- Excellent daytime camera performance
- Smooth, snappy performance
- Seven years of software updates
- Below-average battery life
- Noisy night photography
- The standard Galaxy S25 can be found cheaper
When Samsung introduced the first “Fan Edition” Galaxy phone in 2020, the Galaxy S20 FE, it was a way to bring the flagship experience to the masses. The pricing gap between the Fan Edition and the O.G. has always been around $300, which is a decent discount. That is, until you consider that the Galaxy S25 is now seven months old, meaning it’s no longer difficult to find for under $1,000. The biggest threat to the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE isn’t competitors from other brands, but rather the inspo for the phone itself.
Hand-me-downs galore
As part of the Galaxy S25 family, the FE’s design is almost identical to the S25 Plus, with a slim, lightweight form factor, 6.7-inch screen, aluminium frame, vertical triple-lens camera array and even similar colours. But under the hood, there’s quite a bit separating them, and much less separating the Galaxy S25 FE from last year’s Galaxy S24 FE.
The Galaxy S25 FE’s display, for example, is mostly unchanged from its predecessor. It’s perfectly smooth, crisp and bright; however, the S25 and S25 Plus are significantly brighter (2,600 nits compared to 1,900 nits), and the latter boasts a higher resolution despite being the same 6.7-inch size. All three devices have the same silky smooth 120Hz refresh rate and IP68 dust and waterproof rating.
One of the more noticeable sacrifices Samsung has made to keep the Galaxy S25 FE at its more budget-friendly price point is the camera. Though from the outside it may be hard to distinguish from its S25 siblings, the Galaxy S25 FE’s camera array comprises completely different lenses. They even look similar on paper, but the S25 FE’s 50MP main lens, 12MP ultrawide and 8MP telephoto lens are all hand-me-downs from the S24 FE, with only the selfie camera getting a boost from 10MP to 12MP.
In practice, the Galaxy S25 FE proved to be a proficient photography partner in well-lit environments. Subjects are crisp, colours are bright but not over-saturated, and Samsung’s AI image processing is mostly decent. What lets the Galaxy S25 FE down is its low-light performance. Granted, that’s not every phone's strong suit, but I found it even harder to get a clear shot than I've seen in some cheaper mid-range phones. All my night shots ended up looking shaky and noisy.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
The days are short but the years are long
I’m not personally the biggest fan of One UI, mostly because of the bloatware and un-opt-out-able features (looking at you, Game Booster), but it’s a reasonably pain-free experience on the Galaxy S25 FE with its 8GB of RAM and Exynos 2400 processor—this time a hand-me-down from the Galaxy S24. Games run smoothly (if a little hot) even at max graphics settings and high frame rates, and multitasking is no problem at all. That said, you can expect an even snappier experience by simply opting for the Galaxy S25, which boasts 4GB more RAM and the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
Given that Samsung is marketing the Galaxy S25 FE as the “gateway to Galaxy AI”, it’s not surprising that the phone is pretty AI-heavy. Some features, like the image editing tools and Transcript Assist, are useful enough, but I don’t think any of them are enough to sell you this phone on AI alone.
There's also the matter of how long Galaxy AI will remain free. Samsung has quietly updated its terms and conditions to note that "fees may apply" to some features from the end of 2025. Only time will tell which features will elude the paywall.
Fortunately, the Fan Edition comes with the same promise of seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates as more premium Samsung devices. That’s an additional year compared to Galaxy A series devices, meaning your phone will still be safe for use as late as September 2032.
Unfortunately, you may not want the Galaxy S25 FE to make it to that point. We all know that phone batteries degrade over time, so considering how mediocre I found the S25 FE’s battery to be at the start of its life, I dread to think of how often it’ll need a charge seven years from now. In my week of testing, I found it needed a top-up just about every evening with moderate use, which is obviously not ideal. 45W wired charging is speedy, which is a blessing considering you may have to do it twice a day, depending on how heavy a user you are. On the plus side, the S25 FE is Qi2 compatible (but not out of the box—you'll need a special case), supports 15W wireless charging, and has reverse wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE - Final Thoughts
The whole point of a “Fan Edition” Galaxy is to bring the flagship experience to the masses with a cheaper entry point. But when you can get the regular Galaxy S25 for the same price (or even lower), I just can’t see why anyone would choose the Galaxy S25 FE, especially when it’s simply not even a big enough upgrade on its predecessor.
That’s not to say it’s not a capable phone—it absolutely is. While low-light photography can be a bit iffy, the Galaxy S25 FE can produce some lovely daytime shots. Its processor, while not quite as beefy as more expensive members of the lineup, will be more than snappy enough for 99% of users, and though we’d love to see better battery life, it is on par with its pricier counterparts.
Ultimately, the choice is yours—all prices being the same, would you rather sacrifice a larger display for better cameras and performance, or vice versa?
Georgia Dixon
Managing Editor - Singapore
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