Android 11 or Android 12?
With all the leaks and hands-on videos of the Galaxy S21 FE we’ve seen over the past couple months, you can’t help but wonder if there’s anything left for Samsung to “unpack” at its upcoming launch. Just last week, numerous videos surfaced online showing off the device, with some even going so far as to offer some early reviews. It might sound cliché at this point, but if you thought that was the end of the leaks, you couldn’t be more wrong. Our latest revelations arrive courtesy of a Redditor who was able to get ahold of an S21 FE handset, and he’s been answering questions about the phone.
Reddit user UnknownWon took to the platform earlier today to announce that he had an S21 FE and basically started an impromptu AMA (per SamMobile). To lay to rest any doubts, he went ahead to share a picture of the retail box and the unboxed phone (top), powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Some of his responses confirmed a few things we already knew about the device, such as the 6GB of RAM for the base version, a 4500mAh battery, absent micro SD card slot and headphone jack, and a 120Hz display — but that’s sounding like it won’t support an adaptive refresh rate.
In a surprising turn of events, the Redditor’s S21 FE unit appears to be running One UI 3.1 based on Android 11, instead of the Android 12 we’ve been expecting. So, does the device launch with Android 11 or 12? The running theory is that the Redditor probably got his hands on an early production unit, hence the older firmware. Besides, previous hands-on videos showed the device running Android 12, so it’s pretty safe to say that the final retail units will ship with One UI 4 based on Android 12.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE should be only a few days from launch, and the S22 series won’t be that far beyond that. It’ll be interesting to learn the official US pricing of the S21 FE, and start thinking about what impact that could have on sales.
Read Next
About The Author
