Samsung Galaxy S26 FE hands-on

Samsung has officially added another Fan Edition smartphone to its lineup with the Galaxy S26 FE. On paper, it brings a few upgrades over the Galaxy S25 FE, including a newer processor, some additional camera features, and One UI 9 out of the box.

But after spending some hands-on time with the phone, I am not sure those changes are enough to make the Galaxy S26 FE particularly exciting.

One thing Samsung absolutely got right is how the Galaxy S26 FE feels in the hand. You get an aluminum frame combined with a glass back, and the overall build feels solid and premium.

At 7.4mm thick and 193 grams, it is also relatively thin without feeling too light or cheap. In terms of dimensions, it is practically identical to the Galaxy S25 FE, so anyone coming from Samsung's previous Fan Edition device will immediately feel at home.

The biggest visual change is on the back. Samsung has moved away from the three individually protruding camera rings and placed all three cameras on a single camera island. As a result, the Galaxy S26 FE now looks much more like the regular Galaxy S26 series.

There is one small difference that I actually quite like. On the Galaxy S26 series, the individual camera lenses still protrude slightly from the camera island. On the Galaxy S26 FE, they are almost completely flush with it.

It is a small detail, but in person I think it makes the camera area look better.

Unfortunately, Samsung made another design decision that I am far less enthusiastic about: the glossy colors are a fingerprint nightmare.

The Galaxy S26 FE comes in Blueberry, Pistachio, and Graphite, and all three have glossy finishes. They look nice when they are clean, but that does not last long.

During my hands-on time, fingerprints quickly became very noticeable on the back. I really would have preferred a matte finish.

The colors themselves are fine. Blueberry is probably my personal favorite, with Graphite coming in second. Pistachio looks familiar if you have seen Samsung's latest foldables, as it is quite similar to the Pistachio finish available for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8.

Once you move past the new camera design, things become a lot more familiar.

The Galaxy S26 FE still has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and a 60/120Hz refresh rate. Peak brightness reaches up to 1,900 nits.

It is a good Samsung AMOLED panel, and during my short time with the device I had nothing major to complain about. But it also does not feel like an area where Samsung is pushing the FE series forward.

The same applies to the battery. It has a 4,900mAh capacity with 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and Wireless PowerShare.

The most meaningful upgrade is under the hood. Samsung has replaced the Exynos 2400 found inside the Galaxy S25 FE with the 3nm Exynos 2500, the same chip Samsung previously used in the Galaxy Z Flip 7.

You still get only 8GB of RAM, though, combined with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage.

Camera hardware is another area where Samsung has made very few changes. There is a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera with OIS and 3x optical zoom.

The selfie camera has a 12MP sensor. Most of the changes come from software.

Super Steady video now gets Horizontal Lock, similar to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, while Samsung has also improved Nightography to reduce noise and color distortion when recording videos in low light.

My FanCam, which Samsung first introduced with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, is also available on the Galaxy S26 FE. If you have a recorded video with multiple people in it, My FanCam can track one of them and create a new clip that keeps that person front and center, cropping out everything else.

You also get improved Galaxy AI features like custom cards in Now Brief, and, more importantly, One UI 9 (Android 17) out of the box. That's newer than what you get on the other Galaxy S26 models, and Samsung promises seven generations of Android OS upgrades and seven years of security updates.

This is where I have the biggest problem with the Galaxy S26 FE.

Samsung is asking €799 for the 128GB version in Europe. The 256GB model costs €899, while the 512GB version is a difficult-to-swallow €1,099.

In the UK, prices start at £699 for 128GB, followed by £799 for 256GB and £949 for 512GB. US customers will pay $699 or $799 for the 128GB and 256GB versions respectively, with the 512GB model not available there.

That would already be a lot of money for an FE smartphone, but the situation becomes worse when you look at the Galaxy S26+.

The S26+ gives you a higher-resolution QHD+ display with a 1–120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 12GB of RAM, a better 10MP telephoto camera, a more powerful flagship processor, and several other advantages.

And at least here in Europe, the Galaxy S26+ with 256GB of storage can already be found from third-party retailers for less than the €799 starting price of the Galaxy S26 FE.

That makes the FE extremely difficult to recommend at MSRP.

My first impression of the Galaxy S26 FE is somewhat mixed. It is a good phone in many ways, but Samsung makes it very difficult to get excited about it at this price.

It feels great in the hand, I like the new camera island, the display is good, and Samsung's long software support remains a major advantage. The Blueberry variant looks particularly nice, provided you keep a microfiber cloth nearby.

But Samsung has simply not changed enough compared to the S25 FE. The Galaxy S26 FE feels more like another refinement of the same formula than a substantial upgrade, and increasing the price at the same time only makes that more obvious.

At a substantial discount, the Galaxy S26 FE could eventually become an interesting option. At €799, however, I would have a very difficult time picking it over a discounted Galaxy S26+.