Cover image via Anne Nunis / SAYS
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Samsung is back with another Fan Edition, and the latest addition belongs to the Galaxy S25 family. The new kid on the block? The Galaxy S25 FE.
At a glance, we're looking at a slimmer phone with a bigger battery and an improved camera compared to its predecessor. It comes with a price tag of RM3,099 for a 256GB unit and RM3,699 for a 512GB unit.
There are four colourways: Jetblack, Icyblue, White, and Navy (that's the one pictured above). As someone who loves dark colours and generally avoids pastels, the addition of the Navy option is much appreciated.
Let's talk about the build
Coming back to that slimmer build, the S25 FE is the thinnest and lightest FE phone yet at 7.4mm and 190g. For comparison, the S24 FE is 8mm and weighs 213g.
For someone with average-sized hands (I hope??), it fits snugly in one hand and is light enough to not feel uncomfortable when doomscrolling — the same goes for gaming in landscape mode.
Featuring a matte finish, the phone's back is simple yet sleek, fitting right in with its flagship counterparts while still having its own style.
The phone is encased in a sturdy aluminium frame with a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus cover glass. These, along with its IP68 water and dust resistance, mean it's a durable slab phone you can slip in and out of your pocket easily.
Granted, the three raised camera bumps may warrant a phone cover *just* in case.
Speaking of which, the box doesn't come with a phone case or a screen protector inside. It does, however, include a USB-C cable and a SIM ejector pin.
Display-wise, we're still seeing the same 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display as the S24 FE
No biggie there, as there's nothing to fix. Unlike the Exynos 2400e of the S24 FE, though, we're getting the full Exynos 2400 processor. There's also a 13% larger vapour chamber, so the phone doesn't heat up as much, even when running games.
Filming videos on this for more than 10 minutes heats the phone up, though.
The bezels are a smidge smaller now, and the screen, enhanced and bright with Vision Booster, makes for the great viewing experience you'd expect from a Samsung device.
The S25 FE is also the first of the S25 Series to run One UI 8, and it promises up to seven years of security updates and seven major OS upgrades — not bad for the cheaper version of the flagships.
This upgrade gets you a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, namely ones involving Gemini Live and media editing tools.
For a quick summary of what the phone has to offer in this aspect, check out our video here.
Still here? Awesome. Let's see what we can do with the built-in AI
First, looking into everyday tools, the main highlight is the phone's ability to run Gemini Live smoothly. Users have the option of speaking to Gemini Live in real time, sharing their screen with it, or simply showing Gemini the problem via the camera.
As with most multimodal AI agents, usage differs from person to person. While I tested it by identifying different plants, users can seek help in other ways. One such example is getting Gemini to choose the best clothes to complete your outfit by showing it your wardrobe. The phone also runs Google's Circle to Search function.
A rather handy feature is the Galaxy AI-powered Now Bar, which essentially shows you relevant updates from your apps right from your lockscreen (you can customise this).
Now Brief, for example, gives you quick updates like weather, traffic conditions, and things you have on your calendar. There's a text-to-speech option for these updates, so you can just have it read out to you as you wind down for the day.
The camera system gets a slight upgrade on top of the already decent FE unit specs
The rear camera setup consists of a 50MP wide camera, a 12MP ultra-wide one, and an 8MP telephoto camera. While this is the same setup found on the S24 FE, the front camera gets an upgrade, jumping from a 10MP to a 12MP lens.
The camera upgrade means clearer selfies, particularly in low-light conditions, thanks to the AI-powered ProVisual Engine.
These are some shots we took with the phone:
Galaxy AI also extends to photo and video editing. As a content creator, the handiest one for me is Audio Eraser, which does a really good job removing background noises in videos with a simple tap of the button.
Like most of Samsung's Galaxy AI-equipped devices, the S25 FE has Generative Edit to remove and replace things in photos, and Doodle to Sketch to add anything your imagination allows. Long story short, your photo doesn't just end when you snap it.
If you're the dramatic type, you can also slow down your videos with Instant Slow-Mo. Simply long-press on the clip you want, wait a few seconds, and you have a slowed-down clip you can save instantly.
With all these features, the battery must drain quickly, right?
I don't know why I'm answering myself, but yes, it does. Still, I managed nearly 13 hours of screen-on time when using the S25 FE as my primary phone, even with heavy camera use and an unhealthy amount of doomscrolling (for work, of course).
Using Gemini Live, especially with the camera sharing option on, drains the battery and heats up the phone when used for long periods of time, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for such an intensive task.
The S25 FE has a 4,900mAh battery, which is an upgrade from the S24 FE's 4,700mAh one. It supports fast charging and can achieve a full charge in about 50 minutes.
The other boost in the battery department is its charging. The S25 FE supports faster 45W wired charging, along with 15W wireless charging.
So, what's the verdict?
Having said all that, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a decent phone IF you want AI features and, more importantly, a relatively affordable entry into the S25 family.
As with all Fan Editions, you're not getting all the bells and whistles of the flagships. But at less than half the price of the most expensive S25 model (the 1TB variant of the S25 Ultra), it's a good alternative if you want a near-flagship experience without spending exorbitantly.
Set apart from its fancier siblings, it's a solid phone on its own.
If you already have the S24 FE, however, the upgrade to the S25 FE isn't exactly needed. The main differences lie in the phone's size, processor, battery capacity, and front camera specs. If these upgrades don't matter to you, you can skip the S25 FE.
It's also worth noting that they're both within the same RM3,000 to RM4,000 price range, with the S24 FE (512GB variant) now going for RM300 less than the S25 FE (512GB variant).
What captivated me most about the phone is the camera. The pictures turned out great, even with nighttime photography, so in that aspect, this writer has no qualms with this latest Fan Edition.
And, not going to lie, its appearance has earned it brownie points in my book. Whether it's that charming navy back or its all-round smooth frame, you can't deny the phone looks great.
