What does ‘Fan Edition’ even mean, Samsung?

After skipping the Galaxy S22 FE final yr, Samsung will allegedly launch two Fan Editions in 2023: the Galaxy S23 FE and the Galaxy Tab S8 FE. If their leaked data proves to be true, each are “Galaxy Lite” units in all however identify; and I’m undecided what Samsung is making an attempt to perform with them.A SamMobile supply claims the Galaxy S23 FE will launch this fall with an Exynos 2200 chipset — not the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ as beforehand rumored. We had excessive hopes for the 2200 earlier than the Galaxy S22 launch, however its lackluster benchmarks and battery drain led Samsung to go all-in on Snapdragon with the S23 sequence.To counterbalance this, Samsung might slash the S23 FE worth right down to $600, as per one other SamMobile (opens in new tab) report. And it’s going to get a pictures enhance over the S21 FE with its 50MP shooter. Still, what number of of Samsung’s discerning “fans” suppose the $200 dip from the S23 will likely be price downgrading? Especially since most individuals get their flagship telephones for a lot decrease than $600 with trade-in offers?At the identical time, you’ve the Galaxy Tab S8 FE, which can use a light-weight Kompanio 900T chipset and as little as 4GB of RAM. It’ll reportedly arrive across the identical time because the Galaxy Tab S9, which ought to run laps across the S8 FE with its overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The Fan Edition model is at risk of turning into a misnomer if Samsung continues to make use of them to fill a mid-range area of interest as a substitute of catering to its followers. The smartphone consultants we have polled say that Samsung’s FE plan, as is, will likely be an uphill battle.The historical past of the Fan EditionThe Galaxy S20 FE (Image credit score: Hayato Huseman / Android Central)Samsung made the Note 7 Fan Edition to salvage the PR catastrophe of the unique Note 7’s exploding batteries. Only launched in South Korea, it modified the battery and nothing else; it was an apology to core followers who felt burned by the incident.Samsung resurrected the Fan Edition label years later for extra financial causes: it realized from focus teams that clients did not like shopping for Galaxy S Lite telephones as a result of it evoked a light-weight, “lesser” really feel. Thus, the flagship-killing Galaxy S20 FE got here into being.One of our website’s favourite telephones for years, the S20 Fan Edition stripped out just a few superfluous Galaxy S20 options whereas delivering the identical efficiency and show high quality for simply $700 (a $300 low cost). After the Galaxy S20 FE bought about 10 million items, although, Samsung completely discounted its major flagships by $200, erasing the margin that made a Fan Edition cellphone sound interesting to patrons. The Galaxy S20 FE’s one-off success rubbed off on different Samsung telephones, making future Fan Editions much less particular.Chip shortages brought on Samsung to delay and think about canceling its Galaxy S21 FE, waffling for months earlier than ultimately launching it half-heartedly only a month earlier than the Galaxy S22. The Galaxy S21 FE wasn’t essentially a foul cellphone, however as our reviewer put it, “a 2-year-old processor and nasty haptics make this phone feel old the moment you turn it on.” We additionally weren’t particularly impressed with the Galaxy S21 FE Exynos variant, although Exynos 2100 efficiency did not fall as wanting the Snapdragon 888 in comparison with the 2200-8 Gen 1 hole.Unsurprisingly, the S21 FE didn’t promote properly. As Counterpoint analysis analyst Matthew Orf defined, the “strong promotional environment” across the Galaxy S22 meant that extra shoppers knew concerning the flagship and its provider offers, with which you might get a greater cellphone for “free” with a trade-in and contract.At the identical time, IDC analysis supervisor Jitesh Ubrani advised us final yr that Samsung lower cellphone manufacturing final yr as a result of it was “facing an issue with inventory building up across its portfolio of phones. So it wasn’t a surprise when Samsung canned the S22 FE. We’ll have to wait and see if the Galaxy S23 FE rumors are true, since the rumors surrounding the S22 FE launch proved false.(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)As for its tablets, Samsung also sold Tab “Lite” models such as the mediocre Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, before launching the improved Galaxy Tab S7 FE in 2021. The latter bridged the gap between the 2020 S7s and 2022 S8s, letting you enjoy a massive 12.4-inch display with fantastic resolution for a reasonable price. But when I reviewed it, I noted how the tablet couldn’t take advantage of all that real estate because of the average performance. You could get a more expensive Tab S7 FE with 6–8GB of RAM, but doing so takes you close in price to the far-superior Galaxy Tab S8; there isn’t enough differentiation to make the Tab S7 FE compelling. That same issue will almost undoubtedly apply to the Galaxy Tab S8 FE, since the benchmarks for the Kompanio 900T fall short of $400 tablets like the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 with its Kompanio 1300T chip, our favorite mid-range Android tablet.If the Tab S8 FE keeps the $530-and-up price with an upsell for industry-standard memory, the Galaxy Tab S8 FE isn’t going to draw much excitement. Especially if the Galaxy Tab S9 launches around the same time!Samsung wants its Fan Editions distinct from its flagshipsCould you tell the S21 FE or S22+ apart? (Image credit: Android Central)Given the current economic downturn that’s depressing smartphone sales — IDC’s Jitesh Ubrani says the “total market is predicted to say no when it comes to each items and common promoting worth” — it’s a risky gamble for Samsung to return to the Fan Edition brand in its current form.”If we glance again a few years in the past, Samsung had three units between $600 and $800,” Counterpoint’s Matthew Orf explained. Now, there’s only the $800 Galaxy S23, with the $450 Galaxy A54 5G as the closest mid-range option. Samsung has limited its mid-range offerings, Orf continued, because “shoppers within the US are pushed in the direction of the low-end (<$300) of the market in pay as you go, and the premium phase ($800 or extra) within the postpaid market, with restricted gross sales between.”Hypothetically, Samsung would challenge the $600 Pixel 7 with the Galaxy S23 FE, as the Exynos 2200 and Tensor G2 would likely have comparable benchmarks. But it’s not as if Pixels sell in huge numbers, either. Counterpoint’s stance is that it’ll be “fairly tough for Galaxy FE units to carry out properly at that worth level as a result of promotional atmosphere and the shut proximity to the bottom Galaxy S23 mannequin.”(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)Ubrani is slightly more bullish on the Galaxy S23 Fan Edition’s chances. Despite the poor economic conditions, “smartphones within the mid to high-end and above (~$400 and up) will see some progress throughout this era,” and “a brand new FE would match properly into this class.”He emphasized that he’s “undecided they’ll use an Exynos chip,” so it could still end up with a Snapdragon. But if Samsung does use it, he doesn’t see it as a downside because it’ll “create additional separation between the FE model of the cellphone and the common S23. In the previous, there was far an excessive amount of overlap, which didn’t assist both cellphone.”No one wants to downgrade a phone they’ll use for years if they’ll only save a hundred bucks. But if Samsung can pull off the $600 price point, that’s enough of a difference to make it more appealing (in theory). And that’ll ensure Samsung doesn’t deal with “extra stock” as it has in the past. But he also notes that the Exynos chip will sell better “the place Exynos has been extra commonplace up to now,” so Samsung’s plan to sell the Exynos variant in the U.S. could face roadblocks. As for the Galaxy Tab S8 FE, Ubrani once again said that it’s about “differentiation” more than anything else. With a phone, you can downgrade the cameras, displays, haptics, or other tech to hit a lower price point without hurting performance too much. But with a tablet, he says, most cost-saving changes have to be “beneath the hood.” “Fan Edition” is an overly ambitious nameSamsung’s most serious buyers who pay close attention to specs won’t pay attention to “compromise” phones or wait until the fall; they’ll just buy the Galaxy S23 Ultra upfront. Over 60% of Galaxy S23 preorders were for the Ultra, and the Note-like S22 Ultra was allegedly one of Samsung’s highest-selling flagships in years. So you might consider Samsung’s Ultra phones the real “Fan Editions.” But not every Samsung fan has the disposable income to spend that kind of cash every year, so a Fan Edition phone could give more frugal buyers a taste of the flagship life. The same applies to the Galaxy Tabs, since most are so pricey without the benefit of carrier deals to offset the cost.”Fan Edition” guarantees an ideal stability of high quality and affordability that is laborious to ship.But if these Galaxy S23 FE leaks are true, Samsung is playing on individuals shopping for units run by an early-2022 Exynos chip and a 2021 Kompanio chip to save lots of a bit of cash. People who do not obsessively learn tech blogs would possibly discover them tempting, or these coming from the funds Android aspect of issues who’ll nonetheless see them as upgrades. But I doubt we’ll see the Galaxy S23 Lite Fan Edition cellphone on any finest Android telephones lists except Samsung has tweaked the Exynos 2200 to deal with a few of its criticisms. Certainly, it feels extra like a calculated threat to focus on a sure demographic than a love letter to followers. And that is the inherent downside with the identify: it guarantees an ideal stability of high quality and affordability that is laborious to ship.