February 24, 2021 10:00 GMT

Technology News Team

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Users Report Display Refresh Rate Issues, Causing Slowdown

Users of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Exynos Variant)  are reporting issues with the phone's display refresh rate, which appears to be slowing it down. A few users have reported lag on their smartphones, which appears to be due to a refresh rate issue, and on Samsung forums, there are now a number of complaints about the issue.

The smartphone was released in January 2022 and is Samsung's newest entry in the affordable flagship market - that is, the Galaxy S21 series' less expensive variant.

Key Components and Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a scaled-back version of the Galaxy S21. From the plastic construction to the camera module that flows into the frame, the two devices are nearly identical. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. Depending on the market, the phone is either powered by the Exynos 2100 SoC or the Snapdragon 888 and runs on Android 12 with the company's One UI 4 skin on top.

All of  these are combined with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. A 12MP primary sensor with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom are included in the phone's triple rear camera setup. In the front, there's a 32MP selfie camera. The Galaxy S21 FE has a 4,500mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging. The IP68 rating and Android 12 round out the package.

Users Report a Drop in the Refresh Rate

According to Samsung Galaxy S21 FE users, there is an issue with the display's refresh rate. The issue occurs on the latest update of One UI 4, and restarting the smartphone appears to temporarily resolve the issue, according to the forum post. Users have reported that the refresh rate is dropping below the device's minimum of 60Hz. The Galaxy S21, unlike Samsung's flagship smartphones, lacks a variable refresh rate. That is, the refresh rate can be set to 60Hz or 120Hz and will not diverge from those numbers based on what's on the screen. The decrease in refresh rate will cause system animation and UI lags, resulting in the phone lagging when performing basic tasks like swiping the notification bar down or switching between applications.

What Users can Expect in the Forseeable Future

Samsung has yet to publicly acknowledge the display's refresh rate issues, so a fix may take some time to reach users. As of right now, the temporary fix for the bug is to restart the phone.  However, after a while, the reflex rate will begin to drop again.  The problem, according to a user, persists even after the phone is hard reset. As such, it is unclear whether the Samsung refresh rate issue is caused by software or hardware at this time. Nevertheless, Galaxy S21 FE users can only hope for a software update, to fix the issue.

COMPANY: Samsung

https://samsung.com/