In Samsung’s lineup of devices, the Fan Edition (FE) series is the company’s attempt to bring the flagship smartphone experience to the masses at an affordable price. So far, they’ve done pretty well.

When the S20 FE launched last year it was by no means a perfect smartphone. But it did garner a fanbase for those who want value for money and also want to stay in Samsung’s ecosystem. The newest entry to the series, the S21 FE, was first accidentally confirmed by Samsung itself and fans have been patiently waiting ever since.

The device was initially expected to release around this time, which is when the S20 FE was released last year. Then that pesky chip shortage didn’t get any better, so plans were delayed and production had to be halted for a bit while Samsung figured things out. There was a rumour that the reason for this was so Samsung could use all available materials for the Galaxy Fold Z 3 and Flip 3. But that was never confirmed by the company.

Now, a new report from ETNews suggests that mass production of Samsung’s alt-flagship may have started up again and, if there are no further delays or material struggles, the device should be released towards the end of this year.

Samsung needs the S21 FE to keep up

It’s going to be in Samsung’s best interest to keep to that timeline as closely as possible so that it doesn’t need to delay production and release of the next generation of its S series flagship lineup — the S22 (or whatever Samsung decides to call it) — which traditionally launches around the start of the year.

Samsung also needs to get the S21 FE out there to stay competitive with other brands that are aggressively targeting the ‘flagship killer’ market segment. Xiaomi recently overtook the South Korean manufacturer in Europe as the number one smartphone brand by volume and Samsung’s got to be keen on reclaiming its throne.

Source: Tech Radar