The Galaxy S25 FE might finally have fixed its predecessor’s biggest issue

Samsung’s ‘Fan Edition’ concept makes a lot of sense: take a flagship handset, dilute down the hardware, and price it to see off the mid-range smartphone competition while you work on the next generation hero. Only the last few tries arrived just a little late, coming too close to the next year’s Galaxy headliner to truly stand out.

The Galaxy S25 FE looks set to address that, arriving a month earlier than the outgoing Galaxy S24 FE and putting some much-needed breathing room between it and the inevitable Galaxy S26 in February next year. Officially revealed at IFA – the first time Samsung has used the Berlin tech show for a mobile launch since the Galaxy Note days – the S25 FE is the first mid-ranger to arrive with Android 16 out of the box.

There’s a clear family resemblance to the Galaxy S25 series, with flat glass front and rear, a flat frame made from the same ‘Enhanced Armor Aluminium’ material. At 7.4mm it’s only a sliver thicker than the Galaxy S25+, and weighs the same 190g. The Navy, Icyblue, Jetblack and White colour options aren’t a major departure from Samsung’s current palette, either. The whole thing is IP68 resistant and protected by Victus+ glass.

Having held one at Samsung’s massive IFA booth, it feels very similar to a Galaxy S25+ – so much so I wonder whether non-phone geeks could actually tell the difference.

Around back you have the same three individual camera lenses as the S25, but only the 50MP main snapper and 12MP ultrawide are on par for pixel count. The 3x telephoto makes do with an 8MP unit. The front-facing selfie camera has seen a welcome upgrade between FE generations, and now maxes out at 12MP. How well each performs will have to wait for a full review, but I’m betting the 50MP lens will be the clear favourite.

The 6.7in screen gets slimmer bezels than the old phone, and now promises a peak 1900 nits brightness. Not just with HDR content, either, which bodes well for outdoor visibility. The FHD+ resolution can’t match the pricier S25+, but you still get a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and the OLED panel should deliver Samsung’s trademark punchy colours. It certainly looked vibrant during my brief demo, and I had no complaints about brightness either.

Underneath, power comes from Samsung’s home-grown Exynos 2400 – the same chip that powers the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE – and 8GB of RAM. There are versions with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of on-board storage. A 10% larger vapor chamber than the S24 FE should help it deliver the goods under sustained load and while gaming. Based on my time with the Flip 7 FE I’d expect decent rather than outstanding performance, but Samsung’s take on Android is very well optimised so most users should feel like there’s ample oomph on tap.

A 4900mAh battery with support for 45W wired charging is almost on the same level as the more expensive Galaxy S25+; only the slower 15W wireless refuelling holds it back a little. Whether the chipset will prove more or less power efficient will have to wait until I get a review unit in for proper testing.

It runs OneUI 8, Samsung’s latest spin on Android, with plenty of AI-enhanced goodies including generative image editing and instant slow-motion in the photo gallery. The firm is committed to seven years of new Android generations and seven of security updates, which is as good as it gets from a mid-tier Android phone right now – and only matched by the likes of the Google Pixel 9a.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is on sale right now, with prices starting at £649/€749 for the 128GB model. There was no word at the time of writing whether it would be heading to the USA.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE technical specifications

Screen	6.7in, 2340×1080 OLED w/ 120Hz
CPU	Samsung Exynos 2400
Memory	8GB RAM
Cameras	50MP+8MP+12MP rear, 12MP front
Storage	128/256/512GB
Operating system	Android 16 w/ OneUI 8
Battery	4900mAh w/ 45W wired, 15W wireless
Dimensions	161x77x7.4mm, 190g