Based on my short time with the Galaxy S26 FE, Samsung should probably take the year off

Samsung’s latest mid-range hero has arrived, right on schedule to bridge the gap between this and next year’s flagships. The S26 FE sticks closely to the established ‘Fan Edition’ concept – so much so, in fact, that I wonder why any true Samsung phone fans would bother.

The Galaxy S25 FE received the mildest of refreshes here, with a new chipset that promises marginally better battery life, the Galaxy AI features that debuted on the company’s new foldable earlier in the year, and some new color choices. Oh, and a £50/€50 price increase.

While no one in the tech world was immune from AI-induced component cost increases, the price stings a bit when the outgoing phone is even cheaper – and even the full-fat S26 can be had for less money if you shop around.

After a brief hands-on with the S26 FE, here’s why I think only true die-hards with aging Samsung mid-rangers should apply.

Haven’t I seen you yet?

Revised rear camera bump aside, there’s little here that sets the S26 FE apart from its predecessor – but importantly that means it still makes a convincing impression of the pricier Galaxy S26+. This doesn’t look or feel like a mid-range handset, with flat glass front and back, and a flat frame built from Samsung’s Armor aluminium. It is also IP68 resistant.

The pistachio version seen in my photos is probably this year’s pick – it’s a light shade that’s easy on the eyes. Blueberry is a close second, while Graphite is the safer option.

The 6.7in screen is a repeat of last year, but that’s not a big problem – the old phone was, after all, very easy on the eyes. The FHD+ resolution looked sharp enough for a mid-ranger to my eyes, while the 120Hz refresh rate provided smooth scrolling. The bezels are suitably slim and the brightness is still at 1900 nits, which should be just enough for decent outdoor visibility. Samsung’s punchy colors are naturally present and accurate.

AI all the way

Samsung talked most of the time about how the S26 FE was the first Galaxy S handset to get the latest Galaxy AI features. It seems like virtually everything seen on the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Flip8 has been surpassed, including generative image editing and real-time voice transcription.

The Now Brief page has got custom cards that you can customize to useful information in just a few taps. It’s nice to have, but I wonder how many of these features will just be ported back to the older S25 FE in the future.

You get Android 17 out of the box, with seven years of new OS generations and security updates promised.

Samsung also brought the new Horizon Lock video recording mode for smoother handheld footage with the three rear cameras, along with the My FanCam mode. This uses subject detection to intelligently pan and zoom, so you focus more on the moment than what’s centered in the phone’s viewfinder.

The camera hardware is virtually unchanged, with only the 12MP selfie cam getting a wider 85-degree field of view lens. There’s a familiar 50MP main snapper, 12MP ultra-wide and 8MP telephoto on the rear, with the latter good for 3x optical zoom. Samsung believes algorithm updates have brought sharper 2x zoom and “better processed” digital zooms up to 30x, but I’ll have to wait for a full review to verify.

Another year, another Exynos

There have been some changes under the skin, but Samsung’s reps didn’t even mention the new Exynos 2500 chipset during my briefing presentation. It promises to be slightly faster and slightly more efficient than the outgoing phone’s Exynos 2400, although how much that translates to real-world gains remains to be seen.

8GB of RAM is standard, whether you go for 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of onboard storage.

With all demo units running pre-release software, I wasn’t allowed to run my usual bunch of benchmarks to judge performance. Android felt smooth enough, with apps opening fairly quickly. The chip was a decent enough performer in the Galaxy Z Flip 7, so I expect just the right amount of mid-range oomph here.

Samsung reckons it’s got an extra hour of video playback out of the 4900mAh battery, which is unchanged from last year. To me, this sounds like it will be another all-day phone, but not one that will last two days of regular use – you’ll still have to run into big-battery rivals from Chinese brands.

45W wireless charging is competitive, at least, and 15W wireless charging is also making a comeback.

Even more marginal gains than usual

Samsung has smartly stuck to the same launch schedule as last year, so there is enough clean air between the Galaxy S26 and its successor (which will inevitably arrive in Jaunary 2027) to keep the FE relevant.

However, the lack of meaningful upgrades over a predecessor that can be purchased for significantly less money could be a major stumbling block.

The Galaxy S26 FE is now available for pre-order, with prices starting at £699.

What are the technical specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE?