The Galaxy S25 FE has all of the seems of the Galaxy S25 Plus, however not one of the snap

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge evaluation: One-minute evaluation

The Fan Version vary, now dubbed FE, presents a premium flagship expertise at a extra inexpensive worth, however that is naturally achieved by compromises on the specs sheet. This yr’s Galaxy S25 FE tries to be a lower-cost Galaxy S25 Plus, and towards this objective, Samsung has fully delivered.

The Galaxy S25 FE contains a strong specs sheet and an expertise that’s principally akin to its costlier siblings, however a number of the tradeoffs lead to an expertise that’s laborious to suggest. The Galaxy S25 FE delivers the identical battery life and charging speeds, the identical nice show, and two of the three cameras are additionally an identical. But, the discount in RAM to 8GB and the change to final yr’s Exynos 2400 processor resulted in efficiency I discovered significantly wanting.

A key problem is the competitors – rivals are proving that Samsung could have to tweak its strategy to the Fan Version to ship on its worth. Should you’re within the US, the Galaxy S25 FE is way simpler to suggest at its beginning worth of $650, however even then, the OnePlus 13R is a worthy various.

Within the UK, the Galaxy S25 FE is way tougher to suggest. It is beginning worth remains to be £649, however there are rivals on this worth vary that you just will not discover within the states, just like the Honor 400 Professional and Poco F7 Extremely, which each provide extra highly effective chipsets, higher cameras, quicker charging, and longer battery life.

That in the end sums up the most important problem for the Galaxy S25 FE. It presents a strong, but unremarkable expertise that doesn’t excel in any specific space and struggles to face out in opposition to its rivals, whether or not from Samsung or others. It’s a superb cellphone that’ll preserve you principally pleased, however there are higher decisions on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge evaluation: Value and availability

Begins at $649 / £649 / AU$1,099 for 128GB/8GB configurationThat’s $350 / £350 / AU$600 lower than S25 Plus, though this has double the storage.

The US and UK launch costs for the Galaxy S25 FE are aggressive, particularly as they’ll seemingly cut back additional with gross sales, and Samsung is providing incentives akin to a free Watch 7 and Buds within the UK. It’s value noting that this pricing applies to the 128GB storage choice; the 256GB mannequin prices an additional $50, £50, or €50. If you’d like the highest 512GB mannequin, it’ll price you an extra $100, £100, or €100; at $799 within the US, different gadgets provide a real flagship expertise and likewise include comparable quantities of storage.

At $649, the Galaxy S25 FE presents appreciable worth for US audiences and fills an rising market want. Nonetheless, Samsung might do extra to ship a really aggressive expertise at this worth level.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE evaluation: Specs

The Galaxy S25 FE is successfully a pared-back model of the Galaxy S25 Plus at a cheaper price. It weighs the identical, has the same-sized display screen, the identical battery life and charging speeds, and two of the three cameras are additionally an identical.

To realize this, Samsung selected to chop down on the RAM (from 12GB to 8GB), cut back the height brightness of the display screen to 1,900 nits, and drop the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor for its personal Exynos 2400 processor. The periscope digital camera is decrease decision and has an extended focal size, however it nonetheless presents the identical 3x optical zoom.

The 4,900 mAh battery is an identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, as is the 45W charging, which is quicker than the 25W included within the costlier Galaxy S25. There’s additionally 15W wi-fi charging and Qi2-Prepared circumstances that add magnetic wi-fi charging help. Because it launches with Android 16 and One UI 8 out of the field, the Galaxy S25 FE will obtain yet one more software program replace than its namesake siblings.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE evaluation: Design

The identical acquainted design as the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineupThe rear end is much less liable to scratching than the S25 Plus

Put the Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy S25 Plus subsequent to one another, and by design, they’re nearly indistinguishable. The Galaxy S25 FE presents a lot of the Galaxy S25 Plus expertise at a cheaper price by retaining the identical design language as the remainder of the Galaxy S25 sequence.

The exception to that is within the rear glass end. Virtually a yr after the Galaxy S25 Plus, the Galaxy S25 FE solves one among my key issues with the Plus’s navy end: it scratches extraordinarily simply. Though there’s no notable change to this end, throughout my time with the Galaxy S25 FE, I’ve discovered that the rear end is extra sturdy than the Galaxy S25 Plus, which is a welcome enchancment that wasn’t even utilized to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 just a few months in the past.

Past this, the construct is nearly an identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, proper right down to the identical 190 grams weight. By advantage of bigger bezels — extra on that under — the Galaxy S25 FE is nearly 3 mm taller and 1 millimeter wider than the Galaxy S25 Plus, however this doesn’t have a big influence on every day utilization. As an alternative, it feels similar to the Galaxy S25 Plus does.

Should you’ve seen a current Samsung cellphone, the design of the Galaxy S25 FE will really feel immediately acquainted. Nonetheless, I hope that, in future variations, Samsung goals to distinguish it considerably so it feels distinctive, in a lot the identical manner that the Galaxy S25 Edge feels acquainted but distinctive inside the remainder of the Galaxy S25 household.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge evaluation: Show

Giant, vibrant show that is on par with the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 PlusJust as succesful as the perfect Samsung telephones.

The important thing promoting level for the Galaxy S25 FE is that it presents a show of the identical measurement and high quality because the flagship Galaxy S25 Plus, however at a extra inexpensive worth. On this vein, the 6.7-inch display screen on the FE completely delivers, and it’s one among my favourite options on this cellphone.

A peak brightness of 1,900 nits is decrease than the Galaxy S25 Plus (which reaches 2,600 nits) and decrease than key rivals such because the Pixel 10 (as much as 3,000 nits) and OnePlus 13R (as much as 4,500 nits). But, underneath the brilliant sunshine in Bali over the previous few days, I’ve had zero points with this decrease brightness and it’s confirmed to be simply as succesful as its siblings in direct daylight. There’s additionally the identical 1-120Hz dynamic refresh charge and HDR10+ help, though it lacks the Dolby Imaginative and prescient help that some non-Samsung rivals proceed to supply.

Though the display screen measurement is identical, the bezels across the Galaxy S25 FE show are barely bigger than on the Galaxy S25 Plus, however this doesn’t have an effect on every day utilization. Equally, the drop from Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to Gorilla Glass Victus+ on each the entrance and rear hasn’t led to any discount in safety, not less than within the time I’ve been utilizing it, particularly since each characteristic the identical Mohs hardness ranking for sturdiness.

Samsung constantly makes my favourite smartphone screens, and the Galaxy S25 FE display screen is up there with the perfect Samsung telephones. If you’d like a big, vibrant, and colourful show, this one hits the mark!

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge evaluation: Software program

Seven years of Android and safety updatesSlower AI efficiency because of extra reliance on the cloud

The Galaxy S25 FE runs One UI 8 on high of Android 16 out of the field, and comes with the identical seven-year dedication in the direction of software program and safety updates as the remainder of the household. By launching with the newest Android model out of the field, the seven-year dedication means it should help as much as Android 23, whereas the remainder of the Galaxy S25 is just assured to help as much as Android 22.

Samsung has confirmed to be fairly adept at rolling out updates fairly shortly — a stark distinction to its previous historical past of being amongst the slowest — so it’s seemingly that the Galaxy S25 FE will obtain updates in a well timed manner like the remainder of the lineup.

One UI 8 stays probably the most polished Android experiences you could find, and the Galaxy S25 FE does nothing out of the strange that you just received’t discover on the remainder of the lineup. Nonetheless, the decrease RAM and alter in processor — extra on that under — additionally imply AI efficiency is much weaker, with extra duties requiring cloud help relatively than being carried out on-device.

Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite has all of the options you’d anticipate from an AI suite on a flagship smartphone, however the lack of performant capabilities means you might be much less seemingly to make use of these. That’s a disgrace as Writing Instruments, enhancing within the Gallery app, and Circle-to-Search are all options I exploit very often. On the Galaxy S25 FE, I’ve discovered I exploit them much less usually just because there’s a notable delay in responses and finishing requests.

Past this, you’ll discover that the Galaxy S25 FE feels similar to every other Samsung smartphone. It’s designed to be immediately acquainted to anybody who has used a contemporary Samsung smartphone, and it delivers the identical expertise and interface because the One UI 8 replace for the Galaxy S25 Extremely, Galaxy S25 Edge, and Galaxy S25 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge evaluation: Cameras

An almost an identical expertise to the Galaxy S25 Plus cameraA poorer telephoto digital camera, that is even farther behind the competitors

Take a look at the Galaxy S25 Plus digital camera and the Galaxy S25 FE digital camera, and you will discover that they are nearly the identical. That is each a blessing and a curse, as it is simple for Samsung to make use of this digital camera system once more — it has been the identical in lots of current Samsung telephones — however it regularly struggles in opposition to the competitors.