Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite and Galaxy S20 FE could both launch soon

Samsung Galaxy S20
Two cheaper takes on the Galaxy S20 (above) could both be on the way (Image credit: Future)

We’ve been hearing rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite or Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Fan Edition) for a while now, but while we assumed they were two different names for the same device, it now looks like they might be different things.

That’s because both names have now been mentioned in fairly official capacities. First up, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite has been spotted by Twitter leaker @smartvenkat95 on Samsung US and Samsung Germany websites.

The mention is just the name, in relation to support for Samsung’s Gear 360 and the company’s Adaptive Performance feature. There aren’t any actual details of the phone, but seeing it mentioned by name on Samsung websites suggests that it’s real, coming soon, and will launch as the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite.

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But the name Galaxy S20 FE has also been spotted by MySmartPrice on a Bluetooth SIG certification document, and a matching model number was additionally seen on Wi-Fi Alliance documents.

Those are two organizations it’s typical for a phone to be certified by before launch, and names listed by them are likely to be accurate. These listings also show the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE as coming in both 4G and 5G versions.

So what’s going on here? It could well be, as noted above, that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Lite and Samsung Galaxy S20 FE are two distinct devices. But it’s also possible that they’re different branding for the same phone, with some regions set to get one and others the other.

Or it could be that FE is a codename or internal name and Lite will be the release name – the other way around is less likely, as we wouldn’t expect to see Samsung use a codename on its sites, but it’s possible a certification document would include one.

So we’re not certain right now, but things should become clearer soon, as with the phone(s) being mentioned in so many places, it or they are likely to land soon. A source had previously suggested a launch in October, so that’s our best guess right now.

Via GSMArena

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.