BERLIN: Samsung used its IFA stage in Berlin to show it is not done with surprises. Alongside a fresh midrange smartphone, the Galaxy S25 FE, it rolled out two hulking new sound towers — the ST50F and ST40F — aimed squarely at back-garden DJs and living-room party fiends.
The Galaxy S25 FE, on sale now from $650, gives a lower-cost route into this year’s S25 line-up. It comes in four colours and runs on the firm’s new One UI 8 software — a step ahead of the S25, S25 Plus, S25 Ultra and ultra-slim S25 Edge, all of which debuted earlier in the year with One UI 7. The refresh brings a sleeker interface, smoother animations, tighter split-screen multitasking and more AI smarts baked in.
Under the bonnet sits Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2400 processor, which lacks the punch of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite used in the pricier S25 models, but should hold its own. The handset features a 6.7-inch Amoled screen peaking at 1,900 nits, and a camera array built around a 50MP main sensor, with 12MP ultra-wide and 8MP telephoto lenses, plus a 12MP selfie snapper. Despite its mid-tier engine, the phone still runs Samsung’s full suite of Galaxy AI tools — including its Generative Edit photo wizardry and on-device assistant — making it the cheapest ticket into the AI-laced Galaxy ecosystem.
If the phone is about keeping your life in order, the speakers are about blowing it apart. The flagship ST50F sound tower, priced around $700, delivers 240 watts of power, dual 165mm woofers with adjustable bass modes (Deep, Punchy or Gentle), and twin 25mm tweeters for crisp treble. It comes with four sound profiles — from “Standard” to “Stadium” — and can sync wirelessly with others for multi-speaker mayhem. Battery life stretches to 18 hours, the casing is splash-proof, and party lights — embedded in the tweeters, woofers, housing and even the handle — blink, pulse, or strobe in sync with the beat.
The smaller ST40F, expected at $500, is built for patios and garden barbecues. It pushes 160 watts, carries dual 133mm woofers and 20mm tweeters, and offers up to 12 hours’ battery life. Both models have karaoke modes, guitar inputs, Bluetooth, USB and AUX ports, and replaceable batteries for those who fear the lights going out before the party does.
With the S25 FE, Samsung is giving its smartphone base a cheaper AI-driven option. With the sound towers, it is giving them a reason never to sleep.