It is expected that Samsung is releasing the Galaxy S23 FE in the coming months after it has skipped the Fan Edition last year. Leaks and rumors speculate it will be powered by a dated Exynos 2200 chipset, which is known to be stricken with performance issues. However, a new benchmark listing reveals of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-equipped model and could be exclusive to the US.
Based on the uncovered GeekBench repository, Samsung is working on a device with number of SM-711U1 and believed to be the Galaxy S23 FE. What’s interesting is that it uses a motherboard identified as ‘taro’ that is the equivalent of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.
In addition, the handset being tested is a carrier unlocked model specific to the USA. This gives higher chances it would be exclusive to the States or similar to the setup to last year’s Galaxy S22 flagship where the majority of the European and Asian variants got Exynos 2200 chipset.
While there are many who prefer Qualcomm mobile processors over Exynos, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was also remembered to have problems due to the inefficiency of the node utilized by Samsung’s foundry in manufacturing the chips. Now, it’s unclear whether the Koreans have addressed solutions and optimizations to improve these old chipsets at all.
Apart from the chipset, the Galaxy S23 FE is tipped to feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen and a refreshed design mirroring the Galaxy S23 (review). The camera is said to receive an upgrade with the 50 MP sensor taking the helm paired with an ultrawide and telephoto snappers. Battery capacity is also retained at 4500 mAh mated to 25 watts charging speed.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is planned to be announced in Q3 this year. There are no actual pricing details yet, but it should be cheaper than the Galaxy S23. At the same time, it will likely debut as early as August just behind the launch of the company’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldable and pricier Galaxy Tab S9 tablets.
Do you wish that Samsung would use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in all variants of the Galaxy S23 FE? Or you should rather pick up the Galaxy S23 for more?
