Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE, which stands for Fan Edition, is likely going to be delayed as a result of a chip shortage that has been plaguing the electronics industry for the past couple of months. An earlier report claimed that Samsung would be suspending the production of the S21 FE and diverting all resources to making foldable smartphones, but Samsung denied that report. The company instead told Bloomberg: “While we cannot discuss details of the unreleased product, nothing has been determined regarding the alleged production suspension.”
Even with that haze of uncertainty, it appears that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is still being worked on with an eye toward a possible launch. A new report notes that the company has moved ahead with certification in various markets. China’s 3C recently approved the Samsung EP-TA800, the company’s 25-watt fast charger, for use with the S21 FE. As the older Samsung Galaxy S20 FE did offer up to 25W wired fast charging, it was likely that Samsung would do the same for its sequel.
We do know a fair bit more about the S21 FE than its charger. Renders from prolific leaker Evan Blass shared earlier in June have showcased a design that is very similar to the regular Samsung Galaxy S21. There’s a camera bump at the back that blends in with the chassis, a near bezel-less display with a hole-punch selfie camera, and a selection of colors from the classic black and white to olive and purple.
Additional rumored specs for this device include a 6.41-inch Full HD AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The rear may have a set of triple cameras, while the front camera may be a high-quality 32MP camera. All of this is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 888 processor and at least 6GB of RAM.
This is not the company’s first rumored cancellation this year as a result of the chip shortage. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 21 was also said to be canceled this year as the company was finding it difficult to balance launching multiple flagships under supply constraints. Should Samsung still plan on launching the Galaxy S21 FE this year, it may arrive for a late summer launch.