SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Samsung

Galaxy Note FE review: The "Fan Edition" revival of the Note 7 — safe battery, S Pen.

SpecEagle Editorial·Jul 2017·$610
Overall
62/100
Class rank
#7 of 8
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The Note 7, reborn safely.

Galaxy Note FE revived the recalled Note 7 with a safe smaller battery, keeping the S Pen, QHD AMOLED, IP68 and iris scanner. A redemption arc for Samsung's most infamous phone.

01Display

80/100

80/100 trails the 83-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

TypeSuper AMOLED, dual-edge
Size5.7 inches
Resolution2,560 × 1,440 px

02Camera

68/100

68/100 trails the 71-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

Main12 MP Dual Pixel, f/1.7, OIS
Selfie5 MP
IrisIris scanner

03Performance

60/100

60/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2017.

ChipsetExynos 8890 (14 nm)
RAM4 GB
Storage64 GB + microSD

04Battery

64/100

64/100 trails the 69-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

Capacity3,200 mAh (safe redesign)
Wired15 W
WirelessQi

05Build

78/100

78/100 trails the 82-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

06Value

60/100

60/100 trails the 62-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2017.

What works
  • Note 7 features made safe.
  • S Pen + QHD AMOLED + IP68.
  • Iris scanner + jack + microSD.
  • Wireless charging.
What doesn't
  • Reduced 3,200 mAh battery.
  • Exynos 8890 dated.
  • Mono speaker.
  • Limited release.

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 8-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .