Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE has come a little early this year. I honestly wasn’t expecting the Korean giant to release it so soon, given that rumours of it only just began floating about the internet. But, for better or worse, Samsung gave us some time with the phone, and we got to see what the new Fan Edition has to offer.
I’ll start with what’s underneath the hood. On paper, the S26 FE runs on the Exynos 2500. The chip is literally an upgraded version of last year’s Exynos 2400 found in its predecessor, the S25 FE.
Beyond that and specs-wise, the S26 FE feels very much like a mirror image of the S25 FE. Put their specs side-by-side, and you’ll understand why: same 8GB RAM, same three storage configurations, even the same 6.7-inch FHD+ (1,080 x 2,340) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1,900 nits peak brightness. Heck, even the battery is the same at 4,900mAh.
Even the main camera is identical to last year’s model. A triple-camera module, it uses the same 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, and 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. Heck, even the aperture levels are the same across each sensor. It’s the same story with the selfie shooter too, featuring a 12MP sensor.
On an aesthetic note, the main camera island now has a housing around all three of them, instead of individually wrapping them. As a plus point, it is at least thin enough than the phone itself, so putting it down on a hard surface doesn’t cause such an imbalance, unlike say, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.
Right. That’s the hardware details out of the way. Now I can briefly talk about the phone itself, and I’m not going to traipse around it: there’s not much difference in the way it feels. Like all candybar designs, the S26 FE holds comfortably into my hands; at 6.7-inches, it’s not that much wider than even the S26 Ultra and specifically, it is 0.2-inches slimmer.
The glossy back and front of the S26 FE sometimes make it challenging to hold at times, but then again, this becomes a non-issue the moment you get a cover for it.
Sadly, I didn’t get much time with the main camera of the S26 FE, and I couldn’t take out any of the pictures from the phone, given Samsung’s lockdown mode during the session. Having said that, I wasn’t missing out on much in terms of picture quality; again, the system is identical to the S25 FE and as an S series device, it’s more than decent enough and certainly better than anything Samsung’s A series has to offer. If you’re a videographer though, then good news: Samsung is bringing the Horizontal Lock feature from the S26 Ultra, as well as the FanCam function for your social media needs.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE will be available starting 4 September, and the company is offering three models: 8GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB, and 8GB+512GB. Price-wise, they will retail at RM2,899, RM3,299, and RM4,099, respectively. The phone will be available in three colour options: Blueberry, Graphite, and Pistachio.
