Samsung Galaxy S25 FE – a brand new smartphone at a compelling price

If there’s one thing Samsung does well it’s getting attention at just the right time, and while many eyes are on their competitor Apple ahead of their event next week, Samsung’s Mobile division has shoe horned into the Appliance team’s time at IFA in Berlin to announce a few new gadgets, including the FE version of the current Galaxy S25 model.

It’s not a shock that Samsung would release an FE (Fan Edition) of the S25, but doing so at the same time as IFA and just a week before Apple is a touch out of step with their normal timeframes, but hey – gotta respect the hustle!

Samsung knows their customers well, very well, their own data shows that the FE is a critical part of their lineup, a device that attracts users of their older phones, their lower cost phones and previous FE users.

“Galaxy S25 FE plays an important role as a gateway into the broader Galaxy AI ecosystem, making these experiences more attainable for a wider range of users,” said Jay Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Experience Office, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “With expanded personalised AI experiences and AI-powered photography and editing tools, Galaxy S25 FE empowers more people to bring greater convenience and creativity into their everyday lives.”

Given it’s attractive price point ($1,099) it sits at a more desirable but affordable position to those using a Galaxy A series and looking to upgrade, or to those using much older model S or flagship Samsung phones.

Likewise, Samsung also knows that Galaxy FE users are strong adopters of the Flagship S series models when they next look to upgrade so it’s a really strong funnel for customers in both acquisition and retention.

This year’s model, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE features the latest One UI 8 Operating system with the Now Bar and Vision AI features, but hardware wise features broadly the same camera system as last year’s S24 FE, though the front-facing selfie camera is upgraded to 12MP.

You’ll get faster charging at 45W wired, and the device is thinner (8% less at 7.4mm) and lighter (11% less at 190g) than previous models.

It will come in Navy, an Icy (almost white) light Blue and Jet Black.

It’s $1,099 price point puts it over the critical $1,000 threshold, but fear not, it will go on sale on September 26 at an “introductory price” of just $849 – an out of the gate discount like that is almost unprecedented and means that both telco stores and major retailers will be able to snap up the willing customers.

Specs are strong, at 6.7 inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a new Armor Aluminium Frame along with access to many of the awesome AI features like Generative Edit, Portrait Studio, Instant Slow-Mo and Audio Eraser built-in.

Recommended Retail Pricing (But look out for Day one discounts across retail and telco!)

EFTM’s coverage of IFA 2025 is supported in part by Belkin, Ecovacs, Reolink and Samsung