Galaxy S26 FE vs. Galaxy S25 FE: One major upgrade and one unfortunate downgrade

The Galaxy S26 FE is Samsung’s newest Fan Edition smartphone. As usual, it arrives with updated hardware, new software capabilities, and a brand-new version of One UI. If you are upgrading from an older model like the Galaxy S23 FE, improvements justify the switch.

But what if you already own a Galaxy S25 FE? Are there enough improvements to consider the upgrade? For the most part, the newer processor does all the heavy lifting.

Both the Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy S26 FE use the same 6.7-inch display with Full HD+ resolution, an adaptive 60Hz to 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and 1,900 nits peak brightness. However, driving that panel on the Galaxy S26 FE is the Exynos 2500 chip, which brings upgraded CPU and GPU cores alongside a significantly faster NPU for on-device AI tasks.

It is fabricated on Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process for improved energy efficiency under intense workloads. The Exynos 2500 features a 10-core CPU architecture paired with the AMD-powered Xclipse 950 GPU:

Compared to the Exynos 2400, the new processor has roughly 30% faster CPU and GPU performance, while the NPU is around 40% faster. In everyday use, that translates to improved responsiveness during sustained workloads and gaming sessions.

Generative photo and video editing tasks complete faster, while the upgraded NPU enables new camera capabilities like Super Steady Video with Horizon Lock and My FanCam.

Although the Galaxy S26 FE retains the 4,900mAh battery capacity of its predecessor, the 3nm efficiency gains yield slightly better endurance (about one extra hour of video playback, according to Samsung). Both models support 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging.

The core camera hardware remains identical across both generations:

While the sensor array is unchanged, the Exynos 2500’s upgraded Image Signal Processor (ISP) delivers modest improvements in dynamic range, texture retention, and low-light noise reduction.

Both devices support HDR10+ capture and electronic image stabilization (EIS) at up to 4K at 60fps across all sensors, with the primary camera topping out at 8K at 30fps.

Other shared hardware specs include an in-display optical fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, IP68 dust and water resistance, 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC.

There is one notable drawback on the newer model: the Galaxy S26 FE steps down to a USB 2.0 Type-C port, compared to the faster USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port on the Galaxy S25 FE. If you regularly move large 4K/8K video files or local backups between your phone and a PC over a cable, you will definitely feel the slower data transfer speeds.

So, unfortunately, we don’t recommend upgrading from the Galaxy S25 FE to the Galaxy S26 FE. But if you are looking to buy a new phone, you can definitely consider the Galaxy S26 FE.