Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review: Packed with features that matter

Samsung earlier this month launched the much-awaited Galaxy S25 Fan Edition (FE). It is a watered-down version of the premium S25 phone with a not-so-expensive price tag.

Compared to the predecessor, it comes with a faster chipset, improved camera hardware and a bigger battery. I have been using it for a week, and here are my thoughts on the latest premium Android phone from the house of Samsung.

Design, build quality and display

The new Galaxy S25 FE sports a chocolate bar design language with flat edges and curvaceous corners. It has the triple camera islands similar to the premium Galaxy S25 series models.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

It offers a good grip for the fingers to hold on to the device. It also comes with protection against daily wear and tear.

The display is safeguarded by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ shield, and the phone features an IP68 water-resistant rating, meaning the device can survive an accidental fall in a freshwater body up to 1.5 metres (approx. five feet) for close to 30 minutes.

Also, the matte finish on the back ensures the device repels the fingerprint smudges to an extent. When looked at from a certain angle, we can see the finger impressions.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE comes in four colours-- icy blue, jetblack, navy blue, and white.

On the front, it sports a 6.7-inch full (2340×1080p) Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate, and offers up to 1900 nits peak brightness.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

The Galaxy S25 FE's display is really good for consuming multimedia content and scrolling endlessly on social media platforms indoors.

However, unlike the S25 Ultra (review), the S25 FE lacks an anti-glare coating. When outdoors, users will face reflection issues and have to take the screen a little closer to the face to view content.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

The device also comes with dual-SIM slots, a Type-C port, stereo speakers and an in-display fingerprint sensor. The latter works flawlessly without any pressing issues to complain about.

Performance

The device is powered by Samsung's proprietary 4nm class Exynos 2400 deca-core processor (one 3.2GHz Cortex-X4 core + two 2.9GHz Cortex-A720 cores + three 2.6GHz Cortex-A720 + four 1.95GHz Cortex-A520 cores) with Xclipse 940 GPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB / 256GB / 512GB storage.

In terms of day-to-day activities, the device works smoothly be it running, switching between multiple apps or running generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)-based Galaxy AI features.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

However, compared to the premium Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra, the S25 FE warms up faster when operating a camera or playing graphics-rich games.

That said, the heating is not so much overwhelming to complain about; most devices exhibit similar behaviour pushed to the extreme.

The device supports several Galaxy AI features such as Now Bar, Now Brief, Call Assist (real-time translations during voice calls), writing assist, interpreter, Note assist, Transcript assist, Photo assist, drawing assist, object eraser, audio eraser, photo ambient wallpaper, in addition to Google's proprietary Gemini Live, Circle to search and more.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

The Galaxy S25 FE runs on Android 16 with One UI 8 and is guaranteed to get seven years of Android OS updates and security patches up to 2032, for protection against emerging cyber threats.

It houses a 4,900mAh battery. With a full charge, it consistently delivered a full day of battery life under normal usage with Wi-Fi connection at home and the office. It supports 45W fast charging capability and takes more than an hour to fully charge from zero to 100 per cent.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

Photography

It boasts of a triple camera module- main 50MP camera ( with f/1.8 aperture, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) with 123-degree 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide sensor and 8MP Telephoto camera (OIS, 3X Optical Zoom, f/2.4) with LED flash.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

It takes pretty nice photos in the sunlight. The subjects, particularly the flowers and human face, appear vibrant and crisp.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

At close-up range, the device again excels with really good photos with minute details.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

With night mode on, Galaxy S25 FE takes decent quality pictures with less noise.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

It can also capture ultra-wide-angle photos, and as you can see from the sample photos, it does a fantastic job in capturing vast swathes of the agricultural field perfectly fit in the frame.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with Ultra-wide angle mode.

It also supports optical zoom up to 3X and digitially zoom up to 30X. The device manages to get sharp photos up to 10X, but after this point, it begins to accumulate noise.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 5X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 10X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 20X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 30X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 5X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 10X Zoom.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample with 30X Zoom.

With portrait mode on, it does a fine job with edge detection around the subject. Be it the flower or a pet or a human face, there are no smudges around the contour. And, artfully blur the background to get that perfect bokeh effect.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

Like the premium Galaxy S25 variants, it supports all the gen AI photography tools such as Object Eraser, Reimagine, glass reflection eraser, Audio Eraser and more. All work exceptionally good on the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

On the front, it houses a 12MP (f/2.2) camera for selfies and video calling.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

It takes decent selfies in all light conditions and also comes with cool editing tools to enhance the photo quality.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's camera sample.

The primary camera on the back can record 8K videos at 30 frames per second (fps) and 4K in 30/60/120 fps. Even the front camera can record decent-quality and stable 4K videos.

Final thoughts

The Galaxy S FE series has always been about offering premium Samsung phone features without the expensive price tag.

One of the major tradeoffs for cost-cutting is the Exynos chipset in place of the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon. Having said that, the device manages to deliver smooth performance with day-to-day activities. It does get a tad warm when playing graphics-rich games or while operating the camera, but as noted earlier, it is not overwhelming enough to complain about.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE.

It supports all the gen AI-based Galaxy AI features like live translations, audio transcription, and even the photography tools like object eraser and audio eraser work flawlessly.

It also has a really good camera hardware, and performs in almost all light conditions. And, it can deliver a full day of battery life under normal usage.

Overall, the Galaxy S25 FE is a well-rounded device.

The device is available in three variants-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 8GB RAM + 512GB storag-- for Rs 59,900, Rs 65,999 and Rs 77,999.

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