It’s been a while since Samsung launched the last Fan Edition / “FE” smartphone. The Galaxy S21 FE came out back in January of last year. And since then… nothing. Rumors have been rampant, first about a Galaxy S22 FE, then, when that didn’t happen, we started hearing about a Galaxy S23 FE, which most recently was said to arrive in the second half of this year.
And yet. Today a prolific (and usually reliable) leakster, Roland Quandt, has some bad news for everyone who’s been expecting the S23 FE with bated breath. According to him, it “doesn’t look like” there will actually be an S23 FE this year. Or, dare we add, any other year if it’s not this one.
Sure doesn’t look like there’ll be an S23 FE this year.
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) March 10, 2023
Now obviously we can’t tell you exactly what’s going on and what Samsung’s plans really are. There are conflicting reports about the existence and launch (or lack thereof) of this device, so don’t forget to take any such reports with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Quandt unfortunately didn’t go into any more details, but it’s safe to assume that he would have had some information about such a handset if it was releasing in the next few months – he’s a constant source of leaks after all. This statement makes us believe he may not have seen anything regarding the S23 FE yet, which could very well mean it won’t ever exist.
Samsung never felt truly comfortable with the two FE smartphone models it did launch. These were ‘flagship killer’ type devices, and it seems like, for a similar budget, Samsung would much prefer you buy last year’s flagship (or the one from the year before that), or an A-series mid-ranger instead of something like this. At least, that’s one way to look at it. Stick around and we’ll let you know what actually ends up happening.
