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The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE brings both fun and flagship specs

The S20 Fan Edition is an impressive handset for the price.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE brings both fun and flagship specs
Marc Chacksfield
23 September 2020

Samsung's latest smartphone is an S20 for those who don't want to spend a fortune, but are looking for a handset packed with personality.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a phone where Samsung has cherry picked most of the best bits from the S20, compromised a little in some areas, but added a lovely smattering of colour at a price point where you forget, or at least forgive, what's missing.

While FE stands for Fan Edition, it could quite easily mean For Everyone - as what we have is a near-flagship phone that's bursting with specs, all for just £599.

There's a textured, hazed finish on the phone that is part glass, part plastic. The screen is a 6.5-inch Full HD AMOLED. This comes with the all-important 120Hz refresh rate.

Camera-wise, you are looking at an 8MP telephoto lens (with OIS) and the 30x 'Space Zoom' that folks will be familiar with if they've picked up a recent Samsung. There's actually three lenses on this handsets - two 12MP (main and ultra-wide) and a 32MP punch-hole selfie cam.

Battery is big, too, we're talking Note 20 big - there's a 4,500mAh battery with wireless charging on board.

So far so flagship, so what is actually missing? Well, Samsung has made the S20 a little less desirable thanks to this phone - that's how good the specs are.

But you are missing the newest Gorilla Glass (only a worry for the really clumsy), fingerprint tech isn't as sophisticated as the ultrasonic gubbins found elsewhere and if you opt for the 4G version of the phone then you are given a different (and some say inferior) chip powering the thing.

Pay another £100, though, and for £699 you get a Snapdragon 865 and super-fast 5G, if you are in a particular point in London and other cities that is.

Couple this with colours that sound good enough to eat (Cloud Navy, Cloud Red, Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud White and Cloud Orange) and what you have is a phone that is, on paper, a lot for the money Samsung is asking.