Galaxy S26 FE arrives with upgraded chip and camera features from more expensive Galaxies

TL;DR The Galaxy S26 FE has launched with nearly the same hardware as last year’s model but a more capable Exynos chip. The biggest upgrades involve new camera features, such as Horizon Lock and My FanCam, borrowed from more expensive devices. The phone also comes with One UI 9 preinstalled and will get seven years of updates. The Galaxy S25 FE was one of the most fascinating Samsung devices to launch last year. It wasn’t a true flagship, and it didn’t have the best screen, cameras, or chipset; a comparison with the more capable Galaxy S25 — or the newer Galaxy S26 — series phones would easily dwarf it in a tabular comparison. Yet its allure holds up because of the strong value it offers, especially with its battery and charging advantages over the base S series models.Now, Samsung is announcing a follow-up in the form of the new Galaxy S26 FE, which comes with subtle design changes, a new processor, and a host of software upgrades.Processor gets its due upgradePaul Jones / Android AuthorityThe Galaxy S26 FE aims to bridge the wide performance gap between the Galaxy A57 — Samsung’s most premium mid-ranger — and the base Galaxy S26. Up from the Exynos 2400 last year, the Galaxy S26 FE now gets a (relatively) newer Exynos 2500 (the chipset actually launched with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 last year).The upgrades include a newer 3nm architecture, slightly boosted clock speeds across all 10 CPU cores, an improved Xclipse 950 GPU with AMD’s RDNA architecture for better efficiency, and a more capable NPU. The Exynos 2500 still lacks the Heat Pass Block, a passive heat radiator, that Samsung later added to the Exynos 2600, which launched earlier this year.Design gets subtle tweaksPaul Jones / Android AuthorityOther upgrades on the Galaxy S26 FE include a slightly tweaked design for the camera island on the back. While it gives the illusion of a slimmer design, Samsung hasn’t explicitly discussed any improvements of the kind yet.The phone gets new colors, including “Blueberry” (dark blue), “Pistachio” (green), and “Graphite” (black). Samsung has offered these colors on FE phones in the past, so they can’t be called entirely new.Cameras remain unchanged, RAM is still lacklusterPaul Jones / Android AuthorityMeanwhile, features that remain seemingly untouched from last year include the triple cameras on the back. We still see a 50MP main camera, an 8MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide-angle sensor. Despite no hardware upgrades, Samsung claims the 50MP primary camera captures more detail at 1-2X zoom thanks to a more capable processor.The 6.7-inch AMOLED, the 4,900mAh battery, and 45W wired charging also remain unchanged. Despite this, the Galaxy S26 FE has been rated for improved battery life, though we’ll wait to test it ourselves to see whether the claims hold up in real-world use. Samsung also hasn’t switched to silicon carbon for the battery, as it did with the recent crop of foldables.It’s worth flagging that the RAM hasn’t been upgraded from 8GB, and it might feel limiting over continued use, especially as more on-device AI applications evolve over the next few years and Samsung supports them with software updates.One UI 9 brings new featuresPaul Jones / Android AuthorityEven with limited hardware upgrades, Samsung emphasizes software updates that make the Galaxy S26 FE a “dependable” device and bring it a touch closer to the flagship S26. It adds several camera-centric upgrades, such as support for Horizon Lock for steady video and Nightography mode for bright low-light videos.One UI 9’s My FanCam keeps certain people at the center of the frame while recording videos, and the Galaxy S26 FE is the first non-foldable from Samsung to get it.In addition to the camera features, One UI 9 also brings custom cards in Now Brief. At the same time, cross-app intelligence powered by Gemini is expected to keep useful, relevant information handy when you need it. Beyond One UI 9, Samsung promises the standard seven years of iterative Android version updates for the FE.Galaxy S26 FE: Price & availabilityPaul Jones / Android AuthorityFollowing today’s announcement, Samsung will make the Galaxy S26 FE available starting September 3. At first, it will offer only one variant: 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, with another option with 256GB of storage available later.The 8GB/128GB variant costs $699.99, marking a $50 hike over last year’s model. Samsung hasn’t revealed the price of the other storage variant, but has confirmed there will be no model with higher RAM, at least for now. Samsung is also offering a free six-month Google AI Pro subscription, as it does with a host of other high-end Samsung devices.Samsung Galaxy S26 FESamsung Galaxy S26 FEImproved performance • Flagship-grade samera features • Seven years of updatesThe Galaxy S26 FE delivers flagship-inspired features at a lower price.The Galaxy S26 FE brings a newer Exynos 2500 chip, upgraded camera features, One UI 9, and seven years of updates. While much of the hardware remains unchanged, it aims to deliver a compelling mix of performance, features, and value.Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.