Samsung’s $700 Galaxy S26 FE Is Better, but It’s Getting Harder to Call It a Bargain

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE may be the company’s lower-cost flagship, but the phone’s getting nearly all of the same software features we first saw on the company’s more expensive phones. And it better be, as it’s also getting a $50 price bump over last year’s S25 FE, with this year’s phone starting at $700 for 128GB of storage and $800 for 256GB. Announced Thursday, S26 FE’s biggest hardware change is its 12-megapixel selfie camera. That’s the same megapixel count as last year’s selfie camera, but its new wider field of view allows you to photograph more of your surroundings. The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE has a front-facing camera with a wider field of view than last year’s FE.Joseph Maldonado/CNET But I’m most excited about all of the camera software features the phone is getting from Samsung’s more expensive devices, like the $900 Galaxy S26 and the $1,200 Galaxy Z Flip 8. Super Steady Video with Horizontal Lock helps keep your video shooting stable even when your hands are shaking or you’re moving around while recording. My FanCam automatically frames specific subjects within a video. Samsung’s Audio Eraser removes background noise from videos you take on the FE and also supports Netflix and YouTube. The My FanCam feature, first seen on Samsung’s folding phones, creates autoframing videos centered on a specific subject.Joseph Maldonado/CNET All of these features are part of Android 17 and Samsung’s One UI 9 — and the S26 FE’s lower cost makes them more accessible than any of the other phones in the company’s lineup. Plus, the phone works with Samsung’s new Smart Switch app, making it easier to move your apps, data and texts over from an iPhone by connecting directly with iOS 26’s Transfer to Android feature. I still need time to test the S26 FE after my brief hands-on time, but I do think the FE has a decent opportunity to stand out thanks to its software features and lower price — even if it’s certainly not cheap at $700 for 128GB. Upgrading to it from a Galaxy S23 FE or earlier will provide the most noticeable jump, thanks to its larger 6.7-inch display, Samsung’s year-old but still punchy Exynos 2500 processor and the aforementioned camera features. I do wish that display was brighter — the phone’s peak brightness of 1,900 nits should suit most environments, but other comparably priced phones like the Pixel 10A are hitting 3,000 nits. Samsung’s 30x digital zoom on the Galaxy S26 FE has been improved over last year’s phone.Joseph Maldonado/CNET I’m also concerned with the phone’s starting storage: 128GB could fill up fast if you’re using it for video. You’ll be better off with 256GB if you plan to use this phone long term. And despite all of these features and Samsung’s promise of seven years of software and security updates, the S26 FE is noticeably more expensive than similar phones like the $499 Google Pixel 10A and Apple’s $599 iPhone 17E. There’s also a lot of hardware that didn’t change much over last year’s S25 FE. The S26 FE’s camera system includes a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom. Those specs didn’t change from the S25 FE, but Samsung improved the clarity on its 30x digital zoom and says that details should look sharper for images shot at 1x and 2x zoom. The phone also has a 4,900-mAh battery with 45-watt wired charging and 15-watt wireless charging speeds. That’s also unchanged from last year, but in our 30-minute wired charging test, the S25 FE’s battery recharged from 0% to 69%. That’s very good, and hopefully the S26 FE pulls in a comparable result. Samsung will also sell cases for the S26 FE that add support for magnetic accessories like chargers and wallets. The S26 FE will come in three colors: Pistachio (green), Blueberry (blue) and Graphite (dark gray). It goes on sale Sept. 3.