Samsung's new Galaxy S25 FE promises premium features for less
The company's latest budget-friendly "flagship" has some decent specs for the price
📱 Samsung has announced the new Galaxy S25 FE
⚙️ It packs a better chip, a brighter display, and a bigger battery into a thinner design
📸 It uses the same triple cameras from the Galaxy S24 FE, but with better processing
🎨 There are four nice-looking colors to pick from
💰 The Galaxy S25 FE starts at $649
Samsung has unveiled a new entry-level “flagship” phone. During its online Unpacked event, the company took the wraps off the new Galaxy S25 FE. It’s a budget-friendlier version of the base Galaxy S25 that we reviewed earlier this year, with a lot of similarities to last year’s S24 FE and a few key upgrades that make it a solid package. It’ll go on sale starting at $649.99, $150 less than the regular S25.
The Galaxy S25 FE feels a lot like the rest of the S25 series. My boss and I certainly felt like we were having a case of déjà vu during our hands-on experience, and not just because of the S25 similarities. It also looks a lot like last year’s S24 FE, save for a thinner design at 7.4mm versus 8 mm.
That thinner profile is still thick enough to fit new parts like a faster Samsung Exynos 2400 processor, better thermals to keep things cool, and a bigger 4,900mAh battery. You still get 45W charging on the S25 FE, as well as 15W “Qi2 Ready” charging (sorry, no magnets for you - those are still only found on the Pixel 10 series, for some reason). The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display can now reach 1,900 nits of brightness, and there’s stronger Gorilla Glass Victus+ to protect it. Samsung also includes an IP68 rating and stronger aluminum sides.
Cameras are identical to last year, with a 50MP main lens, a 12MP ultra-wide, and an 8MP 3x telephoto. Samsung says it’s improved image processing thanks to the S25’s ProVisual Engine, which helps make things like skin tones and intricate details look better. The selfie camera has received an upgrade to 12MP so your selfies look better, and there are a handful of AI features on deck like Audio Eraser for videos and Generative Edit.
Speaking of AI, the S25 FE comes with Samsung’s One UI 8 (based on Android 16) with Galaxy AI. You’ll find the usual suite of writing and editing tools on deck, as well as Samsung’s Now Bar and Now Brief for surfacing contextual information based on time of day. You also get Circle to Search and Gemini, like many other Android phones these days. Samsung is promising seven years of OS upgrades with the S25 FE, so you can use this device for a while before missing out on new software features.
You can start ordering the Galaxy S25 FE beginning today. It’s available in four different colors: Navy, Jet Black, White, and Icyblue. I’m partial to the Navy color, but Icyblue is also very nice.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.