You've gotta really love Samsung to want the upcoming Galaxy S25 FE
Not cheap enough, not exciting enough – just kinda there.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Galaxy S24 FE. | Image credit – PhoneArena
That's $650, in case you forgot. Which, let's be real, is already brushing up way too close to the base Galaxy S25. So yeah, keeping the price flat is probably a smart move. Hike it up again and the whole point of the FE line just vanishes into thin air.
So, what's new with the Galaxy S25 FE?
The Galaxy S25 FE recently leaked in four color options.
Expected to land in September, the Galaxy S25 FE is shaping up to be... well, more of the same. Leaks say it's getting a sleeker, thinner design with slimmer bezels. So yeah, it'll look more modern. But inside? Basically copy-paste from the Galaxy S24 FE.
We are still talking about a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. And the camera setup? Identical to both the S24 FE and the base Galaxy S24:
- 50 MP main with OIS
- 12 MP ultra-wide
- 8 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom
Which, to be fair, is a solid trio. The S24 FE already delivered great camera results, so you are not getting bad performance – just not better either.
Inside, it is expected to run on the Exynos 2400, with 8 GB RAM and your choice of 128 GB or 256 GB storage. You might finally get 45W fast charging, but full battery details are still under wraps.
It'll launch with Android 16 and One UI 8, plus a healthy promise of 7 years of OS and security updates. Galaxy AI will also be baked in – because what's a 2025 phone without a little sprinkle of AI, right?
So to sum it up: probably, the biggest upgrades are a thinner body and lighter build. Everything else? Basically, déjà vu.
Okay, but what else can you buy for $650?
Here's where things get tricky. Even if you like what Samsung is offering, the competition makes the S25 FE a tougher sell. First up, the Pixel 9a.
Pixel 9a launched earlier this year. | Image credit – PhoneArena
This phone starts at $499 – and if you're lucky, even lower. As of now, you can snag it for $399 directly from Google. That's a whole $250 less than the S25 FE.
It's got a smaller 6.3-inch screen, but it packs a big 5,100 mAh battery – the biggest ever in a Pixel. It is smooth, snappy and absolutely swimming in AI features and Google Assistant smarts.
Yes, it runs the stripped-down Gemini Nano XXS, not the bigger XS model used in the regular Pixel 9, so it lacks features like Call Notes. But unless you're deep into AI-generated bullet points, you probably won't care.
You still get 7 years of updates, just like Samsung promises. And while the Galaxy S25 FE wins in the camera hardware game, that price difference is hard to ignore.
Next up: why not just get the regular Galaxy S25 instead?
It starts at $799, but Samsung (and every US carrier, including T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T) loves a good discount, and it is not unusual to see it drop close to $650 during sales or way lower with trade-in options. And honestly? That makes the FE model feel kinda pointless.
The base S25 gives you a proper flagship experience – better chip, better build, and overall, more bang for your buck when it's discounted.
Then there's the OnePlus 13R. Now this one's interesting.
OnePlus 13R is the cheaper version of the flagship OnePlus 13. | Image credit – PhoneArena
At $599.99, it's cheaper and more powerful than the S25 FE in some key areas. It runs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, has 12 GB of RAM (yes, twelve) and comes with a huge 6,000 mAh battery – the biggest on this list.
It is wrapped in Gorilla Glass 7i and aluminum, with a clean OxygenOS 15 experience powered by – you guessed it – more AI. It's future-proof, snappy, and bold in design.
Downsides? No wireless charging, no microSD card support, and the cameras are still not up to Pixel or Samsung level. But everything else? Pretty great. It makes the FE feel like it's stuck in a safe zone.
|
|
|
| Samsung Galaxy S25 FE | Google Pixel 9a | OnePlus 13R |
Display
| Size | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6.7-inch, 88.06% screen-to-body | 6.3-inch, 79.39% screen-to-body | 6.8-inch, 91.00% screen-to-body |
| Type | ||
| Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, 1900 nits | P-OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 2700 nits | OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 4500 nits |
| Resolution | ||
| 2340x1080px, 19.5:9 ratio, 385 PPI | 2424x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 421 PPI | 2780x1264px, 20:9 ratio, 450 PPI |
| Protection | ||
| Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
Hardware
| System chip | ||
|---|---|---|
| Exynos 2400 S5E9945 (4 nm) | Google Tensor G4 (4 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) |
| Processor | ||
| Deca-core 1x3.2GHz Cortex-X4 2x2.9GHz Cortex-A720 3x2.6GHz Cortex-A720 4x1.95GHz Cortex-A520 |
Octa-core 1x3.1GHz Cortex-X4 3x2.6GHz Cortex-A720 4x1.92GHz Cortex-A520 |
Octa-core |
| GPU | ||
| Xclipse 940 | Mali-G715 MC7 | Adreno 750 |
| Memory | ||
| 8GB/128GB | 8GB (LPDDR5X)/128GB (UFS 3.1) 8GB/256GB |
12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) |
| Storage expansion | ||
| not expandable | not expandable | not expandable |
| OS | ||
| Android (16), up to 7 OS updates | Android (15) | Android (15) |
Battery
| Type | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4900 mAh, Li - Ion | 5100 mAh, Li - Ion | 6000 mAh, Li - Polymer |
| Charging | ||
| Fast charging Reverse wired charging |
Fast charging Qi wireless charging | Fast charging Qi wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging |
| Charge speed | ||
| Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 15.0W |
Wired: 23.0W Wireless: 7.5W |
Wired: 100.0W |
Camera
| Rear | ||
|---|---|---|
| Triple camera | Dual camera | Triple camera |
| Main camera | ||
| 50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Pixel size: 1.0 μm | 48 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Focal length: 25 mm Sensor size: 1/2" Pixel size: 0.8 μm |
50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56" Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
| Second camera | ||
| 12 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/3" Pixel size: 1.12 μm | 13 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Sensor size: 1/3.1" Pixel size: 1.12 μm | 8 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 16 mm Sensor size: 1/4" Pixel size: 1.12 μm |
| Third camera | ||
| 10 MP (Telephoto) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 75 mm Sensor size: 1/4.4" Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
50 MP (Telephoto) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal Length: 47 mm Pixel size: 0.64 μm |
|
| Flash | ||
| LED | Dual LED | LED |
| Video recording | ||
| 8K UHD (30 fps), 4K UHD (120 fps), 1080p (240 fps) | 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) | 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) |
| Front | ||
| 10 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps) |
13 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (30 fps) | 16 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (30 fps) |
See the full
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE vs Google Pixel 9a vs OnePlus 13R specs comparison
or compare them to other phones using our
Phone Comparison tool
Who is the FE model even for anymore?
And that's my big question – who exactly is this phone supposed to be for? It's not affordable enough to attract budget buyers. Samsung already has the Galaxy A series for that, with the Galaxy A17 right around the corner.
But it's also not exciting or competitive enough to shine in the mid-range crowd. It just kind of... exists. And not in a good way.
To be fair, Apple is playing the same game with its iPhone 16e – also going for $600 with watered-down specs. So this isn't just a Samsung problem. It's a "we're not sure why these mid-rangers exist anymore" problem.
If flagship prices stay steady – and that's a big if – then honestly, these $650 "not-quite-flagships" start looking more like filler than value. And for $650, the Galaxy S25 FE just doesn't bring enough to the table to justify itself – not when the regular Galaxy S25 and multiple Android alternatives are right there, flexing harder.
I'm not saying the Galaxy S25 FE is a bad phone – but I am saying it's getting really hard to justify its existence.
If Samsung wants this lineup to matter, it either needs to lower the price or actually push the spec sheet forward. Right now, it's stuck in a no-man's-land between the A series and the S flagships.
Because right now, the only thing "fan edition" about this phone is the fact that you really have to be a fan to pick it over the alternatives.
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