastier, more striking colors of some competitors, but the regardless was far more consistent, offering the same tasteful profiles and overall âlookâ amongst almost S24 all zoom ranges and scenarios. The main camera produces in good lighting photos with well-considered and balanced color tone, although I found that it often tended towards warmer photos, as well as plenty of detail. The ultrawide is precisely what you would expect and produces photos in much the same grain as the main camera, whilst the telephoto offers a distinctive edge over other phones in its price bracket through sheer rangeâthe S24 far outpaces any other phone in its category in Australia through simple distance. I do find the 3X portraits to be a little lacking in detail and stabilization, though, meaning that most of my portraits ended up just being either from the main camera or the selfie. At night, however, I found the cameras to be somewhat lacking in processingâthe S24 sharpened photos to the point that they were blatantly artificial, and faces looked altered, whilst the scene was brightened in a manner that appeared overly unnatural. I understand that Samsung here is trying to extract as much detail as possible from the scene, but in moments like this I strongly preferred handsets that maintained the dramatic shadows and obscured colors present in real life even at the expense of some sharpness and detail. Otherwise? The S24âs setup is simple, reliable, and easy to use, and it boasts a versatility that no other phone in its price bracket can match here in Australia. It really is a well-considered setup that delivers everything you could possibly want from a smartphone camera, and would be my first pick for its price just for the flexibility of it. The selfie camera, too, is a proper unit, capable of 4K recording and which produces flattering photos in just about all passable lightingâit is genuinely refreshing to see a handset that pays proper attention to the selfie camera.So, all in all, the S24 is a contradiction in beautiful cobalt purpleâitâs the most unremarkable phone you can imagine, yet this in itself is a brilliant achievement. With the S24, Samsung absolutely nailed everything the average consumer could come to ask for, and contained it within a handset that is light, elegant and immaculately constructed. It takes beautiful photos, has a screen that outpaces everything else in its class (not a very high bar to clear, though), shoots great photos in almost every condition, lasts all day and then some and keeps its cool all day, every day. Itâs not hard to like, even love the S24âon the surface, it has almost no personality, no fun quirks or gimmicks other than âAIâ to sell you at the carrier store or the local JB. But, as we all have come to know, gimmicks soon grow old, new toys wear with age and there always comes a new one next year. The S24 however, remains a delight to use even when the elation of a new phone well wears off, or when the gimmicks grow oldâit is slick, well-considered and tasteful in a graceful, minimalist fashion both inside and out. Yes, the phone has very little personality to speak ofâbut that is its personalityâit is one that is elegant, deliberate, and reliableâthat is to say, nothing short of brilliant.Well done, Samsung.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE â a fantastic phone offering great value for money, as some have said they raid the parts bin and with the UK model made great flagship like the phone for a bargain price considering all the deals and offers flying around.It has a stunning flat screen (which I much prefer), which is vivid and bright, thanks to it being a 6.4-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED screen; the only difference you can see compared to the latest flagship S23 is the bezel, which is not an issue for me. The panel can also still display HDR content, which looks great on YouTube and Netflix.Dual SIM for a UK phone is also rare and a real must for me as I travel a lot for work. It has always ruled out mainstream smartphones due ... MoreI was pleasantly surprised by the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE â a fantastic phone offering great value for money, as some have said they raid the parts bin and with the UK model made great flagship like the phone for a bargain price considering all the deals and offers flying around.It has a stunning flat screen (which I much prefer), which is vivid and bright, thanks to it being a 6.4-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED screen; the only difference you can see compared to the latest flagship S23 is the bezel, which is not an issue for me. The panel can also still display HDR content, which looks great on YouTube and Netflix.Dual SIM for a UK phone is also rare and a real must for me as I travel a lot for work. It has always ruled out mainstream smartphones due to the lack of this feature, so getting this fan edition S23 to include this feature was a massive plus.Great software using Samsung Extended update and software support forIn the UK, Samsung is also giving you a three-year extended warranty and long-term software support (, which looks genuine, as I have already had two software updates since writing this review.One bonus thing I had missed with previous less popular brands is the accessory ecosystem, as you get a broad third-party market of high-quality cases and screen protectors. Also, the ecosystem Samsung has for âGood Lookâ means you get tons of software options to change your phone's look and feel inside as well!Over the holidays, I have also been very impressed the battery has held out, and it has taken great shots of the family in all settings. It has been my go-to phone throughout.Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a great phone with many features for its price. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of Samsungâs flagship phones, itâs still a fantastic option for anyone looking for a high-quality phone that wonât break the bank.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FEI have to say at that start of this review I am a Samsung fan a big Samsung fan. Despite experimenting with various phone brands in the past, I consistently find myself returning to Samsung, lured by the exceptional build quality, captivating screen, enduring battery life, and the inherent adaptability of their handsets. They keep going and going and still look good after years of abuse by my kids.A quick overviews, it appears FE standing for Fan Edition, representing the apex of the 'S' series without the customary hefty price tag. Nestled between the Samsung A54 and the standard S23, this device proudly boasts 8GB RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 engine, initially featured in the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It successfully strikes a balance, ... MoreThe Samsung Galaxy S23 FEI have to say at that start of this review I am a Samsung fan a big Samsung fan. Despite experimenting with various phone brands in the past, I consistently find myself returning to Samsung, lured by the exceptional build quality, captivating screen, enduring battery life, and the inherent adaptability of their handsets. They keep going and going and still look good after years of abuse by my kids.A quick overviews, it appears FE standing for Fan Edition, representing the apex of the 'S' series without the customary hefty price tag. Nestled between the Samsung A54 and the standard S23, this device proudly boasts 8GB RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 engine, initially featured in the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It successfully strikes a balance, catering to both the mature and youthful audience with an array of colors â mint, indigo blue, purple, or tangerine for the bold, and cream or graphite for those inclined towards a more subdued aesthetic. True to the Samsung 'S' family tradition, it packs a multitude of built-in conveniences and functionalities suitable for all users..Dimensions, Weight, and Display:Slightly larger than its predecessor, the S23, this phone, weighing in at 209g, exudes a robust and well-built feel with a 158 x 76.5 x 8.2mm chassis. Ample size provides an expansive screen real estate, making it convenient to handle while effortlessly fitting into pockets or bags.Display, Resolution, and Refresh Rate:The Galaxy S23 FE employs the tried-and-tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 platform from the Galaxy S22 family. Despite its 2.5-year age, it remains powerful enough to seamlessly run a variety of applications, complemented by the 8GB of RAM shared with the Galaxy S23.Camera, Battery, and Charging:The camera array impresses, particularly for its price, featuring a 10MP telephoto zoom lens with 3X optical zoom alongside wide and ultra-wide lenses. The 3X optical zoom outperforms the digital zoom seen in comparable phones. Fun photo modes, like the 'Food mode,' add a warm color tone and background blur, although some night photos may pose challenges. As expected from a 'S' class Samsung, wireless charging is a given, and it can even charge other wireless peripherals on the move. The 4,500 mAh battery ensures commendable longevity, lasting well beyond a dayIn Conclusion:When deciding on a phone investment, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a worthy choice. To find a phone superior to this, you'd have pay a higher price.
