The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE recently arrived on Australian shores and offers a near-flagship experience at a lower cost. But there are also other ways to get it.
The local version of the S23 FE is the one with the Exynos 2200. Last year’s model, the S21 FE, got Samsung’s previous chip, the Exynos 2100, but we’ll get to that phone in a moment.
In addition to the faster chipset, the FE 2023 model has a better main camera: a 50 MP sensor instead of 12 MP. However, everything else is quite similar, including the 6.4-inch 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, 8MP 3x telephoto and 12MP 123° ultra-wide cameras, 4,500mAh battery with 25W charging and so on. Note that the S23 FE is thicker and heavier (8.2mm 209g vs 7.9mm 177g), both have an IP68 rating.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE uses the new Gorilla Glass Victus to protect its screen (the S23 FE has a GG5 panel instead), but the back is plastic (compared to the S23 FE’s GG5). Both have aluminum frames and are IP68 rated. The older model also has a 32MP selfie camera (up from 10MP on the new one).
For just under the S21 FE you can buy a phone from this year: the Samsung Galaxy A54. This is important since the A54 launched with Android 13, not 12. Under Samsung’s planned update schedule, the A54 will receive Android 17 and security patches until 2028, while support for the S21 FE will end Before.
Both have 6.4-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED displays. Both have 50MP main cameras (in fact, the A54 sensor is larger at 1/1.56” versus 1/1.76”), 12MP ultra-wide-angle cameras, and 32MP selfie cameras. However, the A-phone lacks a telemodule. Furthermore, it uses the mid-range Exynos 1380 chipset, which is not as fast as the 2100. This chip combined with the larger 5,000 mAh battery ensures better battery life, however.
There is also the Samsung Galaxy A34. This has a larger 6.6″ display (FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED) and a MediaTek chipset, a Dimensity 1080. The main camera is downgraded to a 48MP 1/2.0″ sensor, but the price also drops significantly.
Moving back to the top end of the price scale, there’s the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion, another 2022 smartphone. This one has the Snapdragon 888+ chipset and a fast 6.55-inch 144Hz FHD+ OLED display. It lacks a telephoto lens , so it only comes with a 50 MP (1/1.55”) main camera and a 13 MP ultra-wide camera, as well as a 32 MP selfie camera. The 4,400mAh battery is small, but the hardware makes efficient use of it and 68W fast charging, so 0-50% takes about 10 minutes.
We’ll wrap up with a couple of affordable 5G phones. The Nokia G60 is nothing special, but it was launched with HMD’s “3-3-3 promise” of 3 years of OS updates, 3 years of security patches and 3 years of warranty. It’s been a year since the phone launched, so it’s more of a 2-2-3 situation at the moment, but it’s still a solid offering for the price.
The alternative is the Motorola Moto G53. This has a 6.5” HD+ display compared to the Nokia’s higher resolution 6.58” FHD+ panel (both 120Hz). The Nokia also has a more powerful chipset (Snapdragon 695 vs. 480+) and an ultra-wide camera (only a 5MP module, but the Moto has none). The G53 has a larger battery with 5,000 mAh capacity, compared to the Nokia’s 4,500 mAh.
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