Samsung Galaxy S26 FE review: Good phone, tougher proposition

FE stands for Fan Edition. And that moniker means a lot to Samsung buyers.

Generally, when bigger smartphone brands talk about an enthusiast device, it does not necessarily mean that the phone will tick every box. It may have the right hardware, but there are usually compromises somewhere. Samsung rewrote that formula with the Galaxy S20 FE. Since then, every FE phone has, in its own way, been a celebration of the enthusiast crowd.

These are buyers who do not necessarily want all the bells and whistles, or more importantly, the price tag of a flagship smartphone. But they do want some of the best hardware and features that Samsung has to offer.


That is what made the FE series interesting in the first place.

Unfortunately, this year, rising component costs have also pushed up the price of the Galaxy S26 FE. And that means the FE no longer has quite the kind of pricing that would automatically encourage more and more people to go for it.

That does not necessarily make the Galaxy S26 FE a bad phone. In fact, after using it, there is a lot to like here.

For this review, I have tried to look at the Galaxy S26 FE as a standalone smartphone, rather than simply comparing it with other phones on the market. After testing it across different use cases, here is my take on whether the Fan Edition still delivers what its name promises.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is priced at Rs 79,999 in India for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. This is currently the only configuration officially available in the country.

The Galaxy S26 FE is available in Pistachio, Blueberry and Graphite colours.

Design

The Galaxy S26 FE follows the design language that Samsung has now established across much of its smartphone portfolio.

It is not a phone that immediately stands out from a crowd, especially because a majority of Samsung's devices now share a similar design philosophy. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

At 7.4mm thick and 193 grams, the S26 FE feels surprisingly slim for a phone with a 6.7-inch display. The Armor Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back and IP68 rating also add to the premium feel.

Most importantly, it feels premium to hold.

The flat frame makes it comfortable to grip, the weight is well distributed and the overall construction feels reassuring. The buttons are easy to reach and the camera module sits neatly on the back without making the phone feel excessively bulky.

So, while the S26 FE may not win any awards for being the most distinctive-looking phone in its segment, it does feel like a premium Samsung device in the hand.

Display

The Galaxy S26 FE gets a 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a claimed peak brightness of 1,900 nits.

And this is a display that is very easy to like.

The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling, animations and general interaction feel really smooth. Colours are vibrant, text is sharp and watching videos on the large panel is an enjoyable experience.

The speakers also deserve a mention. They get sufficiently loud and offer a fairly good stereo experience, making the phone well suited to watching videos without reaching for headphones.

The fingerprint sensor is another small but important part of the experience. It is quick to recognise your finger and unlocks the phone without much fuss.

Yes, this is not an LTPO panel, which is something to note if you are specifically looking for that particular display technology. But for the majority of users, this is unlikely to be a problem in everyday use.

The display also performs well outdoors. Even under direct sunlight, I did not find myself constantly trying to find shade just to read something on the screen.

Software

The Galaxy S26 FE is among the first Samsung phones to ship with One UI 9 based on Android 17, and Samsung is promising seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates.

That alone makes this a phone that should age well.

But more importantly, Samsung's Galaxy AI features have become considerably more mature over time. The experience here feels similar to what we have seen on devices such as the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold series.

Features such as Photo Assist, Now Brief and My FanCam are well integrated into the overall experience rather than feeling like completely separate AI experiments.

One feature that particularly stood out to me is Samsung's transcription tool. It is one of the best transcription experiences in the business, especially when you are dealing with conversations, interviews or meetings and need a reasonably accurate transcript without having to manually type everything out.

The UI is a little too colourful for my taste, but it is very easy to understand and navigate. And that becomes increasingly important as AI features become a bigger part of the smartphone experience.

For a new user trying to understand what AI can actually do on a smartphone, having these features presented in an accessible way can be genuinely helpful.

Performance and battery

This is where it becomes a little difficult for an FE to still stand for an enthusiast crowd.

That is why I would divide this section into two parts: what absolutely works, and who this phone may not work for.

For somebody who simply wants the new S26 moniker and the latest Samsung experience, the Galaxy S26 FE works well. Everyday performance is smooth, applications open quickly and the phone handles regular multitasking without any major issues.

The 4,900mAh battery also works well for somebody using the phone every day. Battery life is dependable for regular usage, and the phone also supports 45W wired charging as well as wireless charging, which adds to the convenience.

But if you are an FE fan who comes to the series looking for the absolute top-of-the-line performance, things can feel a little underwhelming, especially when you compare it with what the Galaxy S26 Ultra offers.

We did, however, put the phone through some enthusiast activities,including gaming on Call of Duty Mobile. During our testing, we did not see any noticeable performance drops, and the device did not get uncomfortably hot either.

So, for everyday users and even people who occasionally push the phone with gaming, the S26 FE should be more than capable.

It is just that the FE's enthusiast positioning becomes harder to defend when the expectation is to get the best performance Samsung has to offer. This also coupled with the fact that we only have one variant in India, does limit the user base.

Camera

The Galaxy S26 FE gets a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide, an 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and a 12MP selfie camera.

The primary camera is where most users will spend their time, and it does a good job. In daylight, images have plenty of detail, good dynamic range and the familiar Samsung colour treatment. The processing can be a little punchy at times, but the results are generally social-media ready straight out of the camera.

The 3x telephoto is a useful addition, particularly for portraits and shooting subjects from a distance. It also gives the S26 FE more flexibility than phones that rely entirely on digital zoom. The ultra-wide is good for landscapes and wider frames, although there is a slight drop in detail compared to the primary camera.

Low-light performance is fairly reliable, with the main camera retaining a good amount of detail while keeping noise under control. Video is also one of the stronger aspects, with good stabilisation and consistent results when shooting handheld.

Samsung has also brought some of its AI-powered camera features to the FE, including My FanCam. These are not features you will necessarily use every time you open the camera, but they can be genuinely useful in specific situations, particularly when shooting people or moving subjects.

Overall, the S26 FE has a camera system that is versatile, dependable and easy to point and shoot with. It may not be the reason you buy the phone, but it certainly does not feel like a compromise.

Verdict

The Galaxy S26 FE impresses and delivers, in most of its features, what you would expect from an FE device.

You get the latest S26 moniker, a premium build, a very good display, capable cameras, long-term software support, useful Galaxy AI features and performance that should be more than enough for most everyday users.

The complication is the price.

At Rs 79,999, the Galaxy S26 FE has become significantly more expensive, and that changes the way we look at the FE proposition. The price increase is largely a consequence of the current global component cost environment, something that is not entirely within Samsung's control.

At the time of writing, if you are looking for the Samsung experience and can spend a little more, the Galaxy S25 Ultra with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage is available on Amazon for Rs 95,999 as brand-new stock. That makes it an option worth checking out if you are willing to stretch your budget.

But if you specifically want the S26 moniker and the latest Samsung experience, the Galaxy S26 FE is certainly worth considering.

And if you are an enthusiast looking specifically for an enthusiast device, there are more options in the market that may better fit that requirement.

The Galaxy S26 FE still carries the Fan Edition spirit. It is just that, at Rs 79,999, finding that spirit now requires a little more thought.