Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and S22 launch dates tipped

Last month, we confirmed that Samsung wants to announce the Galaxy S21 FE in January at CES 2022. More precise availability details have now emerged, so if you’ve been waiting for this elusive smartphone to go on sale, this is when you should be able to buy it. Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S21 FE on January 4, says the new report from @jon_prosser. The Fan Edition smartphone won’t have a pre-order period, but Samsung will release it just a few days later, on January 11.

The photos he shared also show that the S22 Ultra will have a rear quad-camera system with an LED flash module and a curved display with a hole-punch front camera. The Galaxy S21 FE is likely to resemble the Galaxy S21 series and feature a 6.4-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

According to a report from MyFixGuide, the Fan Edition may be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and be packed with a 4,370 mAh battery. Although it’s been delayed by quite a few months, the Galaxy S21 FE won’t intersect with the launch of the Galaxy S22 flagship lineup. The latter will be unveiled in February and hit the shelves by the end of the same month.

Is Samsung banking on customer confusion?

Releasing the Galaxy S21 FE in January might confuse Galaxy S21 owners who perhaps haven’t been Samsung customers for long. They might be thinking that ‘FE’ stands for a proper flagship sequel akin to a second-edition device. After all, it has a similar name as the flagship released in January 2021, and it’s hitting the shelves 12 months after it.

Of course, most of us know that FE devices belong to the upper-mid-range segment, and we’ll wait an extra month for Samsung to unveil the Galaxy S22 flagship trio before jumping the gun. And confusing as this January launch might be, the more likely reason behind the Galaxy S21 FE’s delay is the global semiconductor shortage rather than a calculated scheme. Regardless, we suspect that the Galaxy S21 FE will have a steep hill to climb, given its launch timeframe.

The base Galaxy S21 model is already a sound proposition next to the Galaxy S21 FE, and customers are likely to find it for a great price around the holiday shopping season. Come January 4, the Galaxy S21 FE will really have to impress the crowd.