8.3 Score
It’s no secret that we love the Fan Edition smartphones Samsung makes, because they offer so much value with the Galaxy Ecosystem experience, which a lot of people tend to be afraid of trying, especially those who had horror stories from the TouchWiz days. This year, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is my favourite Samsung phone of the year. Despite the wee bit of increase in price, they upped the ante and boy, this can give the S25+ a run for its money.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review
S25+, That you?
A good feel, fit and finish is what I’ve always asked from Samsung, and they sure know how to disappoint in this department before. Well, thank goodness they listened and brought a lot of the premium finish and experience over to the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. For one, the phone is amazingly thin; you can’t tell it until you put it side by side with the S24 FE and the S25+. It’s impressive, and people mistook this phone for the S25+ and some even for the S25 Edge.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is now 7.4mm thin and 190 grams lighter, and you have to thank Samsung once again because the Enhanced Armor Aluminium from the S25 Series is what we are getting here. In fact, it doesn’t stop there. Samsung opted for the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ on this phone, and the bezels on the front are much thinner than the S24 FE, which looked like an A Series. So, content consumption and immersion with the new S25 FE are on point.
Though there is an issue with ours: we have never dropped or abused this phone a single bit, but we have been using it for over a month now, and we noticed this weird coating chipping off the frame – we have yet to reach out to Samsung to see what’s the issue here but if it is happening to yours, let us know.
Vapor Chamber with the Exynos 2400 Experience
Last year’s Galaxy S24 FE featured a “lite” version of the Exynos 2400, dubbed the Exynos 2400e. This year, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE gets the Exynos 2400, which is the flagship processor found in the year-old S24 Series. Odd as it may sound, I will take the slightly beefier processor, which can handle more tasks efficiently, and it surely does. Since this processor is now a little more powerful, thermals can be a concern, and Samsung included a 10% bigger Vapour Chamber under the hood.
I have nothing to complain about the performance, and I’ve said this over and over again. Since the 2400 lineup, Exynos has been pretty efficient and knows how to put up a great show. We gamed on this phone, and by gaming, just playing Honkai Star Rail and Wuthering Waves – both games, handled very well, and despite the occasional thermal spikes, especially in the highest settings, can be solved by bringing the settings from Very High to High, and that still gives a tasteful experience.
As someone who has used phones mostly for productivity and entertainment rather than for gaming, the snappy experience the S25 FE offers is something you shouldn’t take for granted because it wasn’t like this if you compare it to the first Fan Edition. Samsung taking the FE seriously could mean one thing: they are bringing the heat with this phone for those who want a capable Samsung smartphone that upgrades them to a higher tier.
While the Camera remains the same…
On the back, the software experience they are bringing to these cameras is slightly improving the experience. Although I do hope to see an improved Telephoto or Ultrawide because, under low light, these cameras do run through hiccups with shooting. Apart from that, if you do look at the photos we have shot with this camera, it does have a little bit of a cold tone bias, but the photos are of an acceptable quality. The camera that improved is the front-facing camera, and I am a Gen Z who shoots selfies in Ultrawide these days – so, the front-facing camera matters the least to me.
Improved Battery Life is a welcome Improvement
4900mAh battery and 45W charging speeds – puts this Fan Edition on a much higher pedestal than the Z Flip and Fold we reviewed, which got an abysmal 25W charging. Back to the S25 FE, this phone has given me a day and a half to two days battery life on a single charge, which comprises light to moderate daily use, because I don’t game much while I am out and if I do, I resort to my gaming handheld.
So, the 4900mAh battery is pretty decent here, and I have no complaints personally. Given that it supports 45W charging, man, it’s such a breath of fresh air. So, there’s really nothing to worry about. I woke up with like 48% battery, and I could still connect it to a charger while I do my morning routine and head out with a full battery.
Oh, Full Suite of Galaxy AI on the S25 FE (which is a first!)
If you have seen Samsung raving about the Galaxy AI features on the flagships and feel that FOMO-ness, that stops today because the S25 FE provides the complete slew of Galaxy AI features – from Voice Recorder Transcripts, Photo Editing, and the list just goes on, honestly – the S25 FE has got you covered. I am glad these features are now available on a phone that’s more easily obtainable. This brings me to my next point – why I really love the S25 FE this year.
Why I love the S25 FE this year
Samsung has innovated with the Foldables and S series, but my biggest concern is the price tags they end up getting when they hit the shelves. For some of us, dropping RM 6000 on a smartphone may seem easy because of the pay grade we are in, whereas most users out there are on a budget and are looking for a good phone that they’d like to use for a long time. With that said, in our S24 FE review, we said that the Fan Edition is the gateway into Samsung’s ecosystem, and that statement holds true.
You do get the Galaxy Ecosystem experience, such as: Routines, Smart Things, Galaxy AI, the experience in their new OneUI 8 (fun fact: the S25 FE is the first phone to run OneUI 8 out of the box) – this is what you should look for. If hardware is what you are chasing after, not only is this phone not for you, but you are chasing a high, which Samsung has subtly hinted that there’s no reason to upgrade every generation, as the improvements are granular, because that’s how expensive these phones are getting.
So, to offer 50% of what the flagship phones have in a more obtainable price point, you best believe that phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE are what consumers really need. And it hits every box the right way possible.
Conclusion
If the Flagship S Series and Z Series are the First Class smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE belongs in the Business Class. You are going to miss out on the more elusive First Class experience, but with the Fan Edition, you are still getting the priority treatment, which smartphones like the A Series miss out on.
From a price point, the 256GB variant we reviewed here goes for RM 2,799, and the 512GB for RM 3,099. Both of these prices are well justified in my opinion, and with the long update support – both experience and security – the S25 FE gets our vote of confidence for the best smartphone to offer a good flagship experience with the right hardware that ages well over the years.
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