Samsung Galaxy S26 FE leaks: September launch, Exynos 2500, and higher prices
Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE is shaping up to cost significantly more than last year's model, with leaked European pricing and a confirmed September 1 launch window pointing to a phone that tests just how much "fan edition" buyers are willing to pay. Insider billbil-kun, posting via Dealabs, pegs European pricing at €800 for 128GB, €900 for 256GB, and €1,100 for 512GB — compared to €930 for the 512GB S25 FE at launch.
The chip switch
The headline spec change is the processor. Regulatory filings with UL Demko, spotted by Notebookcheck, confirm the S26 FE will run Samsung's own Exynos 2500 — a 10-core chip — instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon. That's a notable shift: Snapdragon variants have long been preferred by buyers who tracked benchmark scores, and the swap puts Samsung's in-house silicon under extra scrutiny. The same filings confirm 45W wired charging support, a step up from the S25 FE. The design also gets a rework, with a repositioned camera bump that aligns more closely with the S26 main line.
The value question
Here's the tension: the Galaxy S25 FE launched in the UK at £649 last year and has since dropped to around £440 — a 33% fall in under a year, per MyMobiles. That kind of rapid price erosion changes how buyers think about the next model. Paying a premium at launch for a phone that historically sees steep discounts within months is a harder sell, especially when the base price is climbing. For US buyers, estimates put the S26 FE somewhere around $650–$700, though Samsung has not officially confirmed US or UK pricing.
What to expect
The September 1 date puts the S26 FE ahead of Apple's usual fall iPhone window, which could help Samsung capture early upgraders — or leave it exposed if iPhone 18 buzz drowns out the launch. Samsung has stayed quiet on official specs, pricing, and retail partnerships. The Exynos 2500 has appeared in the Galaxy Z Flip 7, so it's not untested hardware, but FE buyers will want to see real-world performance comparisons before deciding whether the upgrade justifies the cost increase over a heavily discounted S25 FE sitting on shelves.
