The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE was one of the best phones of 2020, coming very close to Android Police 2020 Readers’ Choice Smartphone of the Year. While the US market only received the 5G variant of the phone, consumers in the UK, Germany and India, among others, had the chance to pick up a 4G variant powered by the Exynos 990. In what seems to be a way Recognizing the drawbacks of its internal processor (and / or the declining cost of the latest generation of silicon), the company is all set to unveil a 4G variant of the phone powered by the Snapdragon 865+.
According to WinFuturethe phone will be available in a number of European countries and replace the prevailing Exynos variant. The phone (SM-G780G) is already on the Swedish website. Apart from not supporting 5G networks, it is identical to its 5G counterpart. You get a 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED display, three 12MP rear cameras, a 4,500mAh battery, IP68 certification, and support for wireless charging.
If you’re a sucker for details, you may know that OEM buyers of the Snapdragon 865 chip are required to purchase the discrete 5G X55 modem. So, how does Samsung ship a 4G variant of a phone that uses the same chip?
While modems support a wide variety of network frequencies, smartphone companies must certify their devices to work with them. Money is involved, which is why it is common for smartphone companies to certify only those bands that are relevant in a particular market. For example, the OnePlus 9 in India – where there are no 5G networks yet – only supports two 5G bands, while the American variant supports much more. It’s safe to assume that Samsung is resorting to a similar practice in this case.
There’s no word on when the Galaxy S20 FE 4G will be officially announced, but it shouldn’t be too long now. It is expected to be available in four colors and has a sticker price of € 750.
