Samsung’s Fan Edition phones have always occupied an interesting middle ground: give people enough of the flagship experience without asking them to pay flagship money.
Last year’s Galaxy S25 FE got that formula right, combining a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display, an Exynos 2400 chip, a 4,900mAh battery, and a versatile triple-camera system.
Now Samsung has introduced the Galaxy S26 FE, and the formula looks surprisingly familiar. You still get a 6.7-inch display, a 4,900mAh battery, 45W charging, and a similar camera setup.
Most of the changes are happening under the hood. Samsung has replaced the Exynos 2400 with the newer Exynos 2500, added new software, and improved some of its AI and video features. There is also one unusual downgrade: USB 2.0 replaces the USB 3.2 Gen 1 port found on the S25 FE.
So, does the Galaxy S26 FE offer enough to justify an upgrade, or is the S25 FE still the better buy?
Treasure Ayanfe Adetula
/1. Performance: Galaxy S26 FE wins
Performance is where Samsung has made the biggest change.
Powering the S25 FE is Samsung’s Exynos 2400, while its successor moves to the newer Exynos 2500. Built on Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm GAA process, the chip features a 10-core CPU and AMD-based Xclipse 950 GPU.
A faster NPU also gives the S26 FE more headroom for AI workloads. That matters as Samsung continues to push more AI features onto its phones rather than relying entirely on cloud processing.
For everyday tasks, both phones should feel fast. Anyone moving from the S25 FE to the S26 FE probably won’t notice a night-and-day difference when opening apps or scrolling through social media.
Demanding games, video editing, image processing, and AI-heavy tasks are where the newer processor should make more of a difference.
/2. Display: Almost nothing has changed
Samsung has left one of the S25 FE’s strongest features largely untouched.
Both phones use a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with Full HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It remains a large, smooth, and capable display, so there was little reason for Samsung to completely rethink it.
For someone buying an FE phone for the first time, that’s good news. Existing S25 FE owners, however, have little reason to upgrade for the screen alone.
/3. Battery life: A tiny win for the S26 FE
Battery capacity remains at 4,900mAh across both generations, with 45W wired and 15W wireless charging.
Samsung has managed to squeeze slightly more endurance out of the newer chip, though. Its official rating reaches up to 29 hours of video playback, compared with 28 hours on the S25 FE.
That extra hour is welcome, but hardly enough to convince most S25 FE owners to replace their phones.
/4. Cameras: Don’t upgrade for the cameras
Camera hardware remains almost unchanged between the two generations.
Both phones have:
- 50MP main camera with OIS
- 12MP ultrawide camera
- 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom
- 12MP selfie camera
Video recording also reaches 8K at 30fps on both models.
Samsung has focused more on processing and software this time. Features such as Horizon Lock can keep video level while you move the phone around, while My FanCam uses AI to track a specific subject.
Those additions could be useful for people who regularly shoot videos, but they don’t amount to a major camera upgrade.
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