Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review

Design and ergonomics

The Galaxy S25 FE looks exactly like its predecessor, and it's nearly indistinguishable from the Galaxy S25+. It has an aesthetically pleasing design without going overboard with accents and camera bumps, and it offers a clean and sleek look. We get it, it's a design that's appreciated among Samsung fans, so it doesn't make sense to go in a drastically different direction.

Despite looking identical, though, the S25 FE gets a small upgrade in this department. The side frame is now made of "Enhanced armor aluminum", which is advertised to be tougher and lighter than standard aluminum. Not to be mistaken with the Armor aluminum 2 used in the S25+, though.

The handset also retains the IP68 ingress protection, Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on the front and standard Gorilla Glass Victus on the back.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

The device itself feels really nice in the hand and provides a secure grip thanks to its rather sharp edges where the front and back panels meet the side frame. However, the flat design does make the phone feel a tad bigger in hand than it actually is.

The device comes in four color options - IcyBlue, Jetblack, Navy and White. We have the Navy paint job for this review. All four color variants are borrowed from the current Galaxy S25 lineup, with the only difference being the frame. No matter which color you choose, the frame remains in anodized silver-like aluminum. It gives a nice accent to the device, and it's easier to distinguish it from the Galaxy S25 proper.

The fingerprint reader is reliable and fairly snappy, but it's not ultrasonic like on the Galaxy S25 series. Our only complaint is about the placement. It's way too close to the bottom edge, which is not ideal, especially for a 6.7-inch phone. It requires awkward finger gymnastics to reach for it when holding the phone midway.

The power button and volume rocker placement, on the other hand, is convenient. The power button is easily within reach.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

Overall, the S25 FE offers a nice design with little to no drawbacks if you don't count its repetitive nature, but we guess this was just as intended. It also uses high-end materials akin to flagships in general.