Samsung Galaxy S26 FE review: An incremental price hike for incremental updates – Engadget
Like the Galaxy S25 FE, the S26 FE feels more like the Galaxy S26+ than the S26, with a larger 6.7-inch display and a trio of cameras on the back. It’s hard to spot the differences from its predecessor since there are only a few minor design changes, including a new glossy back finish. It’s a choice: The S25 FE had a matte finish, as does the flagship S26 family. I guess it’s been done to differentiate, but I’m not sure why. The newest Galaxy phone is also marginally taller, wider and heavier (3 grams) than the S25 FE, though the 7.4mm thickness remains identical. It also has a slightly more pronounced chin at the bottom of the device.
Otherwise, it looks and feels like a flagship Galaxy phone that costs several hundred dollars more. Plus, I love the pistachio colored device I received for review. I’m always happy to see more diverse color options appear alongside the monochrome status quo.
The S26 FE also has a new connected camera island, replacing the camera lenses that slightly jutted out of the back of the S25 FE. It’s a minor design tweak, but it does help unify the device with both the Galaxy S and Z families.
The 6.7-inch OLED display looks crisp and vivid, though anyone coming from flagship devices will notice the lower max brightness on sunny summer days. It peaks at 1,900 nits, while the Galaxy S26 series cranks out up to 2,600 nits. The display does, however, reach up to 120Hz, so it’s at least a smooth experience, and compared to the base S26, I appreciate having more screen on a device that’s currently $200 less.
Diving into the rest of the technical specs reveals the tough economic choices made to keep the price low. That said, it’s still $50 more than the S25 FE, with the same 8GB of RAM and only 128GB of storage on the base iteration. This fills up quickly, especially with asset-dense games like Wuthering Waves. (There is a 256GB version, if needed.)
This year’s Fan Edition now has an Exynos 2500 chip, which makes it at least a little more capable for gaming. It’s certainly not a flagship experience, however. The S26 FE struggled with the demands of Wuthering Waves, with frame rates often choking in prettier, more detailed environments or hectic fights. Some may argue this is one sign that this isn’t a fully fledged Galaxy S phone, but it uses the same chip as last year’s Z Flip 7. Unless you’re pushing the phone to its limits, it’s otherwise fast and responsive most of the time.
One thing I did note was that the camera app was occasionally so sluggish it felt like a much cheaper A-series phone. This was intermittent, but also frustrating. Trying to snap an in-the-moment shot demands a zippy camera app. It’s been years since phone companies have bragged about how responsive their camera launchers and shutter are, because they are all pretty swift now, making the S26 FE’s struggles all the more jarring.
At least the battery’s big, matching the 4,900mAh cell in the similarly sized S26+ (and last year’s FE phone, again). In our video rundown test, we eked out just over 21 hours of playback in day-to-day use. Despite the larger battery than what’s in the S26, that’s a big drop in longevity. This means the S26 FE demanded daily charging. Those speeds top out at 45-watt wired charging with support for 15W wireless charging, too. No magnetic rings for mounting, but hey, at least there’s wireless charging.