Galaxy S26 FE shouldn’t exist if these leaks are true

I love the Galaxy S25 FE.

After years of underwhelming ‘Fan Edition’ models, Samsung finally nailed it last year, offering 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, where it has remained ever since.

As you might expect, I was excited for what Samsung could bring to the table 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 not an exaggeration to say that if they turn out to be true, the S26 FE shouldn’t exist.

The bare minimum upgrades

2026 is the year of tiny smartphone ‘upgrades’, and it doesn’t look as though the S26 FE will be immune.

The handset is rumoured (via SamMobile) to 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 a significant step forward, but the real question is: will it make a noticeable difference? As my review shows, everyday performance isn’t exactly lacking on the S25 FE. However, the power efficiency gains could yield a battery life improvement, despite no indication that the 4900mAh cell will be upgraded.

And… that’s about it. There’s a good chance that an improved chipset will be the only meaningful hardware upgrade, which simply doesn’t justify a new release.

To make matters worse, the phone could end up getting a couple of notable downgrades, which would make it a terrible buy.

Is Samsung making the hardware worse?

While meagre upgrades are frustrating, they’re something I can live with. Few people are getting a new phone each year, so the improvements compound over time to become a much more significant step forward.

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

I don’t think gen-on-gen hardware downgrades should ever be tolerated

The one which prompted this article was a listing on the Wireless Power Consortium (as spotted by 9to5Google), which includes a real-life image of the new phone.

At first glance, it looks almost identical to the S26+, ditching the S25 FE’s individual lens rings for a vertical bump. However, unlike that phone, this module appears to have been squeezed right into the top-left corner, making the back of the handset look plain weird.

Sure, it’s a small change, but a smartphone is as much a fashion statement as it is a tool these days. Given that 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 it. If The Elec’s report from March is accurate, upcoming FE phones will ditch Samsung’s own OLED displays in favour of emerging screens from Chinese company CSOT.

While still OLED, they’re generally regarded as inferior for peak brightness and punchy HDR, leading to a less vivid display experience. Colour accuracy, contrast and motion clarity appear to be similar, but this is clearly a cost-cutting measure.

…it’s the principle of downgrades on a newer phone that really rankles

Are these rumoured downgrades likely to make the S26 FE a significantly inferior phone to its predecessor? No. But it’s the principle of downgrades on a newer phone that really rankles, especially if Samsung doesn’t plan on reducing the £649/$649.99 starting price.

Just get the S25 FE instead

Seriously. With every fresh Galaxy S26 FE leak, its predecessor looks to be an even better buy.

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

Basically, 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, its price has dropped to just £549/$579.99 on Amazon, which represents superb value for money.

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

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