“Asharq Al-Awsat” tests the “Samsung Galaxy S23 Fan Edition” phone: advanced capabilities at a moderate price
Samsung continues to launch special devices under the name “Fan Edition” FE with features that include design, a durable structure, advanced performance, and superior capabilities of cameras and audio, at a moderate price.
Among the latest of these devices in the Arab region is the Galaxy S23 FE and the Galaxy Buds FE headphones that Asharq Al-Awsat tested, and we mention a summary of the experience.
Advanced capabilities
The phone is a portable editing studio in the user’s pocket, with the ability to manually adjust controls for shutter speed, aperture, and more to the user’s desired settings. You can shoot custom shots using the Camera Assistant app, and then choose which automatic features to use for a completely customized shooting experience. The AI-powered editing tool can elevate everyday photography and create perfectly shareable content.
The professional camera features allow the user to take stunning photos and video presentations, in addition to providing very high-resolution cameras of up to 50 megapixels, and support for optical zoom up to 3 times. In addition, images can be captured with the rear or front cameras in low-light conditions through the night photography feature, and with extreme clarity. The camera also supports Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) to record impressive video presentations on the go.
The high-performance processor helps complete the required tasks quickly and smoothly thanks to its enhancement of the “Vapor Chamber” cooling technology, which helps control heat and maintain performance during prolonged use sessions. The phone can be used for a long period of time thanks to the use of a 4500 mAh battery, with the ability to charge it from 0 to 50 percent in just 30 minutes thanks to support for 25-watt fast charging.
The 6.4-inch screen displays the image in very rich colors thanks to the use of “Dynamic AMOLED 2X” technology. The “Vision Booster” technology automatically detects lighting conditions and automatically adjusts the screen brightness to maintain the vividness of the screen content. The phone also offers multiple control and quick sharing features to easily drag and drop content between different Galaxy devices, in addition to supporting copy and paste or drag and drop operations between the phone and tablet with ease.
These features make the phone suitable for video content makers and gamers, for communicating with others via social networks, listening to music, and watching video presentations with great accuracy and clarity.
*The phone is a portable editing studio in the user’s pocket*
Technical specifications
The phone uses an eight-core Exynos 2200 processor (1 core at 1.8 GHz, 3 cores at 2.5 GHz, and 4 cores at 1.8 GHz) with a manufacturing precision of 4 nm. It works with 8 GB of memory and offers 256 GB of built-in storage capacity. The screen has a diameter of 6.4 inches, and it displays the image with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and a density of 403 pixels per inch. The image is displayed with Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology at a frequency of 120 Hz and with support for High Dynamic Range HDR 10 Plus technology, in addition to providing a fingerprint sensor. Behind the screen.
The resolution of the rear cameras is 50, 8 and 12 megapixels (for wide, distant and ultra-wide images) with support for video recording in 4K ultra-resolution at 60 images per second or 8K at 24 images per second, while the front camera resolution is 10 megapixels, and it allows recording video shows in high-resolution. Ultra 4K at 60 images per second. The phone offers built-in speakers with high audio quality, with support for “Wi-Fi” a, b, g, n, ac, 6e and “Bluetooth 5.3” wireless technologies, in addition to support for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The phone is water and dust resistant according to the IP68 standard, supports the use of two SIM cards and an eSIM, and runs the Android 13 operating system and the developed One UI 6 user interface.
As we mentioned, the battery capacity is 4500 mAh, with its support for wireless charging. The thickness of the phone is 8.2 mm and its weight is 209 grams. It is available in the Arab markets in green, grey, cream and purple colors at a price of 2299 Saudi riyals (about 613 US dollars).
Compared with the previous version
When comparing the phone with the standard version of it, “Galaxy S23”, we find that the “Galaxy S23 FE” got a larger screen (6.4 inches compared to 6.1 inches), and a battery with a higher charge (4500 mAh – compared to 3900). The two phones are equivalent in screen resolution, support for image display at a frequency of 120 Hz, support for “Dynamic AMOLED 2X” and HDR 10 Plus technologies, water and dust resistance according to the IP68 standard, memory, wireless networks, providing a fingerprint sensor behind the screen, and support for 25-watt fast charging.
We find that the Galaxy S23 offers a higher image display density (425 pixels compared to 403 pixels per inch), a lower thickness (7.6 mm compared to 8.2 mm), and a lower weight (168 grams compared to 209 grams) due to the use of a smaller screen, with the introduction of a processor. “Snapdragon 8 Generation 2” octa-core (1 core at 3.36 GHz, 4 cores at 2.8 GHz, and 3 cores at 2 GHz). The phone also uses 50-, 10-, and 12-megapixel rear cameras (compared to 50, 8, and 12 megapixels), and 12-megapixel front cameras (compared to 10 megapixels), in addition to supporting reverse wireless charging to charge accessories and other devices with a capacity of 4.5 watts.
Galaxy Buds Fan Edition headphones provide great comfort for intense use
Galaxy Buds FE headphones
The company also introduced the “Galaxy Buds FE” headphones, which are distinguished by a design with wings that prevent them from falling from the user’s ears during rapid movement. The headphones support Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology to cancel noise around the user (such as conversations, air conditioner sound, vehicles, wind, or beach waves), in addition to supporting high-quality bass audio playback.
The headphones contain an external area that allows interaction with it by touch to adjust the volume of the audio, stop and play music, and other commands that are convenient to use without the need to turn on the phone screen to execute those commands. The headphones are suitable for listening to all types of music, in addition to playing video presentations and conducting audio and video conversations with complete accuracy and clarity. Each piece uses 3 built-in microphones to cancel noise and clearly capture the user’s voice.
The headphones work for about 8.5 hours on a single charge when the noise cancellation technology is turned off, or 6 hours when it is activated, with the ability to connect them to more than one device (such as a mobile phone and television) and move between them with one touch or automatically, as desired. The headphones also support transferring the connection from the phone to the TV automatically when the content display function is transferred to the TV and audio playback is completed through it. If the headphones are connected to the user’s phone and he forgets them when he is away from them, a message will appear on his phone through the SmartThings application alerting him to this. Moreover, the Equalizer level of audio frequencies can be customized through the Galaxy Wearable application on the user’s phone.
The headphones support connectivity with devices via Bluetooth 5.2 technology, and each piece weighs 5.6 grams, while its case weighs 40 grams. The charge of each piece is 60 milliampere-hours, with the case providing a battery with a capacity of 479 milliampere-hours, sufficient to charge the headphones 4 times in a row to obtain about 30 hours of continuous use without interruption when the noise cancellation technology is not activated and the headphones and the case are fully charged, or about 21 hours when noise cancellation technology is activated.
The headphones are available in the Arab region in black and white at a price of 379 Saudi riyals (about 101 US dollars).
