CES 2022: Samsung drops hot new smartphone for under $1000

Samsung has fired one of the first shots at CES — the world’s biggest tech show — with a new phone carrying an attractive, cheap price tag to raise eyebrows.

New gadgets are already emerging from the world’s biggest technology show, days before the Consumer Electronics Show officially kicks off in Las Vegas.

Tech giant Samsung today used the show to launch a new flagship budget smartphone, which will arrive in Australia next week with a price just under $1000.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will deliver a 32-megapixel camera for selfies, three rear cameras, a 6.4-inch screen and a choice of four colours when it launches on January 11.

Samsung Electronics Australia mobile vice-president Garry McGregor said the smartphone, which borrows features from its S21 line, was designed to appeal to a wider audience than the company’s pricier offerings.

Samsung will launch the Galaxy S21 FE smartphone in Australia on January 11 after announcing it before CES 2022.

“The predecessor to this device … was one of our most successful smartphones last year, both with consumers and our commercial customers,” he said. “We expect that the Galaxy S21 FE will be equally as popular thanks to its affordability, design, and features.”

Samsung’s new smartphone is expected to compete directly with Google’s well received Pixel 6 that launched in 2021, with the same price tag of $999.

Another of Samsung’s rivals, LG, also revealed fresh technology before CES on Tuesday, showing off a new TV line-up that will include OLED screens in smaller and larger sizes than ever, ranging from 42 inches to a wall-shaking 97 inches.

The screens, known as the C2 and G2 series, will also feature faster processors to upscale content to a 4K resolution, while the G2 will also get a brightness boost from smart software.

Other, more quirky additions to emerge from CES preview events include a lamp designed to make reading easier for dyslexic people, called the Lili lamp, and a device called Fittingbox that promises to let you try new spectacles on virtually and in 3D using a technology called Diminished Reality.

A reminder reads "Please Remember To Mask Up Indoors" at CES 2022 on a monitor at Las Vegas Convention Center January 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Picture: Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP

Consumer Technology Association research vice-president Steve Koenig, who kicked off a preview of the event on Tuesday, said the last two years set new records for technology sales and high demand would continue.

“These key fundamentals from a consumer behaviour standpoint that helped propel the industry forward to historic highs, these are still in play,” he said.

“More importantly, they’re going to continue to pay dividends as we move further into 2022.”

Despite CES returning to Las Vegas for the first time since 2020, however, many of its biggest drawcards pulled out just weeks before the event.

Tech giants including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Lenovo, Mercedes, BMW, TikTok, Twitter and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) are among the many firms to withdraw their attendance, citing the growing number of Omicron infections worldwide.

Hundreds of smaller and medium-sized tech companies remain at the event, though the number of registered attendees is also expected to take a hit and crowds have been thin at preview events so far.

Many big firms are expected to unveil more technology on Wednesday at the CES media day, including Bosch, Hisense, Samsung and Sony, though many events will be held online.

Originally published as CES 2022: Samsung drops hot new smartphone for under $1000