Samsung Galaxy S26 FE should not exist if these leaks are true

I love the Galaxy S25 FE.

After years of disappointing ‘Fan Edition’ models, Samsung finally got it done last year, with a near-perfect balance between price and premium hardware.

Shortly after my S25 FE review was published in October, it was promptly installed as Tech Advisor’s best mid-range phone, and has remained so ever since.

As you’d expect, I was excited about what Samsung had to offer for the upcoming Galaxy S26 FE. Could the company deliver back-to-back hits and set a new standard for mid-range phones?

If the leaks are anything to go by, absolutely not. It’s no exaggeration to say that if they turn out to be true, the S26 FE shouldn’t exist.

The bare minimum of upgrades

2026 is the year of minor smartphone upgrades, and it doesn’t look like the S26 FE will be immune.

It’s rumored (via SamMobile) that the device will get a new chipset in the form of Samsung’s Exynos 2500 – the same as the Galaxy Z Flip 7. It uses a more advanced 3nm process than the S25 FE’s Exynos 2400 (4nm), with Z Flip 7 benchmarks suggesting a performance boost of up to 15% in single-core performance.

That’s an important step forward, but the real question is: will it make a noticeable difference? As my review shows, day-to-day performance isn’t exactly lacking on the S25 FE. However, the gains in energy efficiency could see an improvement in battery life, despite there being no indication that the 4900mAh cell will be upgraded.

And… that’s about it. Chances are that an improved chipset will be the only meaningful hardware upgrade, which simply doesn’t warrant a new release.

To make matters worse, the phone could receive some notable downgrades, which would make it a terrible purchase.

Is Samsung making the hardware worse?

While meager upgrades are frustrating, I can live with it. Few people get a new phone every year, so the improvements compound over time and represent a much more important step forward.

However, I don’t think generation-to-generation hardware downgrades should ever be tolerated, which makes the latest Galaxy S26 FE leaks extremely concerning.

The impetus for this article was a mention on the Wireless Power Consortium (as spotted by 9to5Google), which included a lifelike image of the new phone.

At first glance it looks almost identical to the S26+, with the S25 FE’s individual lens rings dropped for a vertical bump. Unlike that phone, however, this module appears to be squeezed right into the top left corner, making the back of the handset look strange.

Sure, it’s a small change, but nowadays a smartphone is as much a fashion statement as it is a tool. Considering the S25 FE and S26+ have identical screen sizes, there’s really no excuse if Samsung makes the design worse.

However, at least you can throw a case on the back and try to forget about it. If The Elec’s March report is accurate, upcoming FE phones will ditch Samsung’s own OLED screens in favor of emerging screens from Chinese company CSOT.

While they are still OLED, they are generally considered inferior in terms of peak brightness and powerful HDR, leading to a less vivid display experience. Color accuracy, contrast and motion clarity appear similar, but this is clearly a cost-saving measure.

Are these rumored downgrades likely to make the S26 FE a significantly inferior phone to its predecessor? No. But the principle of downgrades on a newer phone is really troubling, especially when Samsung has no intention of lowering the £649/$649.99 starting price.

Then just buy the S25 FE

Serious. With every new Galaxy S26 FE leak, its predecessor seems like an even better buy.

Almost everything I said in my 4.5-star review still applies, with top-quality construction, impressive core cameras and solid battery life. You’ll still get software updates until 2032, and the One UI 8 bugs I encountered will almost certainly have been fixed by now.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

In short, unless you want to game on your phone, the S25 FE remains the best mid-range phone on the market. At the time of writing, the price on Amazon has dropped to just £549/$579.99, which represents excellent value for money.

With the S26 FE likely to launch around August or September, I would now usually caution against buying the current generation. But if these leaks are reliable, there’s no point in waiting when the S25 FE is already this good and available at a significant discount.

Samsung can point to software and AI all it wants, but if the S26 FE only offers one hardware upgrade and compromises in other areas, it should never hit the market. While the global RAM shortage is putting pressure on all tech companies right now, it’s time for Samsung to really step up or just skip a year.