Samsung’s Galaxy FE family now has tablets and earbuds

Samsung just announced a new suite of its "FE" mobile devices, including a new phone, earbuds, and two tablets. Samsung's FE range - short for Fan Edition - is the semi-premium option in its portfolio. They're a step down from its best of the best, but represent a solid improvement over its mid-tier A-series devices.

On the phone front, the Galaxy S23 FE (pictured above) naturally shares a lot of similarities to the Galaxy S23, but starts at $999. That's a $1,349 saving compared to the cheapest Galaxy S23.

The phones have a similar look and feel, sharing the same overall design. The Galaxy S23 FE also seems to use the exact same primary camera as the Galaxy S23, and has the whole suite of night mode photography features. The 12MP ultra-wide also seems the same on paper.

There are also differences, however. The 3x zoom lens and selfie camera are both lower resolution, and the Galaxy S23 FE is powered by an Exynos 2200 processor rather than the faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the mainline Galaxy S23 series.

Other key specifications for the Galaxy S23 FE include a 6.4-inch 1080p+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a minimum of 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM, and a 4,500mAh battery.

While the Galaxy S23 FE's $999 price tag is far cheaper than most flagship-grade phones, it's worth remembering the Galaxy S23 is almost a year old now, and has seen pretty generous discounts. Vodafone, for example, is currently discounting the Galaxy S23 to $1,099 for customers who pick it up on one of its mobile plans. Here are Vodafone's 36-month Galaxy S23 plans:

The Galaxy S23 FE comes in a choice of Mint, Cream, Graphite, and Purple. Samsung will also sell Indigo and Tangerine colourways exclusively through its online store.

On the tablet front, the Tab S9 FE family act as more affordable companions to the Galaxy Tab S9 series announced alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 back in July. The 10.9-inch Galaxy Tab S9 FE will set you back $749, while the larger 12.4-inch Tab S9 FE Plus is a little more expensive at $999. The cheapest non-FE Tab S9 sells for $1,299.

Both have an S Pen, 90Hz refresh rate, Exynos 1380 processor, a 12MP selfie camera, and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The Tab S9 FE has an 8,000mAh battery, while the larger Tab S9 FE naturally has an even bigger 10,090mAh cell.

Lastly, the Galaxy Buds FE are Samsung's cheapest wireless earbuds yet, retailing for $199. They feature wings for stability, noise cancellation, and IPX2 splash-resistance. You'll get up to six hours of music playback with noise cancelling on, for a total of 21 hours with the battery case. These figures increase to 8.5 hours and 30 hours, respectively, with noise cancelling off.

The entire 2023 Galaxy FE range will be available from October 12.