Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review – Impressive Bang for the Buck

Previously, we shared our first impressions of the new Galaxy S25 FE that has just arrived in Malaysia and also unboxed it. After taking it for a whirl, here’s our Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review where we share if their latest budget flagship is worth your money.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review – Performance and Benchmarks

In essence, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is an amalgam of features and hardware culled from its siblings and predecessors. When compared to its predecessor the Galaxy S24 FE, the Galaxy S25 FE is slightly lighter, slimmer and thinner while featuring a larger 4,900mAh battery with faster 45W wired charging.  

The front selfie camera also gets a bit of a bump up to 12MP from 10MP and the processor is an Exynos 2400 SoC, the same that powers last year’s Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ with the phone running the latest Android 16 and OneUI 8, making it the first phone in the Galaxy S25 series to feature Android 16. Of note is that the Galaxy S25 FE actually features the full 7 years of OS and security updates as its higher end Galaxy S25 series siblings.

What hasn’t changed from the Galaxy S24 FE is the display with the newer model retaining the same 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display size and quality with thinner bezels and a similar rear camera triple setup. 

In terms of performance, the Exynos 2400 in our Galaxy S25 FE review sample compared to last year’s Exynos 2400e powering the Galaxy S24 FE are built on the same architecture but the Exynos 2400 is clocked faster than the Exynos 2400e. Pundits will likely note that faster speeds also mean more heat but Samsung has that thought out in advance and the Galaxy S25 FE has a 10% larger vapour chamber than the older model on top of a layer of Thermal Interface Material (TIM) for better thermal efficiency. 

In terms of hardware, here’s how our Galaxy S25 FE review sample stacks up on paper:

 

Price	RM3,099 (256GB storage), RM3,699 (512GB storage)
Display	6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 1080 x 2,340 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 1900 nit peak brightness
Processor	Exynos 2400
OS	Android 16 w/ One UI 8
Memory	8GB RAM / 256GB (review sample) or 512GB storage
Camera	50MP f/1.8 w/ Dual Pixel PDAF and OIS + 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle camera + 8MP f/2.4 w/ 3x optical zoom and OIS [rear] / 12MP f/2.2 [front]
Battery	4,900mAh w/ 45W wired, 15W wireless + reverse wireless charging
Size/Weight	161.3 x 76.6 x 7.4mm /190g

Of note with OneUI 8 is the ability to assign up to 8GB of RAMPlus virtual RAM assigned off the 256GB of onboard storage. You can increase or decrease this in 2GB increments or disable it entirely. Much like other Galaxy S-series flagships and the Fold7 and now the Flip7, our Galaxy S25 FE review sample also has support for DeX mode. 

For the uninitiated, DeX mode lets you wirelessly cast a desktop interface to a monitor or TV so you can multitask and use the phone in the fashion of an adhoc PC complete with resizable app windows and a taskbar. Seeing as it has the same chipset as last year’s Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, it’s safe to infer that it would have a similar performance envelope. When subjected to synthetic benchmarks, our Galaxy S25 FE review unit got the following:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	1,585
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	1,453
3D Mark Solar Bay	7,114
3D Mark Solar Bay Unlimited	8,642
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,671
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	6,748
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	13,942
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	18,454
Geekbench AI CPU (quanticised)	3,915
Geekbench AI GPU (quanticised)	1,824
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	16,039
PCMark3.0  Battery Life	N/A

Surprisingly, even with the same chipset and less physical RAM, the Galaxy S25 FE still managed better scores. Thanks to firmware optimisation, we saw improved single-core, multi-core, and graphics performance compared to last year’s Galaxy S24 flagship 

Gaming isn’t an issue on the phone and it runs surprisingly smooth when handling new, demanding games like Wuthering Waves and it’s able to handle demanding edits on CapCut without issue.

Oddly, while most benchmarks were able to run, PCMark encountered the same issues as when we tested the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7, namely that the PC Mark battery life test won’t run unless it had constant touch input. In practical usage terms, the 4,900mAh battery was able to enjoy a comfortable full day of heavy use including music, a bit of gaming, social media and liberal camera use with a bit left for the commute home. Charging it was a doddle seeing as it enjoys fast 45W charging though you will need to source your own charger as it doesn’t come with any out of the box.

However, the phone does run hot and the 3D Mark Steel Nomad Stress Test saw modest 51.5% stability with a rapid drop-off and throttling after a few test runs with a best score of 1,754 and a lowest test score 903 points with temperatures maxing out at 47℃. 

The provided 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is akin to its predecessor and has good colour rendition and visibility outdoors along with a decent pair of speakers flanking it for casual music listening duties.

Of greater utility is that the Galaxy S25 FE benefits from the inclusion of One UI 8 with all the improved Galaxy AI tweaks and enhancements including an improved Audio Eraser that can also be accessed when viewing a video clip in the Gallery along with Gemini Live support with the ability to respond to more nuanced inquiries and what is depicted onscreen when answering queries. It’s every bit as powerful as the mainline Galaxy S25 series so there’s no compromise in performance. 

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review – Cameras

As far as can be determined, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE uses a similar rear camera setup as its predecessor the Galaxy S24 FE on top of this year’s updates to the Provisual Engine for improvements in image quality. 

In terms of hardware, our Galaxy S25 FE review sample uses a primary 50MP F/1.8 camera with Dual Pixel autofocus and optical image stabilisation to handle most of the grunt work. This is accompanied by a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle camera and a 8MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Combined, you can get pixel-binned stills with 3x optical zoom and up to 30x space zoom. For videos, the rear camera array lets you capture up to 8K@30fps or a more practical 4K@60fps.

The biggest update is the front camera with the Galaxy S25 FE packing a slightly larger 12MP camera for selfies and video calls with mugshots and up to 4K@60fps video capture options.

In terms of overall performance, the rear cameras offer slightly improved performance over its predecessor thanks to ISP improvements with slightly better detail and better low light performance. In daylight, the phone offers good shots out to 3X zoom and low light performance is respectable out to 3x zoom though beyond that, shots start looking soft. Video capture performance doesn’t differ all too far from what the Galaxy S24 FE was capable of and 8K@30fpss video is rich with detail and with lifelike hues but is impractical to edit. By and large, you’ll get the best balance of footage quality and storage size with 4K@60fps video.  

 

The front selfie camera offers similar outcomes and does a decent job for selfies and video calls but doesn’t offer radically improved outcomes over the 10MP selfie camera on the Galaxy S24 FE.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE?

The Galaxy S25 FE offers much of the same flagship experience as its pricier, higher end Galaxy S25 series siblings but at a more affordable price point while retaining the same respectable 7 years of OS and security updates.

While it isn’t as compelling an upgrade for existing Galaxy S24 FE owners, its combination of a flagship-grade Exynos 2400 chipset from the Galaxy S24 and an otherwise solid set of specifications makes it a viable proposition for those looking to get in on the Samsung Galaxy experience.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. For more details visit https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-s/galaxy-s25-fe-white-256gb-sm-s731bzwcxme/