First look: Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE will go on sale September 3 with a starting price of $700, giving buyers a cheaper route to the company's latest phone. For owners of the Galaxy S25 FE, there is little reason to upgrade based on the battery, display, or camera. The S26 FE is more likely to appeal to those using an older device who want Samsung's newer AI features, a large screen, and long-term software support without paying flagship prices.
The price is $50 higher than the Galaxy S25 FE's starting price. Samsung has pointed to ongoing pressure on RAM supply, which has also contributed to price increases across other recent Galaxy devices.
The S26 FE runs on Samsung's Exynos 2500 processor and includes 8GB of RAM. The chip previously appeared in the Galaxy Z Flip 7. It should offer improved day-to-day performance over the S25 FE, though it is not intended to match the speed of Samsung's top flagship phones.
Samsung ships the device with Android 17 and One UI 9. It will receive seven years of operating system and security updates, extending the support period well beyond the typical upgrade cycle for many phone buyers.
The company is placing much of the S26 FE's emphasis on software. It includes several Galaxy AI features already available on higher-end Samsung devices, including updated Document Scanner tools, Photo Assist, and Audio Eraser. Photo Assist allows users to make image edits with natural-language prompts. Audio Eraser can separate or reduce background noise in third-party apps, including Instagram, Netflix, and YouTube.
Samsung also updated its suite of Now features. Now Brief can display user-created cards based on a category, a written prompt, and a preferred delivery time. Someone could, for example, set a card to show a weather forecast before leaving work.
Now Nudge is designed to offer suggestions based on what is happening in other apps. Samsung says it can recommend creating a Calendar event when an email mentions a date or suggest saving a location in Google Maps after a restaurant is mentioned in a text conversation.
The camera system is mostly unchanged from the Galaxy S25 FE. On the back, the S26 FE has a 50-megapixel f/1.8 main camera, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide camera, and an 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera. The telephoto lens supports 3x optical zoom and up to 30x Super Zoom.
The front camera is still a 12-megapixel f/2.2 unit, but Samsung widened its field of view to 85 degrees. The change is meant to make it easier to include more people in a selfie.
Samsung is instead relying on software for the camera upgrades. Super Steady Video uses a virtual lock to keep footage level even when the phone is rotated up to 360 degrees. The company also says low-light video should appear brighter and clearer, with less noise.
The phone adds My FanCam, a feature that debuted with the Galaxy Z Fold 8.It lets users record a wide view, then select a person or subject and focus on them while editing the video.
Hardware that carries over includes the 6.7-inch display, which has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and peak brightness of 1,900 nits. The phone also retains a 4,900mAh battery, 45W wired charging, and 15W wireless charging.
The phone will be sold through Samsung, major wireless carriers, Amazon, and Best Buy. It comes in Blueberry, Graphite, and Pistachio. The 128GB model costs $699.99, while the 256GB version is priced at $799.99. Samsung is not bringing the 512GB model to the US, though it will be available in some other markets.