What you need to know
- The Galaxy S21 FE has supposedly passed through FCC regulations.
- This comes after the device was rumored to have been canceled altogether.
- There's no indication as to when, or if, this phone will actually be released.
Recent reports claim that Samsung has decided to cancel the Galaxy S21 FE altogether, despite the device appearing in renders and having been leaked for the last few months. The reason, according to rumors, suggest that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is selling much better than expected. However, the Galaxy S21 FE has reportedly passed through the FCC, powered by Samsung's Exynos processor and a version number of SM-G990E.
What makes this even more curious is that the device supposedly passed through the regulatory process on September 30, a few days after these cancelation reports appeared. As for the filings themselves, not much information has been revealed. In addition to the model number, this supposed S21 FE will include Bluetooth 5.0 along with support for LTE networks. However, there's no mention in any of the documents regarding 5G connectivity.
According to a few of the documents published by the FCC, it would appear as though testing for the device began as early as mid-August. But none of these point to any potential release date, nor do they point to any additional features that be arriving if the S21 FE actually does hit the market.
Samsung was expected to have already released the Galaxy S21 FE by this point, coming in around the same date as the Galaxy S20 FE's release. The Galaxy S20 FE was so popular that a successor was a foregone conclusion, as the device ended up being one of the best Android phones of last year.
This has been further compounded by the fact that the Galaxy S21 is becoming more difficult to actually purchase. Shipping dates for the Galaxy S21 series have been slipping when ordering directly from Samsung, plus, you can't get the Galaxy S21 in "new" condition from Amazon at all.
If Samsung is moving forward with the Galaxy S21 FE, we would expect an announcement within the next week or two. If not, we'll just have to keep wondering what is going on and why was the device cancelled after passing through FCC regulations.
Get the S21 while you still can
Until Samsung makes some type of announcement regarding the Galaxy S21 FE, your best bet is to pick up the standard Galaxy S21. You'll get the same great design, a few different and fun colors, and you can even test out Android 12 on it now.
