It arrived on the market very late, thanks to the chipset shortage that is still gripping the technology market, but Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is having good sales results, thanks also to a sudden price drop and numerous promotions supported by Samsung itself. The new smartphone has passed on the DXOMARK benches, where it has been subjected to numerous tests.
The site, known above all for its evaluations relating to the photographic sector, has in fact evaluated the screen and the audio department, expressing its opinion. If the screen is convinced, allowing Galaxy S21 FE to position itself in the top 10, the same cannot be said for the camera and the audio part, segments in which the device is lost in the central part of the ranking, in unexpected anonymity.
Bright and accurate display
The screen is undoubtedly one of the strengths of Samsung’s new high-end model and DXOMARK ‘s evaluation is indeed very encouraging. For the distracted we remember that we are talking about a 6.4-inch AMOLED panel with FullHD + resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels), with a 20: 9 form factor and 120 Hz refresh rate, therefore very respectable specifications.
The screen gets a final score of 90, not bad if we consider that the best, iPhone 13 Pro Max, comes in at 99 points and that Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra scored 91 points. Among the strengths, it is worth noting the high brightness outdoors, faithful color reproduction and accuracy in viewing HDR10 content.
Less convincing, however, is the vision from non-optimal angles, with colors that tend to turn towards blue and lose saturation. Aliasing is very visible in games, a situation in which there are some clearly visible shots. To find out all the details of the DXOMARK evaluation, please refer to the test summary.
Good camera but with obvious limitations
Looking at the score assigned to the photographic sector of Galaxy S21 FE, which obtained 120 points, one could say that we are facing an excellent product. After all, it is only one point less than the S21 Ultra, a device of a completely different caliber. And the score itself is not bad at all, except that in the meantime the competition has moved on and has created much better devices, capable of obtaining higher scores.
Nevertheless, the Galaxy S21 FE camera is not to be thrown away and will surely give you numerous satisfactions. Good exposure, good contrast, precise textures with a lot of light, very pleasant colors, very accurate bokeh, very satisfying exposure and white balance, both in the photographic and video part, and good stabilization in static scenes are the points of strength of the smartphone.
But where Samsung needs to improve is in the limited depth of field, in the noise that hits photos and videos when the light goes down, the artifacts and color changes, and in the precision of the color rendering in the zoom. Exposure in high contrast videos is not convincing, with software tending to underexpose images as well as dynamic range in very bright images.
Overall, however, we are faced with a smartphone that gets along very well and that will be able to give you numerous satisfactions, remembering however that there is better on the market, even at the same price. For all the details, please refer to the test page.
Audio that does not leave its mark
The audio part of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is also not destined to leave its mark, even if the 71 points are just ten less than the best in class. DXOMARK’s judgment can be considered largely positive, with correct performance, good balance (net of some flaws), good dynamics at low volume , full-bodied bass at maximum volume and absence of sound artifacts during listening.
Where, on the other hand, the audio does not convince is to the lack of extension in the timbre in the bass and in the highs, not very wide highs that worsen the performance at a distance from the smartphone and the volume is too low at the minimum level. We leave you once again to the results of the tests in which you can also discover the performance in the audio recording phase.