Samsung Galaxy S26 FE could be the cost-cutting phone to get this year, with a leaked image showing the changes
The next affordable Samsung phone has just surfaced online
Quick Summary
The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE might not make many major changes to the S25 FE, but it will have a new design.
The phone will look like the Galaxy S26 and is expect to launch around September.
Samsung's Galaxy S FE range is something of an oddity, offering a mid-year alternative to Samsung's flagship phones. And for 2026, it looks like we'll be getting the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE.
The FE phone – standing for Fan Edition – isn't expected until after the launch of the new Galaxy Z devices, so it's likely that it will appear in August or September. It'll offer a discount on the flagship phones, while still delivering much of the experience of those devices.
Our first look at this phone reveals a design that's pretty much as we expect. It looks just like the Galaxy S26, with the raised camera presentation on the back. The images come from a listing at the Wireless Power Consortium (via 9to5Google), so we know it will have wireless charging at least.
We don't know much else about the Galaxy S26 FE, aside from a previous rumour that suggested that Samsung might be switching from using Samsung Display sourced panels, to CSOT, a change you probably won't even notice.
As Samsung generally continues much of a device's specifications from one year to the next, I'd expect that to be a 6.7-inch screen with 120Hz, with an Exynos 2500 sitting at its core. That's the hardware that powers the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Elsewhere, the Galaxy S26 FE is expected to have a triple camera as shown in the image, comprised of a 50-megapixel main, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 8-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
Samsung is in a bit of a bind with this phone: having kept the same camera hardware on the Galaxy S26 models, it can't really make changes to the Galaxy S26 FE without cannibalising those devices. The weakest camera is that 8-megapixel telephoto, but moving to a 10-megapixel sensor would present the same camera as the more expensive Galaxy S26.
The battery is expected to stick to 4,900mAh with 45W charging, while it would be reasonable to expect it to run Android 17 with One UI 9 out of the box – with seven years of updates.
The Galaxy S25 FE launched at £649.00 / $649.99 and we'd expect the Galaxy S26 FE to arrive with the same price. The Galaxy S26 is priced at £879.00 / $899.99.
The changes, then, apart from the design, are likely to come in the software features that it offers and increased power from the new hardware.
Samsung hasn't made huge hardware changes to recent devices, so it would be entirely typical for the Galaxy S26 FE to be much the same as before, just to offer a slightly cheaper sub-flagship option.
