Galaxy S22 reportedly delayed to give way to Galaxy S21 FE

The Galaxy S21 FE is probably one of the most notable phones that have reached some level of fame or infamy even before it even launches. Actually, there were already expectations that it wouldn't launch at all after rumors of its cancellation started going around. That, however, wasn't the end of its story, apparently, and now it seems that it would get another chance in the market. Unfortunately, that will also come at the Galaxy S22's expense since it would have to be delayed by a month at most.

For the past two or three years, Samsung has been moving its launch date for its Galaxy S series flagship earlier than the previous generation. The earliest was this year when it unveiled the Galaxy S21 in mid-January with a retail launch two weeks later. It's only reasonable to expect that it would do the same for the Galaxy S22, especially with the absence of the Galaxy Note 21, but that might not be the case for the strangest reason of all.

According to SamMobile's exclusive scoop, what will be launched in January is the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition that was reportedly scrapped. Technically speaking, the unofficial statement from Samsung was that the phone's October launch even was canceled, leaving open the possibility of a rollout on a much later date. As it turns out, that date would be sometime in January, though without a special event of its own.

That, in turn, suggests that the Galaxy S22 launch would have to be pushed back by at least about a month. This would put the date closer to MWC 2022 on February 28, back to Samsung's old practice a few years back. Of course, this would have rippling effects that could affect not only Samsung's revenues but also its manufacturing and retail partners as well.

It's definitely intriguing that Samsung would take a bullish stance on the Galaxy S21 FE, especially in light of rumors about the phone's small production numbers. It probably just wants to get rid of those stocks without incurring too many losses, and the limited availability of the Fan Edition phone could actually work in its favor by making it sound like a collector's item.