Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE Has Flagship Features, but It’s Harder to Call It a Bargain - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Samsung's best software features from 2026 are coming to the lower-cost S26 FE -- but at $700, it's certainly not cheap. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE may be the company’s lower-cost flagship, but the phone’s getting nearly all of the same software features we first saw on the company’s more expensive phones. And it better be, as it’s also getting a $50 price bump over last year’s S25 FE, with this year’s phone starting at $700 for 128GB of storage and $800 for 256GB. Announced Thursday, the S26 FE’s biggest hardware change is its 12-megapixel selfie camera. That’s the same megapixel count as last year’s selfie camera, but its new wider field of view allows you to photograph more of your surroundings. But I’m most excited about all of the camera software features the phone is getting from Samsung’s more expensive devices, like the $900 Galaxy S26 and the $1,200 Galaxy Z Flip 8. Super Steady Video with H