If you’re one of the literally dozens of people clamouring for Samsung to release a Galaxy S22 FE handset, you may have already given up hope.
By this time last year, we’d already seen the Galaxy S21 FE, and surely that means Samsung is ready to give up on S22 branding as it prepares to embrace the brave new world of the number 23?
Maybe not, according to purported insider @OreXda on Twitter, who claims that the S22 FE is “almost confirmed” internally. But given it’s “not yet been certified”, it’s unlikely to be at Samsung’s freshly announced Unpacked event on February 1 where we expect to see a… somewhat familiar-looking flagship smartphone.
In a follow-up tweet later, @OreXda added that it probably won’t even arrive this quarter, with a quiet press release unveil, or at a secondary Unpacked event later in the year.
At which point you have to ask what would be the point. Despite the “Fan Edition” name, the more accurate branding would be “Ambivalent Edition.” After all, how many fans of products settle for a slightly inferior version of their fandom over a year after the original’s release?
I should add that with some leakers, their track record is so good that it’s almost as good as an official press release. This is not one of those leakers. With basically no track record to speak of, it’s best to take this with a pinch of salt.
That said, back in December, another leaker who also fits that description, @RGCloudS, suggested that the S22 FE “might” be at “Unpacked part 2”, replacing Samsung’s Galaxy A74 in 2023. The tweet predicted an Exynos 2300 chipset rather than the usual Qualcomm number.
Treat both leaks with caution until proven otherwise. But if I were a Samsung marketing executive planning this hypothetical phone, I’d probably delay it until the summer and then slap an “S23 FE” label on it. The branding is half the battle, and nobody is buying a new S22 in 2023…
