Samsung launches affordable Galaxy S20 FE to woo budget-conscious buyers

Samsung launched a new, cheaper smartphone within its Galaxy S20 series as the consumer electronics giant attempts to attract budget-conscious customers amid a global lull in smartphone sales.

The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE), which comes with both 4G and 5G variants, was launched at an online event at the company's headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. Prices for the 5G phone will start from $699 (Dh2,567) but will vary in different countries.

“Covid-19 disrupted the world and technology is playing a crucial role in our lives and that is why we created [the] S20 FE to deliver flagship experiences to reach even more consumers,” Samsung said.

The phone has some of the features of the Galaxy S20 series, such as the smooth scrolling display, artificial intelligence-powered camera, advanced chipset, faster connectivity, full-day battery life and expandable storage.

With a 16.5 centimetre screen, the S20 FE has three cameras on the back – ultra-wide and wide-angle cameras of 12MP lens and a telephoto lens of 8MP.

The phone also comes with a 32MP front camera, with in-built AI capabilities that will detect and remove motion blur and suggest the best shots.

Weighing 193 grams, it is powered by a battery of 4,500 milliampere hours.

“Galaxy S20 FE is an extension of Galaxy S20 family, designed to bring meaningful innovation to even more people,” said TM Roh, president and head of mobile communications business at Samsung.

“We are constantly speaking to our fans and taking feedback … we heard what they loved the most about our Galaxy S20 series, what features they used most often and what they would want to see in a new smartphone,” he added.

The new phone offers large storage capacity – 6GB to 8GB RAM and 128GB to 256GB internal space.

With the new phone, users will get up to three generations of Android operating system upgrades to keep their device updated with the latest security protection and new features.

Samsung has launched a number of new products this year including the Note 20 series and a new, foldable phone.

Industry analysts say by launching a lower-cost model Samsung is trying to attract budget-conscious buyers and wrestle market share from rivals like Huawei.

Samsung shipped only 54.2 million smartphones in the three months to June 30, down 28.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the International Data Corporation.