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Samsung has launched the Galaxy S26 FE with only minor spec upgrades over its predecessor, yet raised the price by $50/£50 for equivalent storage tiers, reportedly due to rising component costs. This narrows the price gap to the flagship Galaxy S26 to roughly $100, while that model offers a stronger chipset and better cameras.
Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE goes on sale September 3 for $699.99, $50 more than its predecessor, with Samsung citing RAM supply pressure for the increase. The phone keeps similar battery, display and camera specs to the S25 FE but adds the Exynos 2500 chip, 8GB of RAM, and seven years of software support. Its main selling point is a suite of Galaxy AI tools ported from Samsung's pricier flagships, including Photo Assist, Audio Eraser, and updated Now Brief and Now Nudge features.
Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE keeps the same camera setup as the S25 FE—12MP ultrawide, 50MP main, 8MP 3x telephoto and 12MP front—yet launches at a higher price. The main differentiators are software features like My FanCam and Horizontal Lock, which rely on new neural processing hardware exclusive to the S26 FE, while other AI tools such as Now Brief, Now Nudge and Circle to Search are software updates likely to reach the S25 FE too.
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S26 FE, a mid-tier successor to last year's S25 FE that keeps most of the same hardware but swaps in the newer 3nm Exynos 2500 chip with faster cores and an upgraded RDNA-based GPU. The device also gains camera software borrowed from pricier Galaxy models, including Horizon Lock and My FanCam, ships with One UI 9, and carries a design refresh to its rear camera housing.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 FE, priced $50 higher than its predecessor at $700 for 128GB and $800 for 256GB. The phone keeps a 12-megapixel selfie camera but widens its field of view, and it inherits several camera software tools from Samsung's pricier S26 and Z Flip 8, including Super Steady Video, My FanCam autoframing, and Audio Eraser noise removal that also works with Netflix and YouTube.
Samsung's new Galaxy S26 FE sits between its A-series and flagship S lineup, offering a 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display, a triple rear camera setup, and an Exynos 2500 processor with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB storage. It includes a 4,900mAh battery, 45W wired and 15W wireless charging, and seven years of software support, at a starting price of $700, up $50 from last year's model.
Samsung is holding a new Unpacked event, teasing the newest addition to its S26 lineup after already releasing three Galaxy S26 flagship models earlier in the year. Based on Samsung's pattern and event messaging, this is widely expected to be the launch of the more affordable Galaxy S26 FE, which typically trims some camera and chip specs from the flagship models while keeping core features like AI tools and the latest One UI software.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S26 FE with nearly identical specs to last year's S25 FE, including the same 6.7-inch OLED display, 4,900mAh battery, and triple rear camera. The main changes are an upgraded Exynos 2500 chipset, a slightly wider selfie camera, new color options, and a redesigned camera island, but the phone now starts at $699.99, a $50 increase over its predecessor.
South African retailer Dress Your Tech has jumped the gun by listing about a dozen cases and case-plus-screen-protector bundles for Samsung's unannounced Galaxy S26 FE. The listings include standard and slim silicone options with visible rings for Qi2 magnetic charging, in colors matching previously leaked device finishes plus new pink and transparent variants. Samsung is set to hold a Galaxy Event on August 27, widely expected to unveil the phone.