The S23 FE is the trimmed-down version of the S23 series. The Galaxy S23 FE is priced around $599, while the base Galaxy S23 costs around $799 in the US. While the base Galaxy S23 claims $200 extra, it also offers quite a bit more.
Now, it’s worth analyzing whether the S23 FE provides a justifiable user experience for you or if you should go with the regular S23 if you have the budget. Let’s look at different aspects to figure out if the regular S23 is worth the extra cost and if it’s an overall better option.
Design and Display
The latest Fan Edition is very similar in design to the regular S23, such as having the same individual camera cutout design. However, there are significant differences in the build material. The latest Fan Edition features a plastic frame and back panel, as opposed to the glass back and aluminum frame of the regular S23.
The plastic back panel in the S23 FE is also of good quality. It’s the premium feel of the metal and glass that makes the S23 stand out. To summarize, the Galaxy S23 provides a better in-hand feel, although the S23 FE is also very well-built for the price.
Both phones have FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays, which are among the best on the market. The regular S23 is a bit more compact at 6.1″, compared to the 6.4″ of the latest Fan Edition. Overall, if you prefer compact phones, the S23 is the pick here.
And if you want a bigger display with the metal and glass build of the Galaxy S23, you can also consider the S23+ if you have the budget. Check out our comparison of the S23+ with the S23 to know if it brings enough value for the price according to your needs.
Performance and power efficiency
This is the area where we see significant differences especially considering the pricing. The Galaxy S23 FE ships with Exynos 2200 from last year in some regions, compared to the Snapdragon ‘8 Gen 2 for Galaxy’ chipset, which is the best offering from Qualcomm right now.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the S23 is fabricated on TSMC’s 4nm process (N4P), which is far more efficient than Samsung Foundry’s 4nm EUV process used to fabricate Exynos 2200 chips.
Although Exynos chips have higher power consumption than their Qualcomm alternative, there’s a good reason why Samsung continues using Exynos despite having higher power consumption and heat generation.
Back to the topic, the Galaxy S23 executes tasks with less power consumption and heating. The Exynos 2200 on the S23 FE is by no means an incapable chipset, but due to the higher amount of heat it generates, the device has to dial down its performance. This is precisely why the Galaxy S23, with the TSMC-fabricated Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside, is better for sustained workloads.
The Galaxy S23 houses significantly better hardware within a identical looking design.
Even though the S23 has a significantly smaller battery at 3900mAh compared to the 4500mAh battery on the S23FE, the difference in battery life may not be so significant as the S23 also consumes less.
Here’s a snapshot from a test performed by Darius K on YouTube on last year’s models. Looking at the S22 (3700mAh) and the S21 FE (4500mAh), we get to realize how important power consumption is when it comes to battery life.
This was because the S22 had a more efficient Exynos 2200 chip than the Exynos 2100 and a slightly smaller screen compared to the S21 FE.
This year, the S23 is expected to perform even better than the S23 FE because the S23 has the advantage of much lower power consumption. It also has 200mAh more battery capacity as compared to its predecessor.
For the first time in a while, a Galaxy phone is getting rid of throttling issues thanks to the efficient process node of the new Qualcomm chipset. Even with the extra price, the base Galaxy S23 is a better choice over its FE version due to better sustained performance and battery life.
Similarities
The camera specifications of the S23 FE closely resembles the S23, although the most part depends on computational photography techniques these days.
Both phones will receive 4 years of software updates and 5 years of security updates. The Galaxy S23 was launched with OneUI 5.1 and will be updated up until Android 17, the same as the S23 FE.
Verdict
The Galaxy S23 provides an overall better experience than the S23 FE, which justifies its slightly higher price tag. Additionally, it has been quite a while since the launch of the S23 lineup, and it’s very likely that you will find the S23 at a discounted price. I found the Galaxy S23 available for only $669 on Amazon at the time of writing this. At this price, it’s definitely a better option than the S23 FE.
However, if the Galaxy S23 seems a bit dated to you at this point, then you might be subconsciously thinking – Should I buy the Galaxy S23 FE or wait for the Galaxy S24?
The Galaxy S24 offers even more value with a better build and design, superior cameras, and the best available performance. For more details, you can check out the article I linked above.
