(LEAD) Samsung unveils budget model of Galaxy S20 smartphone

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SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday unveiled a budget model of its flagship Galaxy S20 smartphone as the South Korean tech giant aims to boost handset sales amid the pandemic.

The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) is designed to offer favorite features of the Galaxy S20 series at a more affordable price, according to Samsung, which introduced the device at the Galaxy Unpacked for Every Fan online event.

The world's leading smartphone vendor now has four models under the Galaxy S20 line that made its debut with entry-level S20, mid-tier S20 Plus and high-end S20 Ultra in February.

The S20 FE 5G variant comes with a starting price of US$699, which is $300 cheaper than the standard S20.

"We are constantly speaking to our fans and taking feedback, and we heard what they loved the most about our Galaxy S20 series, what features they used most often and what they would want to see in a new smartphone," Roh Tae-moon, head of Samsung's mobile communications business, said.

"The S20 FE is an extension of the Galaxy S20 family and is the start of a new way to bring meaningful innovation to even more people to let them do the things they love with the best of Galaxy."

The S20 FE boasts the 32-megapixel (MP) selfie camera with its tetra-binning technology to capture more vivid pictures, a big upgrade from the standard S20's 10MP front camera.

Its front camera hole on the display is only 3.34 millimeters, the smallest in a Galaxy smartphone, according to Samsung.

The S20 FE sports three rear cameras with a 12MP wide-angle shooter, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and an 8MP telephoto lens.

Samsung said the S20 FE is equipped with dual pixel image sensors, allowing users to take more vibrant pictures even in low light, and boasts artificial intelligence (AI)-based multi-frame process technology that supports a great level of stabilization when taking photos.

The S20 FE has a 6.5-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

In South Korea, the device comes with a 6GB RAM and a 128 GB internal storage that can be expanded to 1TB via microSD card.

The latest smartphone packs a 4,500mAh battery, larger capacity than the entry-level S20's 4,000mAh battery.

The S20 FE comes in six colors: cloud red, cloud orange, cloud lavender, cloud mint, cloud navy and cloud white.

Samsung said the S20 FE will be launched globally on Oct. 2, though available models and colors may differ in each market.

In South Korea, the 5G-supporting S20 FE will be released in mid-October, with preorders starting from Oct. 6.

"As a tribute to our Galaxy fans, we are setting a new standard of making uncompromising flagship innovations accessible to as many people as possible," said Clare Hunter at Samsung's global strategy group. "We will continue to launch fan editions of our flagship devices in the years to come."

Samsung hopes that the latest S20 device can boost its handset sales in the second half of the year, along with its premium devices, like the Galaxy Note 20 phablet and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 foldable smartphone.

The S20 FE is projected to compete against entry models of Apple's iPhone 12 series set to be unveiled next month.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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