Samsung's relaunching the Galaxy S20 FE in India with a Snapdragon twist

When the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE launched globally late last year, India missed out on the 5G Qualcomm version. Instead, the country received only the 4G Exynos model with little hope of the 5G variant following too. Now, nearly six months later, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is launching in India.

Samsung confirmed its plans in a tweet. There’s no mention of the Snapdragon chipset’s name, but we’d be surprised if it wasn’t the Snapdragon 865 used on global 5G models. Considering there are still rumors of a Galaxy S21 FE launch later this year, we doubt Samsung would opt for the Snapdragon 888 in this particular model.

Along with the 5G smarts, the Snapdragon variant should offer improved gaming performance over the Exynos 990. But beyond this, little else differentiates the 4G and 5G versions on paper. Marketing material does suggest there could be a limited colorway release, though. Just three shades, namely Cloud Navy, Cloud Lavender, and Cloud Mint, are included in the render.

For Samsung, the launch may be a reaction to the stream of budget flagship 5G phones arriving in the country. The OnePlus 9R and vivo X60 spring to mind. The country’s also set to welcome the Xiaomi Mi 11 series soon. As the semiconductor squeeze continues, relaunching an existing product with older chipsets is an easy way for Samsung to establish itself in the market segment, too.

As for availability, users in India don’t need to wait too long to snag one. Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G will commence beginning March 30. There’s no pricing info just yet, but considering the 4G Galaxy S20 FE launched at Rs 49,999 (~$688), it’s possible that the 5G variant will crest the Rs 50,000 barrier.