Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy M12 and Samsung Galaxy S26 FE - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 FE

39 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M12
VS
80 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
Samsung Galaxy M12
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy M12 Manufactured in April, 2021, with display 6.5 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 850, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 FE, Manufactured in September, 2026 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2500. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M12
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4900mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher pixel density: 385ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 193g vs 214g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 3/32 GB
- 4/32 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy M12 and Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Samsung Galaxy M12
vs
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE

Display

Display quality comparison
Type PLS TFT Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.5 in 6.7 in
Resolution 720x1600 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 270 ppi 385 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 450 nits 1300 nits
HDR support No Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 82 % 88.6 %
Features n/a - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy M12
424 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
1857 nits
sRGB gamut93.3 %n/a
Response time39 msn/a
Contrast926:1n/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy M12]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164 mm (6.46 in) 161.6 mm (6.36 in)
Width 75.9 mm (2.99 in) 76.9 mm (3.03 in)
Thickness 9.7 mm (0.38 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 214 g (7.55 oz) 193 g (6.81 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green		 - Gray
- Blue
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy M12
82 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
88.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy M12 and Samsung Galaxy S26 FE In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 850 Samsung Exynos 2500
Max Frequency 2000 MHz 3300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (8) 10 (1 + 2 + 5 + 2)
Architecture 8/2 (Cortex-A55) - 2/1.8 (Cortex-A520)
- 5/2.36 (Cortex-A725)
- 2/2.74 (Cortex-A725)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X925)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 8 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor No Yes
Graphics Mali-G52 MP1 n/a
GPU Cores 24 n/a
GPU Frequency 680 MHz n/a
FLOPS 40.8 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M12
481
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
2217
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M12
1522
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
7699
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)4812217
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)15227699
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S26 FE]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy M12
185374
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
2289696
CPU64990771016
GPU26753723824
Memory54180356421
UX39451438435
NanoReview Score1853742289696
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy M12
429
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
n/a
Max Surface Temp.41.7 °Cn/a
Stability98 %n/a
Graphics Test2 fpsn/a
Graphics Score429n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M12]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy M12
5926
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
n/a
Writing score5648n/a
Web score5853n/a
Video editing5741n/a
Data manipulation4734n/a
NanoReview Score5926n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 3 GB
- 4 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 1866 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 32 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB		128 GB
Storage TypeeMMC 5.1UFS 4.0
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 17
OS Size 14 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI Core 5.0 One UI 9

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4900 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-ion n/a
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (40% in 60 min) Yes (69% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 2:30 h 1:08 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy M12
22:27
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
25:38
Web Browsing08:52 h09:42 h
Video Playback12:52 h17:42 h
Games05:12 h06:12 h
Standby Mode113 h117 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion No 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 5 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Depth: 2 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix48 MP50 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a24 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGM2Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/21/1.57 (0.64)
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a8 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a75 mm
Sensorn/aOmniVision OV08A10
Sensor sizen/a1/4.4 (0.23)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix5 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5K3L6
Sensor size1/5.01/3.0 (0.33)
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels 3648x2736 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization No Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.4
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B20/B26/B28/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)
LTE category720
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Mono n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy M12
77.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 FE
n/a

Other

Class Budget Flagship
Announced November, 2020 yr August, 2026 yr
Release Date April, 2021 yr September, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 180 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 699
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 FE the clear winner in this comparison.

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