Hands-on: Samsung’s new ‘Fan Edition’ tablets are more exciting than the phone

Ben Schoon | Oct 3 2023 - 4:10 pm PT

In an expansion of the series that first launched in 2020, Samsung is bringing new “Fan Edition” devices to market this month with the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Buds FE, and Galaxy Tab S9 FE, but two of those are a lot more exciting than the other one.

Galaxy Tab S9 FE – Seemingly solid Android tablet for a fair price

The device I was most impressed with from my brief hands-on with Samsung’s new Fan Edition lineup was the Galaxy Tab S9 FE – specifically, the smallest base model.

The 11-inch tablet starts at $449, which is a great price point for an “affordable flagship” tablet that’s trying to compete with Apple’s standard iPad. The LCD panel looks good, the Exynos 1380 chip seemed reasonably quick in my brief time messing around with the software, and the 8,000 mAh battery sounds great on paper. Even better was the IP68 water resistance, which I think is a solid addition for tablets that could be used for travel or at a poolside.

With an S Pen included, this seems like a solid offer, especially as it gets Samsung’s usual update policy – which blows the OnePlus Pad out of the water – and will have a richer accessory ecosystem compared to the Google Pixel Tablet.

Galaxy Buds FE – Reviving a legend

Another entry in the new Fan Edition lineup is the Galaxy Buds FE, a pair of earbuds that builds on the popularity of the now-iconic Galaxy Buds+.

While I haven’t been able to try the earbuds yet (for sanitary reasons), the hardware feels like the perfect mix between Samsung’s newer buds and the Galaxy Buds+. It has the same size and wingtip as the 2020 release but with a new eartip that should hold better in your ear.

Battery life was a big selling point of the Buds+, and the Galaxy Buds FE are no slouch, with 6 hours of use with ANC on or 9 hours with the feature turned off. That jumps to 21 hours and 30 hours, respectively, if you include the reserve found in the case.

At $99, these seem like a great go-to option or a potential bundle with other devices. That said, they also seem a little pointless, given the Galaxy Buds 2 are constantly found at roughly the same price.

Galaxy S23 FE – It’s probably good

And that all leads us to the Galaxy S23 FE, which is, well, a phone.

Samsung’s angle on the Galaxy S23 FE is that it’s an upper mid-range device that’s more budget-friendly compared to the rest of the Galaxy S23 series but not as compromised as a Galaxy A-Series device. And, really, the company nailed it there. This is indeed a decent-looking phone for a fair price, but it’s also nothing special at all.

Under the hood, the Galaxy S23 FE is rocking a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (the same chip found in the Galaxy S22) with 8 GB of RAM and either 128 GB or 256 GB of storage. It has a 4,500 mAh battery and a 6.4-inch display with an optical fingerprint reader. That all sounds fine, if a little outdated on the chip side of things.

The hardware also looks and feels relatively nice. The display is bright, the frame feels sturdy, and the design is familiar because, well, it’s just a bigger and thicker Galaxy S23. Honestly, the thing I’m most excited about is the rather stunning purple color variant.

That’s really all I’ve got to say.

I’m sure Galaxy S23 FE will be a fine device at its price, but I just don’t get why it exists, especially when it’s not that hard to get a Galaxy S23 with a much better overall package for around this same price at this point just months after launch.