Samsung just updated this two-year-old phone with a great new feature

By Bryan M. Wolfe August 21, 2024

Someone holding the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. — Samsung

When Samsung introduced Galaxy AI earlier this year, it initially only rolled out the tool to its flagship phones, which were released in 2022 and later. This meant phones like the Galaxy S21 FE did not receive new features like Circle to Search. However, this has finally changed.

According to SamMobile, Samsung’s August 2024 security update has added this feature to the Galaxy S21 FE.

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Circle to Search allows you to search by circling, highlighting, or scribbling around the text or image you’re interested in. This feature lets you quickly look up definitions, find related information, or identify objects in photos or videos.

The Galaxy S21 “Fan Edition” was released one year after the flagship Galaxy S21 devices. It has a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and Exynos or Snapdragon chips. When the Galaxy S21 FE was launched, we were impressed with its strong cameras and powerful specifications, especially at its price points. However, we were less impressed with its battery life and touchscreen performance.

Of all the Galaxy AI features, only Circle to Search was available on the other Galaxy S21 models.

Similar to the upcoming Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI is a set of artificial intelligence features built into Samsung’s Galaxy devices. It aims to improve different aspects of the smartphone experience, including photography, translation, productivity, and accessibility.

Samsung’s August 2024 security patch is currently being distributed worldwide. It is said to fix 50 Android and Samsung One UI security vulnerabilities. You can access the update by looking in the phone’s Settings > Software update menu and seeing whether it’s installed.

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Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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