Details of Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE have been floating around for some time. Now, with the launch date approaching, more are turning up. As with the previous reports, the update appears more incremental than revolutionary. That’s to be expected, if not desired. The South Korean company isn’t likely to go harder with its budget flagship alternative than with the flagship itself.
As for the launch date, rumour suggests that it’s not far off. The Galaxy S26 FE could show up on 1 September, according to a recent leak. The same leak provided details of the phone’s internals, which make earlier reports credible while expanding on them.
Unsurprising S26 FE
Samsung appears to be sticking with its previous phone almost entirely. The Exynos 2500 chipset speculated about at the beginning of 2026 looks confirmed, while the RAM, storage, and cameras are also expected to remain largely unchanged. We suspect that Samsung isn’t planning much work on the display either. It will, however, get more expensive than last year’s Galaxy S25 FE. RAM shortage, and all that.
Details about the new FE’s charging specs were recently encountered in a regulatory filing. These show that the S26 FE will stick with 45W wired charging. So… no upgrade there, then. But there will be a slight redesign of the camera island (if not the cameras themselves), so at least the phone will look a little different.
Two out of the phone’s three colours have been discovered, too. Samsung will launch its new afforda-flagship in Graphite and Aqua Green, along with a blue/purple shade that has yet to be named. European pricing is also known — the 128GB version will launch at €800 (R15,300), while the 256GB model should cost €900 (R17,200). Those prices are a little below the current price of the Galaxy S25 FE, but we expect the final cost to rise when it hits South Africa. If the S26 FE and S25 FE wind up almost identical, it’s smarter to opt for last year’s model instead.
