Samsung Galaxy S21 FE likely to have Android 12 right out of the box

This Fan Edition will have an edge over the last one

As we near its launch, more and more developments have bubbled up about the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Indeed, at a time when the global chip shortage and general inflation trends are putting pressure on 2022 model year smartphone prices, something a little old but still golden is worth getting excited about. And we're getting a look at how the "Fan Edition" will keep its shine by combining old specs with new software.

SamMobile has obtained firmware images for the S21 FE and it appears it'll boot with Android 12 and One UI 4.0 out of the box. Better yet, it's reported that the FE will be supported for three OS upgrades as with pretty much all flagship-tier Galaxy devices. The Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra started out their lives with Android 11.

This updated version won't be terribly different from, say, the regular S21 in terms of both looks and innards — Samsung prematurely published some support pages for the unreleased device (via @evleaks and Internet Archive) and besides a larger battery and changes to the camera configuration, there's plenty of similarity.

Last year's Galaxy S20 FE launched right after the public release of Android 11, meaning Samsung had to stick with Android 10 that the rest of the S20 series had.

We should also note that the base S21 had an MSRP of just $800 this year — down from the S20's $1,000 — and that the S20 FE was marked at $700. There's nothing concrete about the FE's pricing right now, but it could be useful context as you think about how much the soon-to-follow Galaxy S22 devices will cost.

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