The newly announced Galaxy S20 FE will be available in Kenya from 23rd October 2020. Pre-orders however will begin on 9th October with the recommended price set at KES. 79,999. Samsung Kenya hasn’t made it clear which model it is bringing in. We can however, given history, be sure we will only be seeing the Exynos 990 model with no 5G. And only 6GB RAM, and 128GB storage. Which admittedly, is not a good deal at this price. Fingers-crossed the model they bring is 8GB RAM, 256GB storage for this price point.

The new Galaxy S20 FE is meant to be a cheaper version of the S20 Series. The FE stands for FAN EDITION which Samsung has said they will be making for their future flagships in order to bring flagship performance to more customers. However, the set price feels quite high in Kenya, especially for a device that’s touted as being more “affordable“.

The Head of Intergrated Mobile Department at Samsung Electronics East Africa, Charles Kimari says, “We are constantly speaking to our fans and taking feedback, and we heard what they loved the most about our Galaxy S20 series, what features they used most often and what they would want to see in a new smartphone. The S20 FE is an extension of the Galaxy S20 family and is the start of a new way to bring meaningful innovation to even more people to let them do the things they love with the best of Galaxy.”

The new S20 FE is a direct response to the situation world-wide that has disrupted individuals and businesses. It is meant to cut cost on the less important features, but still deliver a good phone.

Samsung claims it is made with from feedback from customers who requested a large battery, good cameras, more colour options, water resistance, and flagship performance at a budget. For many other countries where the device will feel more affordable, and where prices will definitely fall over time (something that will never happen in Kenya) they will definitely be getting a good deal. In Kenya, however, at the set price – a price that will most definitely not change through a year or two – it is another device very many Kenyans will never consider.

It is however, a really good phone that brings serious competition to Samsung’s own lineup including the normal Galaxy S20. What are your thoughts on the new phone? Would you consider it over other cheaper devices with the same processing power?

Galaxy S20 FE Specifications:

PRICE	Official price: $699 Expected in Kenya: KES. 75,000 RRP. KES. 79,999
Display	6.5 inches Super AMOLED 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio Always ON display Corning Gorilla Glass 3, plastic back, aluminum frame HDR10+ 120Hz refresh rate
Rear Camera	Triple Setup: 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 8 MP, f/2.0, 73mm (telephoto), 1/4.5″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.0″, 1.12µm
Front Camera	Single: 32 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.74″, 0.8µm, AF
Chipset	Exynos 990 (7 nm+) – Global Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+) – USA
GPU	Mali-G77 MP11 – Global Adreno 650 – Snapdragon Processor
RAM	6/8GB RAM
Storage	128/256GB Storage UFS 3.1 MicroSD Slot (Shared)
Operating System	Android 10, One UI 2.5
Battery	Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable Fast charging 15W Reverse wireless charging 4.5W
Network	2G, 3G, 4G 5G Support – Snapdragon model
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot Bluetooth 5.0, 5.0, A2DP, LE GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO NFC USB Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
Extra	Headphone jack IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) Samsung Pay
Security	Ultra-sonic Under-Display Fingerprint Scanner
Colour options	Cloud Lavender, Cloud Mint, Cloud Navy, Cloud White, Cloud Red, Cloud Orange