The upcoming Galaxy S25 FE promises some neat upgrades. But will it be able to topple the king of the affordable flagships – the Pixel 9a?
The Galaxy S25 FE is the next iteration of Samsung’s „barebones flagship“ idea. The phone is aimed to give you that flagship experience and feel at a lower price, cutting a corner or two in the process.
This last model is expected to bring some upgrades to the battery capacity and charging and also feature a different chipset than its predecessor, so we’re thrilled to see what the end package will look like.
At the other side of this comparison lies the Pixel 9a—a pretty successful contender employing the same idea of an „affordable flagship“, offering a ton of features for just $499. At this price, the Pixel 9a is almost unbeatable in this segment. Today we’re going to explore that „almost“ and pit it against the upcoming Galaxy S25 FE.
Galaxy S25 FE vs Galaxy S25 Plus differences:
*rumoredTable of Contents:
In a world where most smartphone models look very similar, the Galaxy S25 FE and the Pixel 9a somehow manage to look different. Samsung continues to polish the design it started with the Galaxy S21, and according to the latest info, the Galaxy S25 FE feels and looks very similar to the Galaxy S25 Plus.
It features the same flat sides, slightly curved corners, and separate vertical cutouts for the cameras on the back as previous generations of the S series, and that’s not a bad thing. It looks stylish, and the bezel around the display is minimal.
Now, when it comes to the Pixel 9a, Google made a radical turn in the design of the Pixel 9 series to bring it into the modern flat and angular smartphone world. The Pixel 9a was subsequently affected, getting many of the features of that new design.
There are differences, however, when we put both phones side-by-side. The camera system of the Pixel 9a is housed in a horizontal, pill-shaped cutout that’s flush with the back of the phone. The bezels around the screen are also substantially bigger than the ones we find on the S25 FE.
*rumored
In terms of size and weight, even though the Pixel 9a has a smaller footprint, thanks to its 6.3-inch screen, the device weighs almost the same as the Galaxy S25 FE. The Pixel 9a feels good in the hand, not as good as the curved Pixel 8a but still comfortable.
Given the Galaxy S25 FE is substantially larger, we expect the ergonomics to be a tad worse compared to the Pixel 9a. But not by much. We have to wait until we lay our hands on the Galaxy S25 FE to give you some insight on that one.
As far as materials go, we expect similar Gorilla Glass and an aluminum frame on the Galaxy S25 FE as we’ve been seeing on all Galaxy S-series devices of late. The Pixel 9a also comes with an aluminum frame, but the back is made out of recycled plastic, which might be a downside to some people.
