After a sabbatical year, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is once again a fascinating device that tries to optimally balance price and performance.

At the beginning of 2022, the Galaxy S21 FE came onto the market much too late, which led to a negative rating from us. It was quiet for more than 1.5 years, but now the next “Fan Edition” is ready. Samsung skips a number and suddenly jumps to the Galaxy S23 FE.

The main improvements are in the camera and chipset, but don’t expect the device to be anything like the S23 devices from early 2023. It has the same name, but it follows more closely the S22 that saw the light of day last year.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE

The main camera gets the most important upgrade from 12 MP to 50 MP. The wide-angle camera remains at 10 MP (123°) and the telephoto camera (3x optical zoom) has to make do with 8 MP. Strangely, the front camera is only 10MP, whereas it used to be 32MP. Wait and see what impact this will have.

Samsung is trying to disguise the chipset in its specifications as “Advanced 4nm Processing,” which specifically means you get either a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or an Exynos 2200. Both are nearly identical chipsets from last year that performed well then and still today. Always do.

8GB of RAM is now standard (up from 6GB of RAM) with storage options of 128GB and 256GB. Additional storage via a microSD card is not supported. Like its predecessor, the device is IP68 waterproof. The 6.4-inch AMOLED screen is flat and can dynamically switch between 60 and 120 Hz.

What is noticeable is that the device is slightly thicker than its predecessor and also slightly heavier (209 g vs. 177 g). Samsung likes to emphasize that the external and internal components are made from recycled materials (pre-consumer aluminum, glass and post-consumer plastic).

Charging is still not lightning fast at 25 watts, enough to charge 50 percent in half an hour. Wireless charging is also supported. The battery still has the same capacity: 4,500 mAh.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is available in four colors: mint, cream, graphite and lavender. Prices start at $599. Samsung guarantees four years of operating system updates and five years of security updates. The device ships with Android 13. We contacted Samsung to find out local pricing. We will update this article as soon as we receive a response.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE

Alongside the launch of the Galaxy S23 FE, there is also the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which comes in two flavors. The FE has a 10.9-inch LCD touchscreen, while the larger FE+ has a 12.4-inch LCD screen. Both support up to 90 Hz. Just like the more expensive Tab S9 models, the FE models are also waterproof to IP68.

Both come with an S Pen to make optimal use of the tablet. The FE variant has a single 8MP main camera, while the FE+ also has an 8MP wide-angle camera. The FE comes with 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, the FE+ with 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM. Both are available with 128GB and 256GB storage.

Here too, Samsung guarantees four years of operating system updates and five years of security updates. Both tablets are equipped with Android 13 and support 45 watt charging.

Prices start at $449. The four colors are mint, silver, gray and lavender. As soon as we receive local prices, we will update this article.