Samsung used the opening moments of IFA 2025 to do something it’s done before — squeeze flagship features into a cheaper package and hand it to the crowd. The Galaxy S25 FE is the line’s mid-range “gateway” phone: thinner and lighter than its predecessor, carrying most of the Galaxy S25 family’s software smarts, and priced deliberately to undercut the $699–$999 flagship window. It’s on sale now, starting at $649.99, and ships with a handful of launch perks meant to make the buy feel like a tiny rebellion against spending flagship money.

The S25 FE has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, runs One UI 8 on Android 16 out of the box, and is powered in many regions by Samsung’s Exynos 2400 chip rather than the Snapdragon 8 Elite that other S25 models use. The camera array is familiar: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide and an 8MP telephoto, plus a 12MP front shooter. Samsung is pitching the phone as the cheapest way to get the full suite of Galaxy AI features — from Generative Edit for photos to on-device assistant tricks — without buying the most expensive S25 hardware.

The price and availability

Samsung lists the S25 FE starting at $649.99 in the U.S., and the phone is available in multiple colorways (Icyblue, Jetblack, Navy and White). For a limited promotional window at launch, Samsung’s U.S. store is offering the 256GB model for the same $649.99 price — effectively a free storage upgrade during the early sales period — and the company bundles six months of Google AI Pro access with the purchase. Those two incentives are central to the FE pitch: more storage and expanded AI access while you decide whether you want to trade up later. Do note pricing and promos vary by region — European SRPs announced at IFA are higher in euro terms.

Design and battery: slimmer, lighter, with better endurance

On paper, the S25 FE is thinner than last year’s FE model: Samsung slimmed the chassis and used what it calls Armor Aluminum on the frame while keeping Gorilla Glass protection and an IP68 rating. That design work helped shave weight to around the 190-gram mark and thickness to roughly the mid-7mm range, making it a pocketably flagship-feeling device despite its lower price bracket. Battery capacity has been bumped (Samsung lists around a 4,900mAh cell), and the phone supports 45W wired charging — a practical boost for people who still care about fast top-ups. The display is very bright: Samsung advertises peak brightness figures that reach up toward 1,900 nits, which is useful for daytime legibility.

Internals and performance: midrange silicon, flagship features

This is where the trade-offs live. The S25 FE in many markets uses the Exynos 2400 chipset — a capable SoC that handles everyday apps and multitasking cleanly, but it’s not the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers the S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra in other regions. That gap shows up in benchmarks and in the absolute peak of sustained GPU performance, so hardcore gamers and people who demand maximum raw speed will feel the difference. For most users, though, 8GB of RAM and optimized software make the phone feel fast enough for social apps, media and camera work; the real selling point is that Samsung hasn’t held back the Galaxy AI software on the FE.

Cameras: sensible hardware, AI where it counts

Samsung kept a practical camera layout: a 50MP main sensor (for most day shots), a 12MP ultrawide and an 8MP telephoto that covers short-to-mid range zoom. The 12MP front camera focuses on better low-light selfies and portrait modes. In a market where pixel counts have ballooned, Samsung’s strategy is refinement: fewer megapixels but strong processing, and now more on-device AI tools for editing and composition. For everyday users who want good photos without a camera-heavy phone, the FE will deliver — and photo editing features like Generative Edit aim to make fixing a shot or removing distractions as easy as tapping a button.

One UI 8

Perhaps the most interesting part of this launch is the software angle. The S25 FE ships with One UI 8 (Android 16) preinstalled, and Samsung has been explicit that this device is the first in the S25 family to get the stable One UI 8 rollout. That matters because One UI 8 brings a refreshed UI language — new icons, smoother animations, and deeper, more visible AI integrations across the system (think Now Brief, Circle to Search, a more capable on-device assistant, and the rest of Samsung’s Galaxy AI toolset). Samsung says the other S25 phones will receive the stable update soon, but having One UI 8 ready at launch gives the FE immediate software headline features to sell.

Who this phone is for — and who should look elsewhere

Buy the S25 FE if:

• You want most of the flagship Samsung experience (screen quality, cameras, Galaxy AI) while spending flagship-lite money.
• You appreciate long-term software support and early access to One UI 8-based features.
• You’ll benefit from the launch promos (the temporary free 256GB upgrade and Google AI Pro trial).

Don’t buy it if:

• You need the absolute fastest silicon for sustained gaming or heavy video editing — the Snapdragon 8 Elite variants will be faster.
• You want the absolute top camera hardware (the Ultra still carries Samsung’s best sensors and zoom system).
• You’re price-sensitive outside the U.S.; regional pricing and carrier deals can change the value calculus quickly.

Final take: a smart, strategic FE

Samsung’s Fan Edition phones have always been an exercise in selective generosity: give people the parts of the flagship story they actually use, and trim the rest. The S25 FE doubles down on that philosophy by marrying a polished, lighter design to an up-to-date software experience and positioning it as the entry ticket to Galaxy AI. At $650 (and with temporary storage and AI perks at launch), it’s an attractive play for most buyers who want a near-flagship Android phone without paying flagship prices. Whether it replaces an S25 for you will depend on how much you prize raw performance and the highest-end camera features — but for many, this is the sweet spot Samsung hoped for.