Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition gets unexpected upgrade you'll love

The cheapest phone in the Galaxy S20 series is going to get THIS premium feature

Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition
(Image credit: Evan Blass/Patreon)

Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 earlier this year, alongside the more premium Galaxy S20 Ultra. Both handsets impressed with their specs - especially the S20 Ultra's 108MP camera with 100x zoom - and made T3's list of best Android phones but as with most flagships, they're not cheap; the S20 starts from £800, while the S20 Ultra price starts from £1200.

We heard rumours that a cheaper version is on the way, in the vein of the S10 Lite, dubbed the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE for short), so of course, we're not expecting specs on par with the flagships, but there's word of an unexpected - and very welcome - upgrade for the device. 

Industry analyst Ross Young has heard tell that the Galaxy S20 FE will be sporting a display with an impressive 120Hz refresh rate. Given that it's the budget offering, this is hugely unexpected, but Young explains that the panel being used for the device is surplus inventory that Samsung has lying around:

"Now hearing S20 FE is 120 Hz which makes sense as there is some S20+ panel inventory."

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Last year's S10 range didn't get above the 60Hz threshold - and that was across all three devices, including the S10 Lite. We wouldn't have expected Samsung to bestow a 120Hz panel on the cheapest option in its S20 range this year, but it's a move fans will love if it proves to be true. 

Meanwhile, Apple is still doggedly churning out iPhones with a 60Hz display - that includes the upcoming iPhone 12. Initially, we thought that at least one of the four models would be touting a 120Hz display, but Young has since shot that rumour down.

It looks like the iPhone 12 will be at a disadvantage on the display front, but has the new A14  processor which should go some way to making amends. The S20 FE won't be able to compete there, but if you're after a cheap handset with a knockout screen, you might want to consider your options. 

Shabana Arif

Shabana worked at T3.com as News Editor covering tech and gaming, and has been writing about video games for almost a decade (and playing them since forever). She's had bylines at major gaming sites during her freelance career before settling down here at T3, and has podcasts, streaming, and video content under her belt to boot. Outside of work, she also plays video games and should really think about expanding her hobbies. If you have any tech or gaming tips, shoot over an email or DM her on social media.