The bezels on the Galaxy S20 FE are annoyingly big and mid-range-y

Last updated: October 9th, 2020 at 20:39 UTC+01:00

The Milky way S20 Atomic number 26 is an splendid phone, and it's a fantastic proposition for the asking price. It's got much in common with the original Galaxy S20 trio, or at least the Milky way S20 and S20+, such as the flagship-grade processors, 120Hz screen refresh rate, 30x 'Infinite Zoom' (something the S20 Iron is meliorate at), big battery and 25W super fast charging, wireless and reverse wireless charging, stereo speakers, and even IP68 water and dust resistance.

Not everything is as loftier-end equally you would similar, such equally the plastic back, the 6GB of RAM on the base of operations model sold in about markets, or the absence of a 25W super fast charger in the box. Still, Samsung'southward claims of the Galaxy S20 FE being a flagship are well-founded, simply if there'south one thing about this phone that I feel is a lilliputian too much of a downgrade despite the attractive asking price, it'due south the size of the bezels surrounding the display.

The Milky way S20 Atomic number 26's bezels are really off-putting, at least to me. It'due south non like bezels are a bad thing, only on the S20 Iron, they make the phone seem a lot more similar a mid-range device than I would like. I've used plenty of $200-$250 Galaxy M series phones in recent months, and every fourth dimension I option up the S20 Fe and fire up the brandish, it reminds me of those M series phones because the bezels are pretty much the aforementioned size. Only the bottom bezel on the S20 Atomic number 26 is a little less wide, simply otherwise, there's no difference to be seen.

The Milky way S10 Lite, which the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is a sequel to despite the different names, had smaller bezels, then does the Galaxy A71, a phone with a price tag nigh half that of the S20 FE. I sympathise Samsung had to brand concessions somewhere, but it's unclear if not making the bezels as minor as possible did much to assist the company achieve its goal of bringing a more affordable Milky way S20 model to the market.

Bezel size may not seem similar a major issue, simply imagine a customer who walks into a shop (yes, stores are open up in many countries, despite the ongoing pandemic) and checks out the Galaxy S20 Fe and OnePlus 8 side-by-side. Not simply will they come across a sexier-looking display on the latter, but they will also discover the minimal bezels. The OnePlus 8's spec sheet might not be as good as the S20 Iron'due south, just kickoff impressions often take a considerable event on the choice a customer makes when shopping for a new phone, and a curved screen volition easily take the cake every bit far as first impressions are concerned.

All that said, if I had to purchase a phone for $699, I would gladly pick up the Galaxy S20 FE. But I hope Samsung will take my complaint into account when making the next Fan Edition flagship, which we're going to come across every year going forwards. It'southward not bargain-breaking or anything, but having bezels every bit large as you would see on a $200-$250 device on a smartphone you call a flagship but doesn't sit right.