Shortly after live images of the Galaxy S22 Ultra emerged, semireliable leaker Jon Prosser shared dates of when he expected the Samsung Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) and Samsung Galaxy S22 series to launch. Prosser expects the S21 to launch in January, with the S22 following shortly after at a later event in February.
According to Prosser, Samsung is planning two Unpacked events to launch these new phones. The S21 FE will launch on January 4, just after the new year, he claims. This would come after a months-long delay triggered by the global chip shortage and a refocusing by the company on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. There will be no pre-order period; instead, the phone will go on sale a week later on January 11, 2022. The S22 will arrive with more fanfare, inclusing an announcement on February 8, 2022. There will be a pre-order period of 10 days, leading up to an availability date of February 18.
It seems strange for Samsung to launch two phones so close together, but it would not be the first time it’s happened. In 2020, Samsung announced the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite shortly before the launch of the S20. Neither smartphone really took off in the same way (or in any way at all) as the S20 FE did later in the year. If this rumor turns out to be true, it’s possible the Galaxy S21 FE might face the same fate if it debuts so close to the S22.
Another rumor sourced to a Korean blogger claims that Samsung is going to be using the Snapdragon 898 processor in all regions, as opposed to the Qualcomm and Exynos processor combo the company usually goes with. More reliable sources like Android Police’s Max Weinbach and Ice Universe have come out against this report, countering that Samsung will likely be using its own Exynos 2200 chip for some S22 shipments.
