Just like the Galaxy S25 FE, the S26 FE feels extra just like the Galaxy S26+ than the S26, with a bigger 6.7-inch show and a trio of cameras on the again. It is laborious to identify the variations from its predecessor since there are only some minor design modifications, together with a brand new shiny again end. It is a alternative: The S25 FE had a matte end, as does the flagship S26 household. I suppose it has been performed to distinguish, however I am undecided why. The most recent Galaxy cellphone can be marginally taller, wider and heavier (3 grams) than the S25 FE, although the 7.4mm thickness stays similar. It additionally has a barely extra pronounced chin on the backside of the machine.
In any other case, it seems and seems like a flagship Galaxy cellphone that prices a number of hundred {dollars} extra. Plus, I really like the pistachio coloured machine I acquired for overview. I am all the time completely satisfied to see extra numerous colour choices seem alongside the monochrome established order.
The S26 FE additionally has a brand new related digital camera island, changing the digital camera lenses that barely jutted out of the again of the S25 FE. It is a minor design tweak, nevertheless it does assist unify the machine with each the Galaxy S and Z households.
The 6.7-inch OLED show seems crisp and vivid, although anybody coming from flagship gadgets will discover the decrease max brightness on sunny summer time days. It peaks at 1,900 nits, whereas the Galaxy S26 collection cranks out as much as 2,600 nits. The show does, nevertheless, attain as much as 120Hz, so it is at the very least a clean expertise, and in comparison with the bottom S26, I recognize having extra display screen on a tool that is presently $200 much less.
Diving into the remainder of the technical specs reveals the robust financial selections made to maintain the value low. That mentioned, it is nonetheless $50 greater than the S25 FE, with the identical 8GB of RAM and solely 128GB of storage on the bottom iteration. This fills up shortly, particularly with asset-dense video games like Wuthering Waves. (There’s a 256GB model, if wanted.)
This 12 months’s Fan Version now has an Exynos 2500 chip, which makes it at the very least slightly extra succesful for gaming. It is definitely not a flagship expertise, nevertheless. The S26 FE struggled with the calls for of Wuthering Waves, with body charges usually choking in prettier, extra detailed environments or hectic fights. Some might argue that is one signal that this is not a totally fledged Galaxy S cellphone, nevertheless it makes use of the identical chip as final 12 months’s Z Flip 7. Except you are pushing the cellphone to its limits, it is in any other case quick and responsive more often than not.
One factor I did word was that the digital camera app was often so sluggish it felt like a less expensive A-series cellphone. This was intermittent, but in addition irritating. Attempting to snap an in-the-moment shot calls for a zippy digital camera app. It has been years since cellphone corporations have bragged about how responsive their digital camera launchers and shutter are, as a result of they’re all fairly swift now, making the S26 FE’s struggles all of the extra jarring.
Not less than the battery’s huge, matching the 4,900mAh cell within the equally sized S26+ (and final 12 months’s FE cellphone, once more). In our video rundown take a look at, we eked out simply over 21 hours of playback in day-to-day use. Regardless of the bigger battery than what’s within the S26, that is an enormous drop in longevity. This implies the S26 FE demanded each day charging. These speeds high out at 45-watt wired charging with help for 15W wi-fi charging, too. No magnetic rings for mounting, however hey, at the very least there’s wi-fi charging.
