Hands-On With the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE: Subtle Refinements

Samsung isn't shaking up the FE playbook with the Galaxy S25 FE, but it has definitely tweaked a few key areas that matter. The battery is now closer to what you'd get on the pricier S25+, the body feels slimmer and lighter in hand, and the selfie camera moves from 10MP to 12MP - not the biggest leap, but hey, it's still an upgrade, I guess. Add to that Samsung's full bag of Galaxy AI tricks, the same ones you'd find on its flagships - and suddenly the FE feels grown up this year.

During a brief hands-on, Samsung walked us through its newest hardware - the Tab S11 series, Buds 3 FE, and the Galaxy S25 FE. The latter is particularly interesting, since on paper it irons out some of the rough edges of the S24 FE, reaffirming its role as the crucial link between Samsung's premium flagships and its mainstream A-series. So, let's take a quick look at its innards.

Design and Build

The Galaxy S25 FE borrows heavily from the Galaxy S25 and S25+ duo, which isn't really a complaint. You still get the clean, minimal design, and the FE also gets the Armor Aluminium treatment like the flagships. What sets it apart this year is the finish - Navy, White, and Jet Black. My personal pick is Jet Black, though the Navy unit I spent time with looked striking in person. It's not a fingerprint smudge magnet, and looks stunning while at it. Samsung has also launched a couple of cases to go along with it, which also double up as a stand and holder for the phone. Sadly, I could not take a photo of it, but the below first impressions video should give you a quick look at it.

In the hand, though, you really feel the change. At 7.4mm thickness and 190g, the phone is slimmer and lighter than the S24 FE (which sat at roughly 8mm and 213g). The drop in thickness isn't massive, but the weight reduction is noticeable - especially when you consider that Samsung has managed to squeeze in an extra 200mAh battery capacity on the S25 FE. The phone is still rated for IP68 for protection against water and dust.

Display

Samsung's panels rarely miss, and the one on the S25 FE is no different. It's the same 6.7-inch AMOLED display you'd find on the Galaxy S25+, with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1900 nits claimed peak brightness.

I barely spent 30 minutes with it, during which I watched a quick two-minute video. The colours looked punchy, vibrant, and clear, and scrolling through menus felt smooth. I'll need more time with the device to properly test brightness levels, sunlight legibility, and different colour profiles, so I'll dive deeper into all of that in my full review.

There isn't a major upgrade here compared to last year, but truthfully, it didn't really need one. In terms of durability, the screen gets a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus+ for protection against scratches and accidental drops.

Cameras

On the rear, the Galaxy S25 FE sticks with the same triple setup as its predecessor: a 50MP primary, 12MP ultra-wide, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. The digital zoom maxes out at 30x.

It's a reliable combo, but I can't help but feel that Samsung could have pushed things a bit further here - especially with the telephoto. A higher-resolution sensor would've given zoom shots more breathing room, and it's the one area that feels slightly overdue for an upgrade.

Where you do see a change is on the front. The selfie camera moves from 10MP to 12MP, a subtle bump but one that plays into how the FE series is positioned. Samsung says the FE line resonates strongly with a younger audience - and it makes sense that selfies, video calls, and social-first photography get some extra polish.

Video recording tops out at 8K 30fps. For 60fps output, you can switch to 4K, which most of us use. The Galaxy S25 FE also comes with AI trickery in the gallery app, like Audio Eraser, which can help iron out background noise and slow motion, which is a personal favourite feature of mine. I'll be spending more time with the cameras to see how they handle low light, portraits, and zoom in real-world conditions, which will feature in the full review.

Performance

Under the hood, the Galaxy S25 FE runs on the Exynos 2400 - a chip we first saw on last year's Galaxy S24 and S24+. It's not brand new silicon, and Exynos chips don't exactly have the cleanest track record when it comes to peak performance. Still, benchmarks should put it somewhere around the 1.4 - 1.6 million mark on AnTuTu. The hope, of course, is that Samsung positions the S25 FE at a price that makes sense for the hardware it's offering.

What's more interesting is Samsung's focus on thermal management. The company says the Vapor Chamber cooling system is 10% larger this year and now uses a new MS Liquid Thermal Interface Material. Samsung was tight-lipped about the exact dimensions of the vapor chamber, but it did confirm the upgrade. In theory, this should help the S25 FE sustain higher performance for longer without throttling as aggressively under load, but again, that's just in theory.

The Galaxy S25 FE comes in three storage variants, but 8GB RAM remains constant; there won't be any 12GB RAM options.

8GB + 128GB  
8GB + 256GB   
8GB + 512GB

In my short time with the device, basic navigation and app switching felt smooth (as you'd expect). But the real test will be extended gaming sessions and intensive workloads, where we'll see whether the upgraded cooling actually delivers. That's something I'll dig into more deeply in the full review.

Battery and Software

Like I mentioned in the design segment, Samsung has given the Galaxy S25 FE a slight bump in battery capacity - 4900mAh, up from 4700mAh on last year's model. What's interesting is that despite trimming the weight and thickness, the phone still manages to squeeze in this larger cell. That's a win in my book. Charging, however, stays unchanged at 45W wired and 15W wireless, which feels fine but not class-leading in 2025. And, at this point, it's no longer surprising.

On the software front, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE runs One UI 8 based on Android 16 right out of the box. You're also getting 7 years of Android updates and 7 years of security patches, the same promise as Samsung's flagships, which should give this phone a long runway. All the Galaxy AI features are here too: Object Eraser, Audio Eraser, Instant Slow-mo, Now Brief (minus Moments), and even Gemini Live integration with camera and screen recording support - much like what we recently saw on the Pixel 10 series. On top of that, Samsung is bundling a 6-month trial of Google AI Pro Suite, roughly a ₹12,000 value if you were to pay for it.

Verdict

The Galaxy S25 FE doesn't reinvent the formula, but it does refine it - slimmer, lighter, a slightly bigger battery, a sharper selfie camera, and all the Galaxy AI tools trickled down from the flagships. The core hardware feels familiar, which is fine, but whether the Exynos 2400 holds up in real-world use is something I'll be testing further.

On paper, though, this looks like a sensible upgrade over the S24 FE. As always, the price tag will decide just how compelling it really is.