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Galaxy S21 FE launch date leak leaves little room to change your mind

By Ewdison Then/

Dates and terms associated with them can be a bit confusing in the tech industry. A product can be announced at one date but might only be really available one or two weeks late. More often than not, that period in between is used for some pre-order campaign or to hype up the product even more. The Galaxy S21 FE probably doesn't even need hyping at this point and it seems that Samsung might jump directly to sales based on this newest leak.

The Galaxy S21 Fan Edition has, of course, had a very colorful history as far as leaks go. There was a point in time when it was rumored to have been canceled completely, only to reappear with the most surprising launch date. As many feared, the Galaxy S21 FE would be launching very close to the Galaxy S22, and it seems that Samsung has decided to just go with it anyway.

According to Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech fame, Samsung is scheduled to announce the Galaxy S21 FE at its own Unpacked event right before CES 2022 begins. This is a rather big change for Samsung already, but the detail that follows is even more important. There will be no pre-order period for the phone, it seems, and it will be available for purchase just a week later.

This means that it will be an all-or-nothing thing for those who want to get their hands on a Galaxy S21 FE early, though, of course, they could opt to still wait for the first reviews to come in. It is, however, a bit unusual for Samsung not to hold a pre-order campaign for a high-profile device like the Galaxy S21 FE, especially if it's an opportunity to advertise what might be a hard-to-sell product.

Given its timing, Samsung might have a hard time convincing consumers to invest in the Galaxy S21 FE, especially with specs that hail from early 2021. The company could price the phone significantly lower to make it more enticing, though, but that only adds to even more confusion for consumers, especially if the Galaxy S21 FE will be compromising on a lot of "fan features." For example, it is expected to also ditch the microSD card slot in addition to the 3.5mm headphone jack that the Galaxy S20 FE already removed.

Adding to that uncertainty is the Galaxy S22 that would be announced on February 8, according to that same leak. The base model is expected to have a lot in common with the Galaxy S21, and therefore, the Galaxy S21 FE, but in an even smaller package. Suffice it to say, it will be a confusing two months for Samsung fans as they try to decide which phone to invest in.

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