A couple of days ago, we reported that Samsung may cancel the Galaxy S21 FE, and now SamMobile reports that references of the expected affordable flagship phone have now started to vanish from Samsung’s support websites across the globe.
Samsung is trying to make it as if the Galaxy S21 FE never existed
This unfortunate news comes after Samsung has already started uploading support pages for the Galaxy S21 FE on its website in several countries last month. Usually, the company starts uploading such pages when a device is very close to its release. The support pages mentioned the device’s model number SM-G990B, and they were one of the biggest indications it not only existed but was coming pretty soon. Now, Samsung has started deleting these pages, while they were available for Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Levant, and other markets, and are now gone, displaying a message that the link is now unavailable.
This seems to confirm earlier reports that the South Korea-based tech giant is thinking about canceling the Galaxy S21 FE, even though it has reportedly entered mass production. It is possible that the global chip shortage is one of the reasons why this is happening.
Reportedly, the Galaxy S21 FE was going to need the Snapdragon 888, the same chip found in the clamshell foldable Z Flip 3. And now, the Z Flip 3 is selling pretty well, and it seems the company will be cutting the Galaxy S21 FE in favor of the foldable phone.
Earlier, a Samsung official said the S21 FE might get canceled
A couple of days ago, we reported that a South Korean website quoted a Samsung official who reportedly said that the online unpacking for the Galaxy S21 FE was canceled (which was reportedly planned for mid-October) and that the company was reviewing the smartphone launch itself.
According to this report, one of the reasons Samsung was considering canceling the headset was due to the global chip shortage, as we mentioned earlier, and the second reason being the strong sales of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 which uses the same processor. It seems the company wants to use whatever inventory it has of that powerful processor for the Z Flip 3 instead of the Galaxy S21 FE.
Although there is no official news about the cancellation of the Galaxy S21 FE, it is possible such news won’t even come given the fact that this phone was never announced in the first place. But we have to wait and see.
What could have the Galaxy S21 FE been?
Expected to have an official unveiling in October (reportedly canceled now), the phone was supposed to be the successor of the very popular and powerful Galaxy S20 FE (FE stands for Fan Edition), which captured the hearts of Galaxy fans with its powerful chip and more affordable price than the premium flagship devices Galaxy S20.
The Galaxy S21 FE was expected to rock the Snapdragon 888 which is found in the current flagship phones from the Galaxy S21 series, as well as the newly-announced Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. The phone, at least according to rumors and leaks, was supposed to rock the comfortable size of 6.5-inches for its display, which should have been equipped with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The phone was expected to come with a triple camera system, sporting a telephoto optical zoom lens.
Of course, as the Galaxy S21 FE would have been a more affordable version of the current Galaxy flagship phones, it would have had some corners cut to keep the price down, such as, for example, the amount of RAM or the design itself. We may never know now, as all clues point to the fact the Galaxy S21 FE won’t exist after all.
