Review : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Sold for Rp. 10 Million, Does It Make Sense ?

For those of you who want to experience a flagship phone but don't want to spend more than Rp. 10 million, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G, which has been sold in Indonesia since January 9, can be an option, guys.

The Galaxy S21 FE was first sold through the early bird program on January 9-10 2022 through the official Samsung website. We can call the FE code itself an economical flagship because this is the cheapest flagship in the Samsung line of phones.

In the early bird period , the price of the Galaxy S21 FE 5G starts from Rp. 8,999,000 aka Rp. 9 million for 8GB / 128GB memory and the price of Rp. 9,999,000 aka Rp. 10 million for 8GB / 256GB memory.

In this program, buyers also get a profit of IDR 2,172,500. Of course, not all consumers get this special package.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE that I'm holding is white. Other colors are Olive, Lavender, and Graphite.

Screen

This Galaxy S21 FE adopts many features from its brother, Galaxy S21, such as a 2X Dynamic AMOLED panel with HDR + support and a 120Hz refresh so that it produces amazing images.

The screen is flat aka not curved. The punch hole front camera model is placed in the center. Interestingly, this phone has thin bezels, but at the bottom it looks thicker.

I feel for myself that this phone can provide a better cinematic experience when watching movies through the application, especially since it is supported by a thin frame.

The screen has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and is coated with Gorilla Victus. Of course, make it comfortable when we linger playing this phone.

Netflix content can already play HDR10 and YouTube can also support HDR10, where the maximum brightness is 1,000 nits (a measure of brightness) and a color depth of 10 bits, resulting in twice the brightness compared to a regular screen.

I also tried to see the screen of this phone outside the room exposed to the sun is quite hot. This Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G screen can still make it comfortable, bright and clear. Likewise, when we look at the screen in a dim room, it is still comfortable.

The multimedia experience on this phone is also fairly good, there is dual stereo plus the screen is already flagship .

For security, the Samsung S21 FE 5G uses a fingerprint under the screen which is quite responsive, then there is also face unlock that can function in low light conditions.

Chipset

This phone also uses the Exynos 2100 chipset, which is Samsung's flagship chipset. More importantly, the Galaxy S21 FE is Samsung's first phone to run Android 12 with One UI 4.0 support.

Camera

The design of this phone still adopts the Galaxy S21, the camera protrusion is very visible. For those of you who love photography, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is worth considering. With a powerful engine, this camera phone can produce good quality pictures, especially at night.

The camera arrangement of the Galaxy S21 FE is also the same as the version of the Galaxy S20 FE released in 2021. On the back there are three cameras: a 12MP F/1.8 + OIS main camera, a 12 MP F/2.2 Ultrawide camera and an 8MP F/2.4 + OIS Telephoto camera.

The fun thing is, the 8MP telephoto on this phone has 3x Optical Zoom so that it allows us to get pictures from a distance. On the front there is a 32MP F/2.2 . camera

Telephoto features, in addition to zoom can also be used as portrait. Here are photos of auto mode and telephoto mode during the day, the results are quite good.

The camera features of the Galaxy S21 FE 5G are also complete: AR Scribble, Pro, Panorama, Food, Night, Portrait Video, Pro Video, Super Slow Motion, Slow Motion, Hyperlapse, and Dual Recording. There are also Bixby Vision and AR Zone features.

For Pro mode there is a shutter speed of up to 32 seconds. 

Video on the rear camera can support up to 4K 60 FPS. However, the front camera can support 4K but is stuck at 30 FPS.

For video, you can use ultrawide and telephoto mode. When recording video, you can also take advantage of the super steady feature so that the results don't shake. However, it can only go up to 1080p 30 FPS and can still be ultrawide. Likewise, the front camera can take advantage of super steady .

Battery

The battery embedded in the Galaxy S21 FE is 4,500 mAh. It's the same with the Galaxy S20 FE. The battery of that size is enough to support the needs of users when watching movies all day. 

5G Service

The Samsung Galaxy s21 FE can already pick up a 5G signal. Yes, although the 5G arena in Indonesia is still limited, this 5G feature can at least continue to support it for the next few years.

Design

The design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Fe 5G in my opinion is attractive, even though the back of the body is made of polycarbonate or some kind of plastic, but the frame is made of aluminum so it is very sturdy when we hold it.

The rear body display has been coated with mate so it doesn't look like the body is made of plastic. Another advantage mate, does not leave fingerprints.

The size of this phone also looks just right, it doesn't look too compact with a 6.4-inch screen size.

At the bottom of the Galaxy S21 FE 5G there is a USB Type-C port and a SIM Card slot with dual Nano SIM Cards and both are already 5G. Unfortunately there is no Micro SD hybrid and the 3.5 mm audio jack is also eliminated.

Certified IP68

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has got another flagship feature, namely an IP68 certificate aka waterproof. IP68 means this phone can be immersed in fresh water as deep as 1.5 meters for a duration of 30 minutes.

Conclusion

For those who want to buy a flagship phone under Rp. 10 million, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G can be an option.

Is it too expensive? I think it still makes sense . You can get a flagship smartphone experience without having to spend up to tens of millions of rupiah.

This phone also has an okay design, already using Android 12, already 5G, flagship quality camera, 2x Dynamic AMOLED screen, and the Exynos 2100 chipset.   

Android 12 on this phone also features a Color Palette, there are also flagship features Always on display, Side Key, Samsung Dex, Game Launcher and Dual Messenger.

For its own shortcomings, cellphones above Rp. 8 million do not provide a charger head. Consumers only get a cable that both ends are Type-C and supports 25 watt fast charging .