The Samsung Galaxy S22 FE is an expected fourth member of Samsung’s 2022 line of flagship phones, sitting below the Samsung Galaxy S22, Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in terms of price.
This is probably an upper mid-range phone, designed for the notch at the bottom of the line. But given that the Galaxy S22 will see some price cuts by the time it lands, that might not be a good thing.
Anyway, below we’ve rounded up everything we’ve heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE, and we’ve also included a wish list of things we want from the phone.
cut to the chase
- What is this? The most affordable member of the S22 line
- When is the exit? Probably around mid-2023
- How much will it cost? Likely to be at least £699 / $699 / AU$999
Samsung Galaxy S22 FE release date and price
It is difficult to predict when the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE will be released, as while the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE landed in January 2022, the Galaxy S20 FE hit stores in October of 2020.
So Samsung wasn’t in tune with the release timings, but we’re way behind for an October 2022 launch and a January 2023 date seems unlikely at the time of writing either.
There’s been some debate about whether we’ll see the Galaxy S22 FE at all, but the latest leaks suggest it’s still coming — perhaps not before April 2023, which would be confusing after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.
But then the FE phones just don’t make sense in a number of ways, as will become clear in this article.
There’s no news on how much the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE will cost if and when it launches, but for reference, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE started at £699 / $699 / AU$999, so it’s possible to get a similar starting price here.
News and leaks
We haven’t heard much about the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE, but one thing we’ve heard is that it may use the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset.
This is a high-end chipset that’s comparable to the Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 used in the rest of the Samsung Galaxy S22 line, albeit from a lower-status brand — and thus likely a lower price tag for Samsung.
So it might make sense for the phone to use this, since the Galaxy S22 FE itself will likely be a cheaper phone than the other S22 models, but there is evidence to suggest that it won’t be.
For one thing, another source has since said it won’t be using the Dimensity 9000, and furthermore, using a MediaTek chipset in the FE phone would be a change for the company, as those phones previously used either Snapdragon or Exynos. .
So we’d say Dimensity 9000 is actually unlikely, as the Galaxy S22 FE is likely to get the same chipset as the rest of the S22 line — and that means Exynos 2200 in Europe and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in most other places.
On the other hand, it may instead use a new Exynos 2300 chipset, according to another source, although other sources indicated that this is also unlikely.
Samsung Galaxy S22 FE: What we want to see
There’s a lot we’d like to change or improve for the next FE phone, including the following things.
1. Lower price
Our biggest issue with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE was its price so while it was less than the starting price of the Samsung Galaxy S21 that launched, you can often find a heavily discounted S21 by the time the S21 FE lands, putting the FE in the potentially awkward position of be more costly in practice.
This wasn’t a practical situation for them, so Samsung really needs to ensure that the Galaxy S22 FE is truly more affordable than the Galaxy S22 if it wants to take a big hit on its hands.
2. Better battery life
Battery life is the bane of many smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is no exception, barely lasting a day of moderate use. We’d say its life was just below average, and we’re hoping the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE has an above-average device life.
This could be achieved by increasing the capacity – perhaps to 5,000 mAh – or just by optimizing the software, but one way or another it’s something we want to see.
3. Faster charging
On a related note, we weren’t terribly impressed with the charging speeds of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Or really with the charging speeds of most Samsung phones, even the Galaxy S22 Ultra charges slower than many competitors.
That at least manages to charge at 45W, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is stuck with very slow 25W charging, so we’d like to see an upgrade here for the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE.
4. Glass back
While the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE isn’t a high-end phone, it’s pricey enough that we’d expect superior materials, and yet it has a plastic back. We don’t want the same to be the case for the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE – even if it has a price cut (unless that cut is too big).
Once a phone costs over $500 / £500, plastic shouldn’t be a major part of it, so we want glass on the Galaxy S22 FE.
5. A clear reason for being
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has largely similar specs to the Samsung Galaxy S21, and where they differ, the changes don’t always work in the S21’s favor. This is despite the Galaxy S21 FE being positioned as a low-end phone.
Add to that the outrageous prices outlined above, and it’s a confusing, hard sell, so for the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE, we want Samsung to clearly position the phone.
Making it more affordable would help, but we also want to see clearer spec differences from the standard S22, and with the S22 FE packing the lower specs of the two. But not much less, or it may be unattractive. It’s a tough balance.