Samsung released the Fan Edition of its Galaxy S21 series in January 2022, with aim of creating an all-in-one type of phone that can appeal to a “gaming guru or social media star” alike. Powered by Qualcomm’s 888 Snapdragon chipset, the 6.4-inch Galaxy S21 FE 5G lands in our Premium ($600-$799) segment and comes in four different colors, including a new olive color made especially for this model.
We put the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) through our rigorous DXOMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance both at recording sound using its built-in microphones, and at playing audio back through its speakers. In this review, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Key Audio specifications include:
-
- Two speakers (up front-firing, and bottom side-firing)
- Audio zoom
- Surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology
- Dual Audio (user can connect two Bluetooth devices for simultaneous playback)
About DXOMARK Audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluation under controlled lab conditions. This short review highlights the most important results of our testing. Note that we evaluate both Playback and Recording using only the device’s built-in hardware and default apps.
(For more details about our Playback protocol, click here; for more details about our Recording protocol, click here.)
Test summary
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
118
audio
112
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (158)
121
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (149)
126
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (162)
132
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (162)
139
Asus ROG Phone 5
Best: Asus ROG Phone 5 (157)
127
Honor Magic3 Pro+
Best: Honor Magic3 Pro+ (147)
124
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (146)
109
Vivo X Fold
Best: Vivo X Fold (159)
121
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (170)
129
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (145)
110
Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (166)
Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.
Position in Global Ranking
119
th
5. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
149
13. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
143
14. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
142
23. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
140
28. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
139
28. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
139
28. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon)
139
34. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
138
40. Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (Snapdragon)
137
50. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
134
54. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
54. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
133
70. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
130
72. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
129
72. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
129
76. Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
128
76. Xiaomi Redmi K50 Gaming
128
84. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
127
84. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
127
88. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
126
88. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
126
88. Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
126
95. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
125
95. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
125
95. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
125
98. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
124
101. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
122
101. Apple iPhone SE (2020)
122
105. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
121
109. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
120
109. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
120
109. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
112. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Gaming
119
119. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
118
119. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
118
119. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
118
119. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
118
119. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
118
130. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
116
130. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
116
130. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
116
130. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+
116
137. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
115
137. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
115
141. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
114
143. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
113
143. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (Exynos)
113
151. Nubia RedMagic 6 Pro
112
158. Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
109
165. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
108
174. Lenovo Legion Phone Pro
105
174. Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
105
174. Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
105
181. Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro
103
185. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
102
189. Honor Magic5 Lite 5G
97
189. Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition
97
198. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
93
204. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86
Position in Premium Ranking
32
nd
15. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Snapdragon)
133
24. Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro
124
28. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
120
28. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
32. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
118
32. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
118
32. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
118
47. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
108
54. Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition
97
56. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
93
58. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
86
Playback
Cons
- Lack of low- and high-end extensions in timbre
- Lack of high-end that inhibits wideness and distance performances
- Minimum volume step that is too low
Recording
Pros
- Good tonal balance at high SPL
- Few artifacts
- Good SNR across tested use cases
- Excellent wideness and good localizability in life videos.
- Good directivity when recording selfies.
Cons
- Mono recording of the memo app that impairs wideness and localizability
- Tonal balance, hindered by lack of treble and bass in life video recording
- Unrealistic background noise
With an overall Audio score of 70, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) matches the scores of the other models in the Samsung S21 series. As with the other models, the S21 FE 5G showed outstanding management of artifacts. The S21 FE 5G only had minor one-point differences in timbre and volume results for both playback and recording. Its audio performance in the Premium segment, however, was still far from the top-ranked Black Shark 4 Pro and 4S Pro, which both achieved overall scores of 81.
The Galaxy S21 FE 5G’s results indicate Samsung has kept audio specs and tuning nearly the same across all the S21 versions.
Because of S21 FE 5G’s mostly identical results, we invite you read the full Audio review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos) for more details on its sound performance.
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