Samsung may be giving up on Fan Edition phones

The complicated launch of the Galaxy S21 FE might be to blame

Smartphone shoppers are always looking for that perfect balance between features and affordability. Back in 2020, Samsung scored a hit with the Galaxy S20 FE, offering a taste of the S20 lineup at a more affordable price point. It was the perfect phone for folks looking for a flagship-adjacent Android device without a lot of bells and whistles — and, more importantly, one that didn’t cost over $1,000. The follow-up Galaxy S21 FE floundered a bit, a situation not helped any by the timing of its announcement, just weeks before the Galaxy S22 series was unveiled. What does that spell for the future of FE phones? A new rumor claims we might not get a Galaxy S22 FE at all.

Samsung could ultimately shelve the Galaxy S22 FE, and it also might not release any more Fan Edition variants of its flagships in the future, according to what multiple sources have shared with SamMobile. Seemingly supporting that theory is how no meaningful references to the device have popped up online at all — this time last year we had already seen at least some evidence pointing to work on the S21 FE.

While it’s entirely possible that Samsung is shelving the phone, given how underwhelming the S21 FE was, we can’t help but draw parallels to a similar situation with that exact device last year. The rumor cycle was going back and forth between “it’s shelved” and “it will launch, it’s just delayed” over the course of months, and while we still don’t have any insight into the discussions that could have been happening internally, in the end the phone was ultimately released.

Both poor timing and unattractive pricing (the Galaxy S22, launched just a month later, was only $100 more) likely contributed to the S21 FE’s fate. While we might just expect Samsung to try and avoid similar pitfalls the next time around, we suppose “giving up” is technically a solution, too. Will we really not see a Galaxy S22 FE? Only Samsung knows for sure.