The Galaxy S25 FE has arrived, and there’s a lot to like about it. You get a powerful chipset, premium features like an IP rating and wireless charging, a promised seven years of software support, and a lot more for a starting price of $650. It’s a phone I’ll often recommend over the next 12 months because the FE series strikes an excellent balance between performance and price. However, it faces stiff competition from the Pixel 9a, Google’s mid-range phone, which — at least for me — is a better deal overall. Here’s why.
Which phone would you rather buy? 23 votes Pixel 9a 61 % Samsung Galaxy S25 FE 35 % Neither 4 %
Pixel 9a vs Galaxy S25 FE: Why I’d choose the former
Joe Maring / Android Authority
We all have our personal preferences, and mine is a phone that isn’t too big. The Pixel 9a’s 6.3-inch display is the perfect size for me. It’s big enough to comfortably browse the web and watch videos, yet I can still handle the device with one hand. Its compact size also makes it very pocketable, easily slipping into the front pocket of my pants.
In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a larger device with a 6.7-inch display. While many people may prefer this, especially those who enjoy a lot of mobile gaming or streaming, I find that for my personal use, smaller is better.
Then there’s the battery. The Pixel 9a sports a 5,100mAh cell, while the Galaxy comes in at 4,900mAh. Not only does the Samsung phone have a smaller battery, but its larger display — one of the most power-hungry components of any device — will likely drain power more quickly. While we haven’t done any battery tests for the Galaxy S25 FE yet, I’d say it’s safe to assume the Pixel has the upper hand here.
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The software experience is next on my list, and this is one of the most important factors for me. I prefer the clean, simple interface of Pixel UI to Samsung’s One UI. It feels less cluttered and comes with far less bloatware. Samsung’s phones are often pre-installed with their own suite of apps that duplicate the functionality of many of the Google and third-party apps I already use.
But it’s not just about the look and feel; software updates also play a crucial role. While both phones are guaranteed to get seven years of software support, the key difference is that Pixel users get the latest version of Android on day one. Samsung users, on the other hand, have to wait several months. Samsung usually prioritizes its flagship Galaxy S phones before updating more affordable devices, like those from the FE series. For reference, the stable version of Android 16 was released back in June, and the Galaxy S24 FE still hasn’t received the update.
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