13:00Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Launches at $700 with Few Upgrades
The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE has been officially unveiled, and it will look quite familiar to those who follow the FE lineup. Overall, the S25 FE was a fairly standard upgrade over the S24 FE: a more powerful version of the Exynos 2400 chip, an additional 200 mAh of capacity with a 4,900 mAh battery, faster wired charging upgraded from 25W to 45W, and 15W wireless charging support on both models. In addition, the S25 FE increased the front camera’s resolution from 10 MP to 12 MP and switched from standard aluminum to the more durable Enhanced Armor Aluminum for the body. The picture looks different with the S26 FE: this time, the main difference is the Exynos 2500 processor, and that is almost the extent of the major upgrades. There are even some steps backward—Samsung no longer highlights Armor Aluminum for the body, referring only to aluminum, while the USB-C port is still limited to 2.0 speeds. When the specifications are compared side by side, the lack of changes is noticeable for a model arriving one year later. The pricing situation is not particularly comfortable either: the Galaxy S26 FE starts at $700 for the base version with 128 GB of storage, which is $50 higher than the S25 FE’s launch price. On the other hand, the Galaxy S26+ can sometimes be found for $850, offering 12 GB of RAM instead of 8 GB as well as 256 GB of storage as standard. The S26 FE’s price will also fall over time, and it will try to find its place between the Galaxy S26+ and the A57.
The picture changes somewhat when compared with competitors. At $700, Apple offers only the iPhone 16 with 128 GB of storage, while the iPhone 17 starts at $800. On Google’s side, the starting price for the Pixel 11 with 256 GB of storage is $900. In other words, compared with Samsung’s main rivals, $700 is a competitive figure for the S26 FE, but its appeal declines outside this trio, particularly when compared with other Android brands. Samsung’s software policy stands out among the S26 FE’s strengths: the model will receive both operating system and security updates for 7 years. The phone ships with Android 17 and One UI 9, and the new interface offers extensive customization options and support for wired DeX. With all this in mind, the question remains: given these features and the price, does the Galaxy S26 FE look appealing enough, or would it be more worthwhile to consider other Galaxy models with the same budget?
The picture changes somewhat when compared with competitors. At $700, Apple offers only the iPhone 16 with 128 GB of storage, while the iPhone 17 starts at $800. On Google’s side, the starting price for the Pixel 11 with 256 GB of storage is $900. In other words, compared with Samsung’s main rivals, $700 is a competitive figure for the S26 FE, but its appeal declines outside this trio, particularly when compared with other Android brands. Samsung’s software policy stands out among the S26 FE’s strengths: the model will receive both operating system and security updates for 7 years. The phone ships with Android 17 and One UI 9, and the new interface offers extensive customization options and support for wired DeX. With all this in mind, the question remains: given these features and the price, does the Galaxy S26 FE look appealing enough, or would it be more worthwhile to consider other Galaxy models with the same budget?