While the excitement of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 has not died down, Samsung is not done yet. For months now, we have been hearing rumors of a cheaper Galaxy S21 FE to follow last year's Galaxy S20 FE. In the past day or two, we have heard two separate rumors about this upcoming phone (which has leaked quite extensively at this point).

The last we heard about the Galaxy S21 FE was that it might be released on September 8. The new rumor blows that out of the water, claiming that the phone will not even go into production until September. In such conflicting cases, it is difficult to gauge which is closer to the truth.

Korean publication The Elec claims that Samsung delayed production of the Galaxy S21 FE due to a chip shortage. It also claims that Samsung has lowered its sales target to "the first half of 10 million units". The report also states that Samsung was aiming for a third-quarter release, possibly to coincide with the new foldable phone. That apparently did not materialize.

Another leak features what is said to be a Galaxy S21 FE user manual courtesy of the folks at SamMobile. Exact specs are not revealed, but some of the phone's features are mentioned. For example, we can see the design we have seen in previous leaks, a triple camera array, a high refresh rate display, and reverse wireless charging.

One missing feature is a micro SD card slot, which will disappoint some Samsung fans who were hoping to see it in the Galaxy S21 FE since the Galaxy S20 FE had a micro SD slot (especially since the Galaxy S21 series as it was not equipped with one either). However, the manual does show a hole-punched front camera cutout with an in-display fingerprint sensor, face unlock and customizable Bixby button.

Additionally, according to this leak, the Galaxy S21 FE is IP68 water and dust resistant. This means the phone can withstand up to 1.5 meters underwater for 30 minutes. It will also come pre-installed with several apps, including 23 Samsung apps and 12 Google apps.

The manual also describes many of the same camera features as those found on the Galaxy S21. These include the popular single shot mode, scene optimizer, AR Doodle, Pro mode, portrait video, slow-mo, and hyperlapse.

At this point, the Galaxy S21 FE seems too late; the Elec report also mentions that the Galaxy S22 will go into production in November, so the S21 FE will only have a few months in the limelight before the next big thing comes along. And if Samsung keeps the same pricing structure as the Galaxy S21 series, the S21 FE may look even more like a red-headed stepchild.