Galaxy S25 FE

Real Talk: It's Pretty but Needs Babying

Honestly, the Galaxy S25 FE is a mixed bag. Let me break down what matters for everyday life.

The display is genuinely gorgeous. Reviewers rave about the AMOLED screen, and at 1,133 nits brightness, you can actually see it outside during pickup or at the park. Colors pop, blacks are deep, and the 120Hz refresh feels buttery when you're scrolling through Instagram or texting. This is one of those things that makes you smile every time you use the phone.

The camera is solid for a budget phone. In daylight, the 50MP main sensor takes nice photos with good color. The 8MP telephoto with 3x zoom works well for zooming in on the kids' soccer game without getting too close. Night mode handles low light reasonably, though reviewers noticed the colors run warm. It's not as detailed as the Pixel or iPhone, but it's totally usable for family photos and social media snaps.

Here's where it gets real: the battery is a dealbreaker for some people. Reviewers tested it at just under 10 hours, which means you're charging it during the day or scrambling to top it up before evening. If you're someone who needs your phone to last from morning through late night without thinking about it, this isn't your phone. The 45W fast charging helps, but you'll still be tethered to a charger more than you'd like.

The design looks premium and modern, very Samsung flagship vibes. But reviewers found the back panel scratches way too easily. You'll absolutely need a case, which adds to the cost and bulk.

At $450-$510, though, you're getting a lot. The display quality alone would cost you $200 more on other budget phones. The camera is competent. The promise of seven years of updates is genuinely valuable if you want to keep your phone working for a long time. For families on a budget who don't mind charging daily, this works. For people who need all-day battery life, look elsewhere.

The processor is noticeably slower than flagship chips, but for everyday tasks like texting, streaming, and social media, it's fine. Nothing feels broken, just not lightning-fast.

The Price Doesn't Excuse the Processor

Samsung's positioning the Galaxy S25 FE as an affordable entry point, but the business math doesn't work. At $510, you're paying flagship money for a phone built around the Exynos 2200, a processor that was already outdated when Samsung released it. Geekbench scores of 2142 single-core and 7066 multi-core put this firmly in the midrange, yet reviewers consistently report lag in everyday use. That's not acceptable at this price.

The real issue is battery life. Tom's Guide measured 9 hours and 46 minutes of runtime, which means you're hunting for a charger by mid-afternoon. A 4500 mAh battery in a 6.4-inch phone is undersized, and no amount of software optimization fixes that fundamental design choice. Samsung could have used a larger cell here, but instead they prioritized thinness. The 45W charging is fast, but fast charging is a patch on a broken battery strategy, not a solution.

What's concerning is the camera inconsistency. The 50MP main sensor performs decently in good light but loses detail compared to the Pixel 10 and iPhone 17. The 8MP telephoto is a significant downgrade from the S25 Plus and shows below-average performance. Low-light handling has an overly warm color temperature that reviewers flagged as unnatural. For a phone at this price, you'd expect more consistency.

The display is the only genuinely impressive component. The 6.4-inch AMOLED reaches 1133 nits peak brightness with Delta-E color accuracy of 0.21, and 120Hz refresh is standard. This is premium-tier hardware, which makes the rest of the phone feel like a compromise.

Design is dated, and the back panel scuffs far too easily according to Tom's Guide. That's sloppy at any price point. The seven-year update promise is valuable for longevity, but it doesn't address the fundamental problem: you're getting last-generation performance in a new phone.

Bottom line: the S25 FE is cheap enough that the value score is respectable, but cheap doesn't mean good. You're trading performance, battery life, and build quality for a lower price. At $510, there are better options that offer more balanced hardware. This phone is built for people who care more about the Samsung name than actual specifications.