Samsung Galaxy S26 FE review: An incremental price hike for incremental updates

The Galaxy S26 FE is the latest edition of Samsung's "fan edition" phone series, which attempts to strike a middle ground between its flagship "S" phones and its cheaper entry-level A-series. Maintaining that balance is difficult. What features and specs do you try to match? What compromises need to be made? Some of us will be taking a more considered look at this year's FE phone, as the RAM crisis nudges prices upwards, not only for flagship phones, but also for the middle ground occupied by the $700 S26 FE . What constitutes value for money in a new smartphone in 2026?

Like the Galaxy S25 FE , the S26 FE feels more like the Galaxy S26+ than the S26, with a larger 6.7-inch display and a trio of cameras on the back. It's hard to spot the differences from its predecessor since there are only a few minor design changes, including a new glossy back finish. It's a choice: The S25 FE had a matte finish, as does the flagship S26 family. I guess it's been done to differentiate, but I'm not sure why. The newest Galaxy phone is also marginally taller, wider and heavier (3 grams) than the S25 FE, though the 7.4mm thickness remains identical. It also has a slightly more pronounced chin at the bottom of the device.

Otherwise, it looks and feels like a flagship Galaxy phone that costs several hundred dollars more. Plus, I love the pistachio colored device I received for review. I'm always happy to see more diverse color options appear alongside the monochrome status quo.

The S26 FE also has a new connected camera island, replacing the camera lenses that slightly jutted out of the back of the S25 FE. It's a minor design tweak, but it does help unify the device with both the Galaxy S and Z families.

The 6.7-inch OLED display looks crisp and vivid, though anyone coming from flagship devices will notice the lower max brightness on sunny summer days. It peaks at 1,900 nits, while the Galaxy S26 series cranks out up to 2,600 nits. The display does, however, reach up to 120Hz, so it's at least a smooth experience, and compared to the base S26, I appreciate having more screen on a device that's currently $200 less.

Diving into the rest of the technical specs reveals the tough economic choices made to keep the price low. That said, it's still $50 more than the S25 FE, with the same 8GB of RAM and only 128GB of storage on the base iteration. This fills up quickly, especially with asset-dense games like Wuthering Waves. (There is a 256GB version, if needed.)

This year's Fan Edition now has an Exynos 2500 chip, which makes it at least a little more capable for gaming. It's certainly not a flagship experience, however. The S26 FE struggled with the demands of Wuthering Waves , with frame rates often choking in prettier, more detailed environments or hectic fights. Some may argue this is one sign that this isn't a fully fledged Galaxy S phone, but it uses the same chip as last year's Z Flip 7. Unless you're pushing the phone to its limits, it's otherwise fast and responsive most of the time.

One thing I did note was that the camera app was occasionally so sluggish it felt like a much cheaper A-series phone. This was intermittent, but also frustrating. Trying to snap an in-the-moment shot demands a zippy camera app. It's been years since phone companies have bragged about how responsive their camera launchers and shutter are, because they are all pretty swift now, making the S26 FE's struggles all the more jarring.