Samsung Galaxy A37 vs Galaxy S25 FE: Expected differences
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy A37 is shaping up to be a rather small upgrade to the company's entry-level mid-range model. To make its case even more difficult, it won’t be competing only with other budget devices.
The Galaxy S25 FE sits not too far above the A3x series in Samsung's lineup, with a starting price of $649 vs the expected $499 for the A37. For that extra $250, you get a lot better hardware in return: a more comprehensive camera system with a dedicated telephoto camera, much better performance, better battery life, and more.
Of course, the price difference is not small, but considering just how little the A37 is said to bring to the table over its predecessor, will it be worth its money?
We will try to determine just how different these two phones will actually be based on the first A37 leaks and what we learned during our Galaxy S25 FE review. It just might turn out that the pricier model is a much better bang for your buck.
Galaxy A37 vs Galaxy S25 FE expected differences:
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Cheaper mid-range phone with plastic frame | Upper-mid-range phone with aluminum frame |
| Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides | Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides |
| Thinner | Thicker, but shorter and narrower |
| Exynos 1580 or 1480 (5 nm), mid-range performance | Exynos 2400 (4 nm), much higher performance |
| 50 MP main | 50 MP main |
| 8 MP ultrawide | 12 MP ultrawide |
| 5 MP macro (no telephoto) | 8 MP 3x telephoto |
| Only decent camera performance | Better overall image quality, especially in video |
| 45W wired | 45W wired |
| No wireless charging | 15W wireless charging |
| Same 6.7-inch 6-120 Hz OLED | 6.7-inch 1-120 Hz OLED |
| ~1700-nit peak brightness | 1760-nit peak brightness |
| Android 16 + One UI 8, similar long software support or better | Android 15 + One UI 7, 7-year support |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Plastic vs aluminum
It's clear just how much closer the Galaxy S25 FE is to Samsung's flagships. It comes with a tougher aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides, and an overall more premium feel to it compared to the A-series. Its slightly slimmer profile and 190-gram weight make it feel well-balanced, with a design language that mirrors the S25 and S25+. Even the colors options for the S25 FE have that more muted flagship look.
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Thickness ~7.1 mm | Thickness 7.4 mm |
| Dimensions 152.8 x 72 mm | Dimensions 161.3 x 76.6 mm |
| Weight 195 grams or lighter | Weight 190 grams |
The Galaxy A37, on the other hand, is expected to come with a plastic frame instead of an aluminum one. Just like its predecessor, however, it will also include Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back, making it more durable than your average $499 phone. The Key Island design should also make a return.
The one change we expect to see with the A37 is a thinner body than its predecessor, potentially dropping to around 7.1 mm — that would make it thinner than the S25 FE too.
When it comes to height and width, though, the S25 FE will likely be the more compact phone, measuring 161.3 x 76.6 mm. The A37 is expected to be slightly taller and wider if Samsung keeps the A36 proportions.
Another rather insignificant difference is that the A37 will probably stick to a IP67 water and dust resistance rating vs the IP68 rating of the S25 FE. Both ratings provide complete dust protection (the "6" in the rating), but IP67 is means the phone can be immersed in fresh water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes, while IP68 is for immersion at depths greater than 1 meter for a specified time, which can be longer and deeper than 1 meter.
Display Differences
The S25 FE has a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, which is also what we expect from the A37. The only difference is that the S25 FE has an LTPO panel, meaning it can go from 1 Hz to 120 Hz, whereas the A37 probably won't be able to go lower than 60 Hz, making its display less efficient.
As for brightness levels, the S25 FE scorred excellently in our lab tests: 1761 nits at 20% APL and 1090 nits at full-screen white.
The Galaxy A36’s display already reached around 1700 nits in our testing, and the A37 is expected to retain the same panel and brightness characteristics, so we don't expect any changes.
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Size 6.7" | Size 6.7" |
| Brightness 1700 nits (peak) | Brightness 1900 nits (peak) |
*rumored/expected
There is one upgrade rumored to come with the A37 that might make a difference, though. It is expected to receive a faster optical in-display fingerprint sensor, which can make the phone feel snappier. The S25 FE’s fingerprint scanner is already quick and reliable, albeit not an ultrasonic one like those on Samsung's flagships.
Performance and Software
Upper mid-range power vs mid-range expectations
This is where we will probably see the biggest difference between these two Galaxy mid-rangers, besides the camera system.
The Galaxy S25 FE runs on the Exynos 2400. It's a 4 nm, 10-core chipset we’ve already tested extensively. In CPU tests, it outperforms the Pixel 9a, the S24 FE, and the Galaxy A56 by a noticeable margin. The multi-core result is particularly strong, delivering one of the best performances in its class. GPU scores are also high, reaching 3623 in 3DMark Extreme (High), putting the S25 FE comfortably above competing mid-rangers.
The Galaxy S25 FE runs on the Exynos 2400. It's a 4 nm, 10-core chipset we’ve already tested extensively. In CPU tests, it outperforms the Pixel 9a, the S24 FE, and the Galaxy A56 by a noticeable margin. The multi-core result is particularly strong, delivering one of the best performances in its class. GPU scores are also high, reaching 3623 in 3DMark Extreme (High), putting the S25 FE comfortably above competing mid-rangers.
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Chip Exynos 1580 or 1480 | Chip Exynos 2400 |
| Process 5nm | Process 5nm |
| RAM, Storage 8/128 GB 8/256 GB --- LPDDR5 RAM UFS 2.2 | RAM, Storage 8/128 GB 8/256 GB 8/512 GB LPDDR5X RAM UFS 4.0 |
The Galaxy A37 is expected to use either the Exynos 1580 or Exynos 1480, both 5 nm chips that sit significantly below the Exynos 2400. While we expect these chips to offer a smoother day-to-day experience compared to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 inside the A36, they won’t come close to matching the S25 FE’s speed, especially when it comes to gaming or more demanding apps and tasks.
As for software, the S25 FE ships with Android 16 and One UI 8, complete with Samsung’s new AI features like Now Bar, Now Brief, and Circle to Search. Long-term support is excellent with seven years of OS and security updates.
Camera
A clear win for the FE
There is no doubt that the S25 FE will have a significantly better and more versatile camera system than what we expect from the Galaxy A37. Based on all leaks so far, the A37 is keeping the A36’s hardware:
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Main 50 MP, f/1.8 1/1.96" sensor size | Main 50 MP, f/1.8 1/1.57" sensor size |
| Ultrawide 8 MP, f/2.2 13 mm 1/4.0" sensor size | Ultrawide 12 MP, f/2.2 13 mm 1/3.0" sensor size |
| Macro 5 MP | Telephoto 8 MP, f/2.4 1/4.4" sensor size |
In other words, the A37 will come with a very familiar camera system — one we already know what to expect from. Samsung might improve the image processing slightly, but the A37 is not expected to bring about any major improvements on this front.
The S25 FE, on the other hand, uses a far more capable triple-camera system with a 3x optical telephoto camera (instead of a Macro like on the A37) and a better ultrawide. Its main 50 MP camera earned 79 points in our testing, while the total PhoneArena Camera Score climbed to 143 — very high for this price segment. The selfie camera also received an upgrade to 12 MP.
The difference in image will likely be even more apparent when recording video. The S25 FE scored 139 overall, while the A-series has historically struggled in video quality.
Battery Life and Charging
Both good, but the FE charges faster and supports wireless charging
The Galaxy S25 FE has a 4900 mAh battery and lasted 6h 59m in our PhoneArena Battery Test. That's a solid result, although there are some competitors that can last even more. The A36 landed behind that, and we don't expect the A37 to be any different, given that it will have the same 5000 mAh battery capacity.
| Galaxy A37* | Galaxy S25 FE |
|---|---|
| Battery size 5,000 mAh | Battery size 4,900 mAh |
Charging speeds 45W wired No wireless charging No reverse wireless charging USB-C 2.0 | Charging speeds 45W wired 12W wireless charging Reverse wireless charging USB-C 3.2 |
The A37 is expected to support 45W wired charging as well, reaching around 60% in 30 minutes, but it does not support wireless charging. This is another major distinction between Samsung’s mid-range models and the Fan Edition model.
Specs Comparison
|
|
| Samsung Galaxy A37 5G | Samsung Galaxy S25 FE |
Design
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| 161.3 x 76.6 x 7.4 mm (~8.9 mm with camera bump) | |
| Weight | |
| 190.0 g | |
Display
| Size | |
|---|---|
| 6.7-inch | 6.7-inch |
| Type | |
| Super AMOLED, 120Hz | Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz |
Hardware
| System chip | |
|---|---|
| Exynos 2400 S5E9945 (4 nm) | |
| Memory | |
| 128GB (UFS 2.2) 8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB 12GB/256GB |
8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB |
Battery
| Type | |
|---|---|
| 5000 mAh | 4900 mAh |
| Charge speed | |
| Wired: 45.0W | Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 15.0W |
Camera
| Main camera | |
|---|---|
| 50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Sensor size: 1/1.96" |
50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
| Second camera | |
| 8 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Sensor size: 1/4" Pixel size: 1.12 μm |
12 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 |
| Third camera | |
| 5 MP (Macro) Aperture size: F2.4 | 8 MP (Telephoto) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 |
| Front | |
| 12 MP | 12 MP |
See the full
Samsung Galaxy A37 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE specs comparison
or compare them to other phones using our
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Summary
The Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy A37 are separated by 250 dollars in Samsung’s lineup, and they target very different kinds of buyers. If you’re wondering whether you should save up for the pricier model, you probably won’t have any buyer’s remorse afterward. The more reliable performance alone is a good enough reason to choose the FE.
That said, if Samsung fixes the performance issues we saw with the predecessor, the A37 will still offer great value for the money. It won’t have the more premium features like a telephoto camera, higher performance, or wireless charging, but it should cover the basics very well, just like previous A3x models.
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