If you’re a Samsung fan, you might find yourself choosing between the Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S21 FE. The two devices are about the same price and share some similarities in size and camera specs. That said, there are some important differences between the two.
The Galaxy S21 FE is essentially a repackaged version of last year’s Galaxy S21, while the Galaxy S22 is the next generation of the S21. The Galaxy S21 FE is priced at $700, compared to Samsung’s current price of $600. It runs on a slightly older processor than the S22, and it has a lower resolution main camera. The Galaxy S21 FE doesn’t have the improvements Samsung has made for nighttime photography, and its design isn’t as exciting as the Galaxy S22. But the S21 FE has a noticeably larger screen than the S22, a sharper selfie camera, and most importantly, a lower price. Take a closer look at how the two phones compare below.
Galaxy S22 has a smaller screen but a more elegant design
The most obvious difference between the two devices can be seen at a glance: the Galaxy S22 has a 6.1-inch screen, while the Galaxy S21 FE has a 6.4-inch display. The Galaxy S22 looks a little cramped, especially when typing, while the Galaxy S21 FE feels like it strikes a better balance between portability and screen real estate. The Galaxy S22 is for those who prefer smaller phones like the iPhone 13 Mini or the Samsung Galaxy S10E compared to the Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra.
The display quality of the Galaxy S22 and S21 FE is very similar. The Galaxy S22 has more pixels per inch, but the difference isn’t noticeable. Both phones boost the screen’s refresh rate to 120Hz for smoother scrolling, and they both support HDR10 Plus. The Galaxy S22 series has a new feature called Vision Booster that adjusts the screen to the surrounding light, but I didn’t notice much of a difference between the two.
The difference you’ll notice, however, is in the phone’s design. The Galaxy S22 is made of metal and glass, giving it a more elegant and more expensive feel than the cheaper Galaxy S21 FE. The S22’s metal edges even remind me of the iPhone 13 Pro. The Galaxy S21 FE’s design looks dull by comparison. The Galaxy S22 is also slightly lighter than the Galaxy S21 FE at 167 grams, compared to the S21 FE’s 177 grams.
Galaxy S22 has a better main camera, but S21 FE wins for selfies
Both the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 FE are equipped with triple-camera main cameras, and the difference lies in the details. The Galaxy S22 has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera. The Galaxy S21 FE has a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera.
As a result, I’ve found that photos taken with the Galaxy S22 generally look richer and more detailed than photos taken with the Galaxy S21 FE. I also noticed that the Galaxy S22 takes sharper zoomed-in photos than the Galaxy S21 FE, which makes sense given its slightly higher-resolution camera. Samsung has also improved the way the Galaxy S22 series captures photos in low light. During my testing, the Galaxy S22 generally took sharper, brighter, and sharper photos than the Galaxy S21 FE. But the Galaxy S21 FE’s 32-megapixel front-facing camera has the edge when it comes to selfies. By comparison, the Galaxy S22 has a 10-megapixel selfie camera. You’ll notice more detail in the photos of the Galaxy S21 FE.
Galaxy S22 has newer Qualcomm processors, but similar overall performance
The Galaxy S22 runs on Qualcomm’s new processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while the Galaxy S21 FE uses last year’s Snapdragon 888. This is the same chip found in the Galaxy S21 series.
Both phones felt snappy and smooth when loading apps, playing games, and scrolling through the OS. The Galaxy S22 performed slightly better on benchmarks that measure general-purpose computing and graphics performance, but by a small margin. Where the new processors really shine is in enabling new features. Part of the reason the Galaxy S22 is better at taking pictures in the dark, for example, is its new processor.
The phones also offer similar memory and storage, although the Galaxy S22 has more base RAM (8GB versus 6GB in the S21 FE). But both phones offer 128GB or 256GB storage options.
According to my testing, the Galaxy S21 FE has slightly longer battery life than the Galaxy S22, but not by much. The S21 FE lasted 15 hours and 46 minutes on CNET’s battery test, which involves continuously playing video in airplane mode with the screen brightness set to 50 percent. By comparison, the Galaxy S22 lasted 15 hours and 21 minutes on the same test. Both phones have significantly less battery life than the Galaxy S22 Plus and the oversized Galaxy S22 Ultra, which both topped 18 hours.
>>>>>>>>>>Samsung battery
