Samsung’s Fan Edition smartphones have always been a fan favourite. But some fans have felt they make too many compromises. The perfect middle ground has been elusive. Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 FE might just change that, delivering a combination of phenomenal battery life, a premium feel, and flawless software.
The smartphone market has become a strange place. At the top, you have incredible flagships that cost as much as a decent laptop, packed with features many of us will never fully use. At the other end, you have a flood of “flagship killers” that promise the world but often cut corners in ways that you feel every single day—a stuttery interface, a mediocre camera, or a battery that gives you anxiety before the evening arrives. For years, I’ve felt the real sweet spot isn’t a “killer,” but a “smart flagship”—a phone that intelligently prioritizes the features that genuinely improve your daily life.
Samsung’s Fan Edition (FE) line has always aimed for this sweet spot, but previous models have made necessary compromises. They were good, but you could always feel where the cuts were made.
This year feels different. After spending some time with the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, my first impression is that Samsung has finally cracked the code. This isn’t a watered-down Galaxy S25. This is a device built with a clear, confident philosophy: focus on phenomenal endurance, a delightful in-hand feel, and a buttery-smooth experience that lasts. It makes smart cuts, not jarring ones, and in doing so, it might just be the best all-around Galaxy phone for most people this year.
First, The Feel: A Masterclass in Ergonomics
Let’s get this out of the way: my biggest gripe with last year’s Galaxy S24 FE was its heft. At 213 grams, it was a chunky, dense phone that felt a bit unwieldy for a device meant to have mass appeal. It was a capable device, but it certainly wasn’t “handy”.
The Galaxy S25 FE is a complete course correction. The moment I picked it up, the difference was night and day. Samsung has managed to shave down the thickness to just 7.4 mm and, more importantly, has dramatically reduced the weight. While official numbers aren’t out, it feels remarkably close to the premium Galaxy S25 Plus, which weighs 190 grams. This would put the S25 FE at around 194 grams—a nearly 9% weight reduction that you feel instantly. It’s comfortable, balanced, and easy to manage with one hand.
Here’s the truly impressive part: Samsung achieved this while increasing the battery capacity. The S25 FE packs a larger battery than its predecessor, yet it sits in a thinner, lighter, and more elegant chassis. This isn’t just a new shell; it’s a significant engineering feat that addresses the single biggest physical drawback of the previous generation.
The premium feel is further reinforced by the materials. With an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both the front and back, the S25 FE feels every bit as solid as its more expensive siblings. The design itself borrows heavily from the S25 Plus, with the same clean camera layout and modern aesthetic. It comes in four sophisticated colours—Navy, Jetblack, White, and Icyblue—with the deep Navy being the standout hero colour for this year’s campaign. My review unit is the Jetblack.
The Main Event: Finally, Truly Insane Battery Life
If there’s one feature that will define the Galaxy S25 FE, it’s this. Battery anxiety is the great equalizer of the smartphone world, affecting everyone from power users to casual scrollers. With the S25 FE, Samsung has engineered a two-pronged solution designed to make that anxiety a distant memory.
First is the raw hardware upgrade. The battery capacity has been bumped up to a massive 4,900 mAh, but the real game-changer is the adoption of 45W wired charging—a huge leap from the 25W on the S24 FE. This isn’t just a minor spec bump; it fundamentally changes how you interact with the phone. A quick 20-30 minute top-up can give you hours and hours of use, freeing you from overnight charging rituals.
This decision is also a brilliant strategic move. The S25 FE’s 4,900 mAh battery and 45W charging are the exact same specifications found in the more expensive Galaxy S25 Plus. Meanwhile, the standard Galaxy S25 is stuck with a smaller 4,000 mAh battery and slower 25W charging. By giving the FE a best-in-class power system, Samsung is making a powerful statement about its priorities for this device: for the intended audience, all-day endurance is non-negotiable.
The second pillar of this battery marathon is the processor. Some might see the use of Samsung’s own Exynos 2400 chip as a cost-saving measure, and it is, but it comes with a hidden benefit that perfectly complements the huge battery. Recent analysis has shown that in common, everyday tasks, the Exynos 2400 architecture is remarkably power-efficient. In tests comparing it to its Snapdragon counterpart, the Exynos model demonstrated significantly longer battery life in web browsing and video playback — the very things most of us do all day.
This creates a perfect synergy. You have a massive battery providing the raw capacity, and an efficient chip that sips power during routine use. The result is a phone that doesn’t just last a full day; it comfortably pushes into a second. This is the “insanely good” battery life the rumors promised, and it delivers.
Smooth, Snappy, and Supported for the Long Haul
In 2025, a “smooth UI experience” isn’t about chasing the highest benchmark scores. It’s about a consistently fluid, responsive, and reliable interface that just works, day in and day out. This is another area where the S25 FE excels.
The Exynos 2400 is more than a capable powerhouse. Its performance sits comfortably in the flagship tier, somewhere between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8 Gen 3 processors. Paired with 8GB of RAM, it handles Samsung’s One UI 8 (running on Android 16) without breaking a sweat. Multitasking is effortless, apps open instantly, and all of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, like Circle to Search and live translation, run flawlessly. Samsung has also reportedly included an improved cooling system to ensure that performance remains stable even under load.
But the most important feature for long-term smoothness is Samsung’s software commitment. The Galaxy S25 FE comes with a promise of seven years of OS and security updates. This is a monumental value proposition. It transforms the S25 FE from a great phone for today into a smart, secure, and reliable investment that will continue to feel fresh and modern for years to come.
A Comprehensive Picture: Display, Cameras, and the Little Details
Beyond the headline features, the rest of the S25 FE package is impressively well-rounded.
The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is gorgeous, with the vibrant colours and deep blacks you’d expect from a Samsung panel. It features a fluid 120Hz refresh rate.
The camera system is versatile and capable. You get a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 12MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, also with OIS. This setup will produce fantastic photos in good lighting, with the main camera delivering crisp, detailed shots. The selfie camera also gets a welcome upgrade to a 12MP sensor. If I have one minor critique, it’s the 8MP telephoto. While having optical zoom at this price is a huge plus, this sensor is likely the weakest link and will probably struggle in low light. The Galaxy S25 FE doesn’t get you the best cameras, but still, for most users, it should be mostly good enough.
The phone comes with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. While 8GB is perfectly adequate for now, a 12GB option would have been a nice touch for ultimate future-proofing, but it’s a reasonable compromise to hit this price point.
The Verdict
After years of trying, Samsung has finally nailed the Fan Edition formula. The Galaxy S25 FE delivers an elite-level battery experience, a wonderfully premium and lightweight design, and a smooth, long-lasting software experience. It achieves this by making one single, intelligent compromise on the processor—a choice most users will never notice in daily performance, but whose benefits they will feel every single day in their hand and in the battery meter.
What the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE offers will make you question the value proposition of the standard S25 and S25 Plus.
| Feature | Galaxy S25 FE | Galaxy S25 Plus | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Exynos 2400 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Display | 6.7″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 1900 bits | 6.7″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 2600 nits | 6.2″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 2600 nits |
| Battery Capacity | 4,900 mAh | 4,900 mAh | 4,000 mAh |
| Wired Charging | 45W | 45W | 25W |
| Wireless Charging | 15W | 15W | 15W |
| Main Wide Camera | 50 MP, dual pixel PDAF, OIS | 50 MP, dual pixel PDAF, OIS | 50 MP, dual pixel PDAF, OIS |
| Telephoto Camera | 8 MP, PDAF, OIS, 3x Optical Zoom | 10 MP, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom | 10 MP, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom |
| Selfie Camera | 12 MP | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Dimensions (mm) | 161.4 x 76.6 x 7.4 | 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 | 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 |
| Weight (grams) | 190 | 190 | 162 |
At its price point, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE makes the more compelling case. It feels like a complete, no-excuses package. It’s the smart flagship I’ve been waiting for.
There isn’t much included in the Galaxy S25 FE retail box. You get just a USB cable and SIM eject tool.
The retail price of the Galaxy S25 FE starts from $948 for the 256 GB storage model, and $1,038 for the 512 GB one. This compares very favourably to the standard S25 will retails at $1,038 and $1,218 for the 256 GB and 512 GB models respectively.
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