Samsung has unveiled what they refer to as the latest addition to the Galaxy S26 family, the Galaxy S26 FE. The handset goes on sale on 11 September, starting at R15,499 for the 128GB model and R17,999 for 256GB. The regular Galaxy S26 starts at R20,999 with 256GB of storage, so there’s only R3,000 between the two once you compare the same amount of storage. The 128GB FE is easier to understand because it gets you into the S26 family for R5,500 less. The 256GB variant is more similar to the S26 than you might think.
If you’ve handled a recent Samsung Galaxy S-series device then the hardware will feel familiar. You get a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4,900mAh battery, 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. The cameras are a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and a 12MP selfie camera. It’s 7.4mm thick, weighs 193g and now supports Wi-Fi 6E. The Galaxy S25 FE had the same size and refresh rate display, the same battery capacity and charging speed, and the same rear-camera resolutions. The selfie camera is slightly wider this year, but the biggest hardware change is the processor. Samsung has replaced the Exynos 2400 with the 3nm Exynos 2500.
One UI 9 arrives first on the FE
The S26 FE is also the first phone in the family to ship with Android 17 and One UI 9. That gives the cheaper FE newer software out of the box than the S26 models Samsung launched earlier this year, at least until those phones are updated. The Galaxy S26 brought Samsung’s multi-agent AI approach, with Gemini, Bixby and other services handling different kinds of requests rather than everything going through one assistant. One UI 9 pushes that idea a little further.
Now Brief lets you make your own briefing cards using prompts, while Now Nudge can work with more third-party apps and notifications. Gemini can handle multi-step requests, Circle to Search can search for several objects in the same image, and Gemini Live is still there for conversational queries. There are already enough Galaxy AI features that simply adding more isn’t especially interesting anymore. The question is how many of them you’ll still use after the first few weeks. Samsung clearly wants the phone to do more without making you jump between apps or repeat the same information, and some of the One UI 9 changes are aimed at that rather than giving you another AI button to press.
The camera additions are easier to understand. My FanCam, which first appeared on Samsung’s latest foldables, can follow a person while you’re recording and keep them centred as they move. Super Steady now gets Horizontal Lock, which keeps video level even when the phone rotates, while Photo Assist can take natural-language instructions for edits such as changing lighting, adding objects or restoring missing parts of a picture. Gemini Omni can turn photos and video clips from your Gallery into a finished video with music, transitions and effects. It needs Google AI Pro, and Samsung is including six months of the service with the S26 FE, along with 5TB of cloud storage during the trial.
Smart Switch has been improved too. When moving from an iPhone or another Android phone, you can bring across passwords, passkeys, call history, accessibility settings and, where supported, eSIM information. Samsung is also promising seven generations of Android updates and seven years of security updates. That’s useful on a phone like this because buying the FE instead of the regular S26 is partly about spending less. Keeping it for longer makes that saving more meaningful.
The S25 FE is a much cheaper phone right now
Samsung’s Blue Tag Sale currently has the 128GB Galaxy S25 FE at R9,999, down from R13,999, while the 256GB model is R12,999 instead of R15,999. The sale runs until 6 September or while stocks last, which means those prices end before the S26 FE reaches shops. They’re still worth considering if you’re buying now. There’s R5,500 between the 128GB S25 FE and S26 FE at the sale price, and R5,000 between the 256GB versions. The S26 FE gives you the Exynos 2500, One UI 9 and newer camera features, but the S25 FE still gives you much of the same hardware.
At its normal R13,999 price, the 128GB S25 FE is only R1,500 cheaper than the new one, so the S26 FE makes much more sense once that promotion disappears. Then the comparison shifts to the regular S26. R15,499 for the 128GB FE leaves enough room between them, especially if you don’t need 256GB of storage. The R17,999 model is different. Another R3,000 gets you the S26, and retailer discounts or contract deals could make that difference even smaller once the FE has been on sale for a while.
The Galaxy S26 FE goes on sale on 11 September through operators, retailers, Samsung.com and Samsung Experience Stores. Samsung says it’ll come in Blueberry, Pistachio and Graphite.
Samsung hasn’t changed the FE formula very much this year. A lot of the S25 FE hardware has stayed, while the Exynos 2500 and One UI 9 do most of the upgrading. At R15,499, that works. You’re getting a current S-series phone with a telephoto camera, a large 120Hz OLED display and seven years of support without spending more than R20,000. At R17,999, things get a bit more complicated because the regular S26 is suddenly only R3,000 away which means that it’s competing with a better Samsung for almost the same money.