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Samsung's bargain-minded Galaxy S25 FE promised flagship looks at a mid-range price, but DxOMark's latest camera tests reveal significant compromises that undercut its imaging strengths.
Where the camera falls short
DxOMark put the Galaxy S25 FE through its usual battery of photo and video tests and gave the handset a surprisingly low overall score of 118, landing it 123rd in the global camera rankings. That score places the S25 FE behind older devices such as the iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 and Google Pixel 6a — all of which scored around 122 in earlier reviews. For a phone launched as an affordable alternative to the Galaxy S25+, that’s an awkward result.
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The S25 FE’s hardware choices help explain the outcome. Samsung priced the 128GB model at about $499 in the US at the time of testing, while the S26+ starts much higher. To hit that price point, the company swapped the Snapdragon 8 Elite for its in-house Exynos 2400 and reduced camera component size and capability. The triple-camera array consists of a 50MP main sensor (1/1.57-inch), a 12MP ultrawide with a small 1/3-inch sensor, and an 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. DxOMark highlights those smaller sensors as a major contributor to weaker results.
In well-lit stills the main camera can hold its own, delivering decent exposure and generally accurate colors. But switching to the ultrawide or telephoto sees a noticeable drop in detail and dynamic range. Noise shows up in both photos and videos even in bright conditions, and portrait shots lose fine detail that competitors preserve. Video work also suffers: HDR is inconsistent, some scenes are underexposed, and occasional pink casts and unstable white balance degrade color fidelity.
What it means for buyers
DxOMark’s write-up suggests these are limitations of the chosen hardware rather than just software tuning — meaning firmware updates might help a little but won’t fully close the gap. For shoppers prioritizing camera quality in this price band, the review points toward alternatives such as Xiaomi’s 15 or 14T models and Google’s Pixel 10, which generally deliver stronger imaging performance for similar money.
The results underline a growing problem for Samsung’s Fan Edition line: as mid-range competition tightens, shaving costs by downgrading camera components is increasingly visible in real-world results. Buyers who want the S25 FE for its value and Samsung ecosystem should weigh those strengths against the clear camera compromises exposed by DxOMark.
Source: gizmochina
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