Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review — The Right Fundamentals

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• Appearance - 8/10
  8/10
• Efficiency - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Features - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Materials - 8/10
  8/10
• Performance - 7/10
  7/10
• Portability - 8/10
  8/10
• User Experience (UX) - 7.5/10
  7.5/10
• Value - 6.5/10
  6.5/10

Summary

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is a well-built, capable smartphone that gets the core fundamentals right. The difficulty is in the pricing and the specific regressions that accompany it.

Overall

7.5/10

7.5/10

Pros

• Premium Build That Holds Its Own Against the Standard S26 Lineup
• Display Quality Is Solid for Daily Use
• Reliable Main Camera and Capable Selfie Shooter
• Zoom Performance Punches Above Expectations
• Pretty Decent Battery Life and Charging Speed
• One UI 9 With Comprehensive Galaxy AI and Seven Years of Updates
• Stereo Speakers That Are Good Enough for Everyday Media

Cons

• Price Increase Not Backed by Proportionate Upgrades
• USB Downgrade From 3.2 Gen 1 to USB 2.0
• Call Brief Is Missing Without a Clear Explanation
• Ultrawide and Telephoto Cameras Have Clear Limitations
• Glossy Back Accumulates Fingerprints Quickly
• Wireless Charging at 15W Feels Dated
• Occasional Performance Hiccups

• Shopee

Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE arrives in standard Samsung packaging, clean and straightforward with no surprises. Inside the box you get the phone, a USB-C cable, a SIM ejector pin, and documentation. There is no charger in the box, which has been Samsung’s standard practice for several generations now, so factor in a compatible 45W adapter separately to take advantage of the phone’s fast charging capability.

Our review unit is in Blueberry, a pleasant blue colorway that photographs well and holds up nicely in different lighting conditions.

Walkaround

The Galaxy S26 FE carries forward the premium build language that Samsung has established across its Galaxy S lineup. The front and rear are covered by Gorilla Glass Victus+, and the frame is aluminium, which together give the phone a reassuringly solid feel in hand. At 7.4mm thick and 193 grams, it sits closer to the standard S26 in terms of thinness rather than the Ultra, and the weight distribution feels balanced without being heavy.

At the rear, Samsung has moved away from individual camera rings in favor of a single camera island, consistent with the rest of the S26 family. On the S26 FE, the lenses sit almost flush with the island surface, which gives it a cleaner look but does not meaningfully reduce the wobble when the phone is placed flat on a surface. That minor but persistent inconvenience remains, and it is one that a more centred or plateau-style camera layout would resolve.

The Blueberry variant I tested has a glossy finish on the back. It looks good out of the box but picks up fingerprints quickly and in certain light can look less premium than a matte alternative would. It is a minor aesthetic gripe, but worth noting if surface finish matters to you.

IP68 dust and water resistance is present, rated for submersion up to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes, consistent with every Galaxy S flagship since 2016. The USB-C port on the bottom, however, is limited to USB 2.0 speeds, which is a step down from the USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface on the Galaxy S25 FE. I noticed this directly when transferring files, with speeds visibly slower than what I am used to on previous Samsung flagships. For most everyday users it will not matter, but it is a factual regression worth knowing about if you regularly transfer large files over a cable.

Specifications

Performance

Starting off our benchmark suite with AnTuTu v11, the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE fared better than I expected. I say that because the Exynos 2500 isn’t new and it’s not the first time we’ve used a device using the SoC. However, you can see that it performs noticeably better than the one found on the Z Flip7. It’s a step down from a Snapdragon 8 Elite, which isn’t surprising, but it’s practically on par with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, and that’s good enough in my books given its price.

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Then on Geekbench 6, we see a similar pattern again when compare the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE with the Z Flip7 as well as other devices running on Snapdragon 8 Elite and 8 Elite Gen 5. Interestingly, it’s practically going toe-to-toe with another value-focused flagship-level smartphone, the Xiaomi 15T Pro. Sure, the 15T Pro is last year’s model but keeping in mind that the Exynos 2500 is last year’s chip, it makes sense.

Moving on to 3DMark, the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE performed surprisingly well in both Raster and Ray Tracing portions of the test. In Raster, the performance is practically on par with the Snapdragon 8 Elite but in Ray Tracing, it’s on the same level as the S26 Ultra, which is using the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This means that if you simply wanted a flagship Samsung just to game, this new FE is more than enough.

With that being said however, there is one caveat as the stability rating we got with it is a pretty bad 53.2%. In simpler terms, it does thermal throttle quite a bit, more so than the already hot Snapdragon 8 Elite and 8 Elite Gen 5. The older Exynos 2400 is noticeably better, though that too does suffer from thermal throttling to some degree.

Just to make sure its 3D performance isn’t a fluke, we have GPUScore Sacred Path. As you can see, it is indeed not a fluke as the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE performs at the level of current flagships across all three tests. This likely points to it being able to handle any mobile game you can throw at it, but I would suggest some aftermarket cooling solution to help manage the heat.

Lastly on PCMark’s Work 3.0 benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE had a pretty decent score and it’s positioned below the S26 Ultra where it should be. This means that it’s more than capable as a daily driver, and it’s at a level that is more than acceptable for a value flagship.

For those of you who are wondering about battery life, it’s pretty decent but nothing outstanding given recent smartphone launches. The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE managed to last 12 hours andd 37 minutes (757 minutes) in PCMark’s battery test. This should translate to at least a full day’s worth of use, provided you’re not doing some heavy gaming or taking too many photos / videos. Personally, I’m hoping that its successor would see a bump in battery capacity to 5500 to 6000 mAh at least, as that would definitely translate to a noticeably longer battery life. As for charging, here’s what I managed to get using a 100W GaN charger from 2% battery life:

• 15 minutes = 35%
• 30 minutes = 68%
• Full charge = 64 minutes

At 15W, the S26 FE’s wireless charging speed lags behind what competing phones and even some of Samsung’s own higher-tier models offer. For anyone who relies heavily on wireless charging, the gap between the 45W wired speed and the 15W wireless ceiling is noticeable in everyday use.

Camera

The S26 FE’s triple rear camera system comprises a 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, and 8MP 3x telephoto, with a 12MP front camera. The main and front cameras are the clear standouts of the system.

The main camera produces detailed, well-exposed images in daylight with natural colors and wide dynamic range. Indoor shots in good lighting can be slightly soft, which is not unusual for a smartphone camera at this tier, and Night mode kicks in reliably in low light with acceptable results, though some noise remains and sharpening can be occasionally aggressive.

The ultrawide camera performs acceptably in daylight but falls short indoors and in low light, where detail drops and color temperature can drift noticeably from the main camera. The inconsistency between the two is something to be aware of if you switch between them frequently.

Zoom performance is one of the S26 FE’s more pleasant surprises. At 3x, daylight shots retain good detail, and results remain usable at up to 10x. Beyond that, quality degrades into a soft, processed look that is expected given the 8MP telephoto sensor. Indoors and in low light, sticking to 3x or below is the more reliable approach as you’ll either get a very blurry photo because of the needed long shutter speed or just mush in general.

The selfie camera is solid. Detail and color are both handled well in daylight and in well-lit interiors, with skin tone accuracy that is generally reliable even if it occasionally misses the mark. In the case of our camera sample, we had a set taken in dim lighting, and another set taken with studio lighting on.

The Good

Premium Build That Holds Its Own Against the Standard S26 Lineup

The Gorilla Glass Victus+ front and back, the aluminium frame, and the 7.4mm slim profile give the S26 FE a build quality that genuinely does not feel like a compromise compared to the higher-tier S26 models. At 193 grams, it handles well without feeling flimsy, and the IP68 rating ensures peace of mind for water exposure.

Display Quality Is Solid for Daily Use

The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate delivers strong contrast, deep blacks, and smooth animations that make everyday use, streaming, and scrolling feel consistently polished. At 1,900 nits peak brightness, outdoor visibility is sufficient even under direct sunlight, and HDR10+ support adds value for media consumption.

One UI 9 With Comprehensive Galaxy AI and 7 Years of Updates

Launching with One UI 9 on Android 17 gives the S26 FE the most current Samsung software experience available, including My FanCam, Now Brief, Now Nudge, Circle to Search, and the rest of the Galaxy AI suite. The commitment to 7 years of OS and security updates meaningfully extends the long-term value of the device.

Stereo Speakers That Are Good Enough for Everyday Media

The stereo speaker setup, using one dedicated speaker and the earpiece as the second, delivers a balanced and sufficiently loud result for watching videos and listening to music in small to medium-sized spaces. It is not the punchiest setup Samsung offers, but it holds up well for the intended use cases.

The Bad

Price Increase Not Backed by Proportionate Upgrades

The Galaxy S26 FE is priced higher than the S25 FE without delivering substantial new hardware. The main additions are a newer Exynos chip, One UI 9 out of the box, and updated Galaxy AI features, all of which the S25 FE will receive via software update. For buyers upgrading from the S25 FE specifically, the value proposition is difficult to justify at the higher price point.

USB Downgrade From 3.2 Gen 1 to USB 2.0

The S26 FE uses a USB-C port limited to USB 2.0 speeds, a factual regression from the USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface on its predecessor. File transfers over a cable are noticeably slower as a result, and wired DeX is not supported, leaving only wireless DeX as an option. For users who regularly transfer large files or use DeX via cable, this is a meaningful step backward.

Call Brief Is Missing Without a Clear Explanation

One UI 9 introduced Call Brief, a feature that surfaces contextual information on the call screen based on who you are calling. It is present on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which uses the same Exynos 2500 chip, but absent from the S26 FE without explanation. It is not a dealbreaker, but it is a useful feature that would have been a practical addition here, and the inconsistency is frustrating.

Glossy Back Accumulates Fingerprints Quickly

The glossy rear finish, while visually appealing out of the box, picks up fingerprints at a rate that requires frequent wiping. In certain lighting it can also make the phone look less premium than a matte alternative would. A case largely resolves this, but it is a design choice that works against the phone’s otherwise solid aesthetic.

Occasional Performance Hiccups

Despite generally smooth day-to-day performance, the S26 FE exhibits occasional stuttering when exiting the camera app and takes longer than expected to process photos in some scenarios. These are infrequent enough to live with, but they occur more often than on the standard S26 models and are noticeable on a phone at this price point.

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is a well-built, capable smartphone that gets the core fundamentals right. The display is solid, the main camera is reliable, the battery lasts a full day, and One UI 9 with 7 years of update support gives it strong long-term value on the software side. For anyone upgrading from an older or more affordable Samsung device, or switching from another brand entirely, it covers the everyday essentials competently and comfortably, especially considering that price starts from RM2,899 (before any kind of discount).

The difficulty is in the pricing and the specific regressions that accompany it. The USB downgrade from 3.2 Gen 1 to USB 2.0 is a factual step backward. Call Brief being absent without explanation is a small but pointed inconsistency. The price increase over the S25 FE is not supported by hardware improvements substantial enough to justify it on their own terms. The S25 FE at a meaningful discount delivers a very similar overall experience, and that remains a valid alternative. Otherwise, you might as well go for a mainline S26 or S26+ if budget permits given recent discounts.

With that in mind, I award the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Samsung Malaysia for sending us this smartphone for the purpose of this review.