This week was a week of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE sightings. First, the phone appeared on the Google Play console with accompanying specifications, before being mentioned directly on Samsung's French website as the subject of a premium YouTube promotion.

Now, Android Police's Max Weinbach spotted the S21 FE branded as part of a demo stand at an unnamed cell phone store.

All of this, plus a previous accidental appearance on Samsung's own Instagram account, indicates that this is a device that should be available for order really soon.

Given the quality of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE that appeared last year, this should be very good news for smartphone shoppers. The device in particular was rumored at one point to be cancelled due to the ongoing global chip shortage and Samsung's need to redirect its limited supply of Snapdragon 888s to the foldable device.

However, given the absence of this device in the recent Galaxy Unpacked, the company may struggle to make a significant impact if it leaves the release too long.

The Galaxy S20 FE succeeded because it absorbed the best parts of the excellent Galaxy S20 and became a cut phone in all the right places, with a $300 savings and an MSRP of $699. It had a lower-resolution screen, less RAM, and a plastic frame, but it was powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and felt as snappy as any other phone on the market. By all accounts, Samsung will do the same with the S21 FE, only this time with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888.

The problem is that the more Samsung leaves it out, the less attractive this product will become. Samsung Galaxy phones are dropping in price quickly, and if you have a chance to get the relaunched model from Amazon, you can get a regular Galaxy S21 for under $600. Buying one doesn't guarantee better specs than the upcoming S21 FE, but it has the biggest advantage of being in your pocket tomorrow.

As Samsung's Galaxy S22 begins to show up, the price of the S21 will drop further, and then there is the surprise $450 price drop of the company's secret weapon, the Galaxy Z Flip 3. It has one important advantage: it's state-of-the-art and available today.

There is still time for the S21 FE to win. After all, the S20 FE was just released last October 2, only 210 days after the original S20 due to its March release; the S21 was released in January, and rumor has it that the S21 FE may have to wait a few more months.

In fact, the same 210-day milestone came on Friday for the S21. With each passing day, FE will have a little more difficulty making an impact as S22 looms larger.