Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review: Argh-RP disclaimers

When it comes to smartphones, Samsung has a complicated offering. You can buy Samsung smartphones across foldable Z, flagship S, and cheaper A models. But there are nuances within those ranges. Take the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, for instance. The so-called "Fan Edition" phone is effectively a cheaper version of the Samsung Galaxy S25.

That's great news, in theory – especially with the ever-rising RRP of smartphones – but in reality, the S25 FE has an RRP that may incentivise you to consider the flagship alternative instead. While that puts the S25 FE on the back foot from the get-go, the value of the phone becomes a bit clearer if you can get it for below RRP.

Samsung has continued to refine the FE design between generations. The Galaxy S25 FE is slightly thinner but somewhat lighter (190g vs 213g) than last year's S24 FE. More noticeably, the addition of an aluminium frame in the 2025 model makes for a more premium feel while upping the durability. You still get the same IP68 dust and water resistance.

While the 1900 nits peak brightness and 1080x2340 resolution is identical between S24 FE and S25 FE, the display has been upgraded. The S25 FE has a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane to dynamically raise and lower the refresh rate on demand, which should lead to better power efficiency. During my time with the S25 FE, the display was responsive and the on-screen results looked great (even in fully lit rooms), whether viewing webpages, browsing through photos, watching videos, or playing games.

With seven generations of Android and One UI updates, plus seven years of security updates, the S25 FE is the kind of phone you can hang onto beyond the two-to-three-year upgrade trend. Other improvements over the S24 FE are minor: a 2MP bump to the selfie cam with HDR, Bluetooth 5.4 (vs 5.3), up to 45W wired charging (vs 25W) and a 200mAh boost to battery life. The only thing I could find that's a 'downgrade' is that virtual proximity sensing is seemingly gone.

If you're a fan of loudspeakers that live up to the name, you'll like the S25 FE's stereo speakers. They put out big, clear sound, even at 50% volume. While both S24 FE and S25 FE offer 15W wireless charging, this year's model adds Qi2 compatibility, which is a welcome addition. What's less welcome is how the S25 FE has hung onto WiFi 6E instead of making the jump to WiFi 7, which can be a game-changer for wireless speed and reliability on a WiFi 7 network.

The rear camera stack, though, is functionally identical to the S24 FE. It's not going to compete with something like the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, but that's an unfair comparison. I have a very fidgety cat who pulls fleeting poses that demand photographic proof, and the S25 FE offered the kind of responsive photography that allowed me to capture these moments (even with fast movements and occasionally shaky hands). The results, while brighter than what I'm used to with the more naturalistic pics on a Pixel Pro phone, still looked great.

That's during the day or in well-lit conditions, mind you. In lower-light conditions, the S25 FE overcompensates, with my night-time test photos looking overly bright and even washed out in parts. If you do have issues with the photos, the AI-powered Photo Assist is actually pretty handy. There is only so much you can do with getting rid of finer details on a small screen with fingers, but I found it intuitively identified larger objects I wanted to remove and did a solid job of making the end results look natural.

While technically better, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE's Exynos 2400 processor isn't much of an improvement over the S24 FE's Exynos 2400e. According to processor-benchmarking site NanoReview, the S25 FE's processor is only two points better overall and only four points better for CPU performance. Gaming and battery performance is identical.

While you've got a choice of 128GB, 256GB or 512GB storage options, all three come with 8GB of RAM, which is about the minimum you'd want for a smartphone nowadays. You may notice issues with more demanding apps and mobile games, but I didn't notice any hitches during my everyday testing with the S25 FE.

It may be 2025, but AI is still a big deal in the smartphone space, and the S25 FE is no exception. Outside of Photo Assist, the more practical AI inclusions are Browsing Assist (webpage summaries), Writing Assist (for notetaking), and Audio Eraser for cleaning up background sound in videos. You can also do the years-old AI things like circle to search or newer tricks like real-time translation.

Still, the hundreds of megabytes of downloads required for features like real-time translation (per language) will noticeably chew into capacity, especially on the 128GB model. I'm AI curious but have never really folded any AI uses into my daily phone use, so these features are more 'nice to have' than essential for users like me.

That said, if you are an AI aficionado, pay close attention to the big grey disclaimer in the room. According to Samsung's fine print, "fees may apply to certain AI features at the end of 2025", so you may want to hold off until 2026 to buy the S25 FE if one of the main motivators is included AI features.

I wasn't expecting the best battery life after reading that the S25 FE has a 4900mAh capacity. While capacity obviously matters, it doesn't have to be as big a deal if the system is optimised and has features that allow for better longevity. Casual users will undoubtedly appreciate the six days it took to go from 100% to 15% in my limited-use (mostly standby) test.

During my WiFi video-streaming test at 50% volume and with default brightness, the S25 FE lasted 16 hours and 43 minutes, which is around 2.5 hours shy of a similar test for the S24 FE last year. More confusing were the wired charging times. The S25 FE estimated one hour and nine minutes for a full charge from an Anker 737 Power Bank. At best, I saw it drawing 32.6W from the power bank, but those wattages frequently fluctuated well below that peak wattage (which is still shy of the 45W claim). In the end, it took about an hour to get 80%, with the full charge taking just over 1.5 hours.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is an incremental improvement over last year's model. Most smartphone users aren't upgrading every year, so that's okay. But given the pricing landscape at the time of writing this review, Samsung's RRPs for the S25 FE range feel out of whack with how even RRP-loving retailers saw the price of the same phone.

If you can get the S25 FE for under a grand, the disclaimers feel less pressing. But when considered at full RRP, you're better off waiting for a sale or maybe even next year's model. All that said, if it's time to upgrade and you don't want to spend the seemingly requisite $1,500 for a true flagship phone, the S25 FE hardware and features feel well-positioned between mid-range and flagship. It'll do every mainstay mobile task and then some, but the more you ask of it and the closer you look comparatively, the more cracks start to appear.