Samsung Galaxy S21 FE might be impossible to buy for some
Possibly Europe-only
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If you were looking forward to theSamsung Galaxy S21 FE- and you haven’t been put off by months of delays - another reason you might not be able to buy the phone has emerged.
According to Korean websiteDDaily, the upcoming mid-rangeGalaxy S21cousin will go on sale from mid-January in Europe… and Europe only. That’s right, not the US, and notSamsung’s home continent of Asia.
What’s weirder is that DDaily says the mobile will be unveiled during annual tech eventCES 2022- which is due to happen in Las Vegas, in the US. So it’ll be unveiled in a city where it won’t actually go on sale.
A limited release of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is something that makes total sense in the midst of the global chipset shortage, and it’s something we’ve seen OnePlus do with its Nord phones andGoogledo with thePixel 5a.
But this could be saddening news for people who’ve been holding out hope to buy the phone - it was first expected in August 2021, and some people may have been waiting wait five months for absolutely nothing.
Analysis: Maybe just buy the Galaxy S21 at Black Friday
It’s worth emphasizing that the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE’s limited release hasn’t been officially confirmed, though the actual existence and eventual release of the device hasn’t either. But, perhaps, you should just forget about the device.
TheSamsung Galaxy S20 FEwasn’t much cheaper than theGalaxy S20, and judging by that and the limited spec differences, we’d say you should just buy the Galaxy S21.
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‘But won’t that cost more money,’ I hear you ask. Well, not really, not if you wait for theBlack Friday phone sales, which could cut off some of the asking price of the nine-month old smartphone.
During theBlack Friday dealsyou could pick up the Galaxy S21 for cheaper than the S21 FE will be, or in a bundle that gets you someaccessories, and maybe you’ll be able to pick up theS21 PlusorS21 Ultrafor a reduced price instead.
There’s no need to wait an extra two months for a phone that may never show up, especially not when the S21’s price has dwindled in nine months anyway.
ViaPhoneArena
Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.
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