Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE pros and cons
Vivid, high resolution display with attractive matte finish.
Reliable performance and battery life across daily use.
Strong value within the Galaxy range - bolstered with incentives.
Telephoto lens lacks crispness at long distances.
Body does feel slightly less refined, reflecting cost.
Some core fan features - expandable memory, headphone jack - are absent.
The 'Fan Edition' returns to Samsung’s flagship series in the Galaxy S25 FE, a phone designed to deliver the essentials of a premium device at a more accessible price.
With an expansive display, strong performance and many years of software support, does this refresh capture the Samsung sweet spot? Check out our review to find out.
Design and specifications
The Galaxy S25 FE clearly follows Samsung’s current design language with flat edges, a symmetrical front and a vertical camera stack for its trio of lenses.
The build marries Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus with an enhanced Armor Aluminium frame and carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
At a scant 7.4mm and 190g it is both the thinnest and lightest FE to date, with slimmer bezels and a floating camera look.
Colour variants at launch are Navy, Jetblack, Icyblue and White (the lattermost was in for review), each finished with a soft haze treatment that gives a subtle matte appearance.
The display is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate and peak brightness over 2,000 nits.
Resolution sits at 1080 × 2400, which is lower than the Ultra’s QHD display, but remains sharp enough for all use cases.
Under the bonnet, the S25 FE runs on Samsung’s Exynos 2400 chipset, with 8GB RAM in all iterations and storage options of 128GB, 256GB or 512GB. There is no microSD expansion, marking a limitation for those looking to fill it with media, but also makes sense in keeping costs in check.
A 4,900mAh battery powers the phone, with 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging available, albeit from post-purchase chargers.
Connectivity is broad, topping out with Wi-Fi 6E speeds during testing (but not Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 5.4, NFC and full 5G support.
There is no 3.5mm headphone jack on the S25 FE, a continued omission that feels somewhat at odds with the Fan Edition moniker, leaving you with either wireless or USB-C options for your musical needs.
This combination of specifications does place the S25 FE firmly in the upper echelon of mid-range mobiles, with enough performance and features to satisfy most buyers - despite missing some of those flagship flourishes to keep a bit of a gap for their most premium of smartphones.
Display and audio
Samsung’s reputation for stellar screens is represented well here.
The S25 FE's 6.7-inch AMOLED panel is vivid, sharp and responsive, with smooth scrolling through social feeds, and brightness boosts automatically when stepping outdoors, making messages and navigation easy to see even on a bright afternoon.
The resolution may not match higher-end models, but the colours and clarity remain excellent, and a matte finish to the screen gives a slightly muted but incredibly crisp finish to text and images that outperforms its FHD+ resolution.
Watching a film on a rainy evening highlights just how capable the panel is, with HDR content showing strong contrast and a pleasing depth to shadows.
Gaming also benefits from the refresh rate, as animations flow without stutter (more on this later).
Audio comes from stereo speakers placed at the top and bottom, delivering balanced sound that is well suited to video calls, streaming and casual music listening alike.
Voices come through cleanly, and the speakers manage to add bass but avoid distortion or even the slightest frame rattle at peak volumes.
For immersive music playback, seamless smart pairing with Galaxy Buds or other wireless headphones offers the best experience, with Samsung’s spatial audio support rounding out the package.
Camera capabilities
The S25 FE’s triple camera system is versatile but makes a few understandable compromises when staked up with the flagship models.
It pairs a 50-megapixel wide main sensor with optical image stabilisation, a 12-megapixel ultrawide for expansive shots and an 8-megapixel telephoto with 3× optical zoom, whilst a 12-megapixel effort proves decent when on selfie duty, with a small pinhole carved out on the front display.
In good light, the main sensor produces sharp, detailed images with rich colour. The ultrawide adds scope for landscapes, capturing the breadth of a countryside walk with decent sharpness across most of the frame, though some softness appears at the corners.
The telephoto is useful for moderate zooms, such as bringing a distant building closer during a city break, but it lacks the range of its own Samsung siblings.
Low light performance is respectable, if not outstanding. Indoor shots retain decent clarity, though shadows can lose detail.
Night photography in city streets produces results bright enough to share, with noise reduction keeping grain at bay.
Video recording is solid at 4K with stabilisation, keeping clips steady during a stroll through a town centre. Colours are natural, and transitions between lighting conditions are handled without major issues.
Selfies are bright and accurate, with Samsung’s tuning delivering flattering results. Video calls remain smooth even under mixed light, making the phone suitable for conferencing.
AI tools remain front-and-centre for Samsung's Galaxy devices, and the S25 FE is no exception, with deeper integration than ever.
Photo Assist brings Generative Edit for moving or erasing objects and fills the scene intelligently, while Suggest Erases tidies background distractions.
My Filters lets you build a custom look from a favourite photo and apply it consistently, and Auto Trim spots key moments to assemble short highlight clips.
Audio Eraser helps reduce ambient noise in recordings so voices stay clear.
All of these sit on top of the capable triple camera setup, which remains well judged for everyday shooting.
Overall, the S25 FE's camera system is reliable for everyday photography and offers a balanced mix of lenses, though it falls short of the cutting edge zoom and advanced low light performance found in Samsung’s top-flight models.
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Performance and software
The Exynos 2400 chipset ensures the Galaxy S25 FE handles daily tasks with ease.
Apps open quickly, multitasking is smooth, and navigation feels polished.
Gaming performance is another strong suit - in Fortnite, the phone runs comfortably at 60 fps with graphics set to high, delivering smooth frame rates during busy firefights without noticeable stutter.
Even newer titles such as Honkai: Star Rail run consistently well on medium to high presets, keeping character animations sharp and combat transitions fluid.
After extended sessions of around 45 minutes, the phone grows warm but does not seem to throttle aggressively, allowing gameplay to continue without any major slowdowns.
The S25 FE is also the first device to launch with One UI 8 out of the box, debuting Samsung’s refreshed interface ahead of the Ultra and Plus models.
This version of One UI refines animations, simplifies the Quick Panel layout and introduces new AI-powered tools across Samsung Notes, Gallery and messaging.
Split-screen multitasking makes productivity easier, while Samsung’s suite of apps integrate neatly with the wider Galaxy ecosystem.
AI features are woven throughout as one might expect - real-time translation during conversations and summarisation tools in Samsung Notes both feel natural to use, adding real convenience without clutter.
Using voice dictation to draft a message while walking through a park shows how fluid the AI support can be, with accurate transcription and sensible corrections.
Perhaps the strongest part of the software package is Samsung’s long-term commitment.
The S25 FE benefits from seven years of Android updates and security patches, giving it longevity rarely seen outside of top-end models.
For a mid-priced phone, this is certainly a standout feature.
Battery life and charging
The 4,900 mAh battery is a strong point of the S25 FE, as daily use with messaging, music streaming and navigation sees it easily through a full day, with around 35% of charge often left in the tank. Lighter use comfortably stretches it into a second day.
On a weekend trip, the phone managed maps, photos and streaming music without anxiety about charging - a reassurance for anyone who dislikes lugging around a power bank.
Charging is quick too, with 45W wired charging adding a significant boost in half an hour.
Wireless charging at 15W is slower but useful for trickle topping-up overnight.
Samsung does not include a charger in the box, so buyers will need to supply their own. For those upgrading from older devices, existing USB-C chargers may not reach full 45W speeds, making an additional purchase worth investigating.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE UK pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE starts from £649 in the UK for the 128 GB version, rising to £699 for 256 GB and £799 for 512 GB.
The four colour variants available include Navy, Jetblack, Icyblue and White, and Samsung has paired the launch of the S25 FE with a suite of incentives for keen fans.
Buyers can claim a free pair of Galaxy Buds3 worth £159, and a free Galaxy Watch7 worth £239.
There is also a guaranteed £100 trade-in bonus available when handing in any smartphone, regardless of condition, plus Samsung Shop App purchases qualify for 10 percent off using the code S25APP.
These promotions hugely increase the value of the S25 FE, making it one of the most attractive mid-premium packages currently available - but be quick as these often only last through the launch window.
Final verdict
The Galaxy S25 FE is a welcome annual return for Samsung’s 'Fan Edition' series.
It balances design, display quality, performance and long-term support at a price that feels fair, while retaining enough premium touches to stand out in the mid-premium market.
There are compromises, however - the telephoto camera lacks the reach of flagship rivals, and the storage options stop - with a significant £100 price bump over 256GB - at 512GB, which may not satisfy the most demanding of users, who in honesty aren't who this device is aimed at.
It starts to become a challenging conversation when the top-spec model matches the £799 price tag of an iPhone 17, but keep storage in check - and take advantage of those whopping launch deals - and this device is a phenomenal bargain.
Its materials do feel less refined than the glass and titanium design of the Ultra model, and the absence of a headphone jack also stings, especially for a phone marketed openly as a Fan Edition.
Yet judged on its own merits, the S25 FE succeeds as a dependable all-rounder, capable of handling demanding tasks while lasting all day on a charge.
Its software support commitment is a huge advantage, making it a phone designed to last far beyond the average upgrade cycle.
Against its rivals, it maintains a strong appeal, undercutting Samsung’s own S25 Ultra significantly, while still offering much of the Galaxy experience - including the latest AI features and leading the pack on UX tweaks for One UI.
It stands ahead of cheaper competitors with its better display, software and support, and presents itself as a safe, smart buy in 2025.
For those who want a phone that does nearly everything at a flagship level without paying flagship prices, the Galaxy S25 FE is a smart choice.
