The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a great option for anyone looking for a near-flagship experience without the premium cost.
It strikes a balance between the two by making smart compromises, forgoing some of the most premium materials, the very latest processor and top-of-the-range cameras while offering the core features that matter most: a durable design, a bright 120 Hz display, a massive battery with fast charging, and the full, impressive Galaxy AI suite.
The result is a device that delivers strong performance and a robust feature set, making it a great choice for anyone seeking a powerful smartphone without the flagship cost.
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Price
The Galaxy S25 FE aims to deliver a near-flagship experience without the flagship price. At launch, it’s priced at $1,199 for the 128GB model and $1,299 for the 256GB model. Competing options in this range include the Xiaomi 15 ($1,297) and the OPPO Reno13 Pro ($1,399).
Design
The design isn't exactly groundbreaking, it looks like a lot of Samsung phones that have come before it, boasting the now very familiar floating camera array and the minimised bezels we’ve come to expect from Samsung. But, the lack of change here isn’t a bad thing, it's still a sleek and streamlined device that does a very good job of mimicking its more expensive siblings.
Measuring just 7.4 mm thin and weighing 190 grams, it feels great in the hand, coming in four colours, Icyblue, Jetblack, Navy, and White.
The build is solid, featuring Corning Glass Victus+ on the front, Samsung’s "enhanced armor aluminium frame," and an IP68 resistance rating for water and dust resistance. It's a sturdy phone that will handle drops and falls, but it is slightly less durable than its S25 cousins which boast even sturdier materials.
The fingerprint sensor is an optical in-display sensor. While it isn’t technically as good as the ultrasonic sensor found in the main S25 series, it's snappy, quick, and easy to use. I had no issues with it; you just have to press a little longer. No biggie.
Display
The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with its 120 Hz refresh rate is a more than capable screen providing a bright and smooth viewing experience.
It has a peak brightness of 1900 nits which isn’t as high as more premium devices, but it's bright enough to use outdoors in direct sunlight without issues.
It also has a semi-adaptive refresh rate dropping automatically to 60Hz on static screens to conserve battery life which is a nice touch.
Cameras
The S25 FE has the same triple-lens system as its predecessor, the S24 FE, consisting of a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.
Instead of focussing on hardware upgrades it seems that Samsung is happy to lean more on generative AI and computational photography to boost camera capabilities and, although a better set of cameras would have been the preference, the AI here works very well.
The phone is equipped with Samsung’s ProVisual Engine, an AI-powered suite of features that aim to improve photos both when capturing the shot and when editing it afterwards. Essentially it's designed to make it easier for users to take great photos.
Some of the standout features are Generative Edit, which allows you to do a range of things like removing people from photos, straightening crooked photos, filling in backgrounds and a lot more. There’s also Instant Slow-mo which can transform any video clip into slow motion with a single tap, and Audio Eraser to clean up unwanted noise in videos. All of these features work well and they do add to the capabilities of the device.
The front-facing camera is now a 12MP sensor, and the images are slightly improved with better low-light performance and better clarity selfies.
Performance & Gaming
Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is driven by the Exynos 2400 chipset, which provides a consistently smooth and responsive experience for all of your daily needs whether you're navigating the interface, switching between apps, or tackling more intensive tasks.
When it comes to gaming, the S25 FE performs well. Graphically demanding games like Real Racing 3 ran well, throughout our tests it didn’t have any frame drops or stuttering. The only downside is that the device can become quite warm during extended gaming sessions, which is something to be mindful of.
Battery
The S25 FE is equipped with a large 4,900mAh battery, a 200mAh increase over the S24 FE. This larger capacity, combined with the power-efficient Exynos 2400 chipset, provides solid battery life, easily lasting a full day.
The biggest upgrade here though, is the charging speed. The S25 FE supports flagship-tier 45W wired charging, allowing the device to charge from 0% to around 60% in half an hour. It also supports 25W wireless charging. These are significant leaps over the S24 FE's 25W wired and 15W wireless capabilities.
Software & AI
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE ships with Android 16 and Samsung's custom One UI 8 interface. Samsung has promised seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates. This ensures the device will remain current and secure for a prolonged period.
The integration of Galaxy AI is a clear highlight of the S25 FE. The phone comes with the full range of AI capabilities seen on its more expensive siblings.
Gemini Live, Circle to Search, Live Translate, Chat Assist, Camera AI tools, Browsing Assist, Note Assist and a lot more are all here. You also get other useful tools like Now Bar and Now Brief which offer personalised, at-a-glance information on your lock screen. It all works as well as it always has.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a great choice for those who want a premium smartphone experience without the flagship price. It achieves this balance by thoughtfully removing the most "premium" features, and instead focusing on delivering the core features that matter most to users.
Its strengths lie in its powerful Exynos 2400 processor, its large battery, and the full suite of Galaxy AI features on offer. And thankfully, the compromises it makes don't significantly detract from the overall experience.
Ultimately, the S25 FE succeeds by delivering where it matters most: performance, display quality, battery life, and smart features. And for a lot of people, that’s enough.
