Galaxy S25 FE vs Pixel 9a: The bona-fide affordable flagship battle

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:

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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. 

In all fairness, it doesn’t feel all that cheap; it’s sturdy and won’t shatter to pieces if you drop the phone.

*rumored 

The display of the Galaxy S25 FE is expected to be a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution, resulting in around 385 PPI pixel density. According to the latest rumors the display will have a 120 Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2600 nits.The Pixel 9a, on the other hand, features a smaller 6.3-inch pOLED screen that has a resolution of 1080 x 2424 pixels. While the difference in resolution is not that big as a number, the smaller size of the Pixel 9a‘s display means more pixels per inch, around 422 of them, to be precise.

*rumored 

Some early benchmarks of the chip place the performance somewhere between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8 Gen 3. Geekbench 6 scores are around 2000 points in single-core tests and 6500 points in multi-core, but we don’t know how the silicon will perform inside the Galaxy S25 FE.

The Pixel 9a is the last Pixel that uses Samsung design and manufacturing process for its Tensor G4 chipset, next generation will switch to TSMC for the Tensor G5. The numbers Pixel 9a was able to score in the aforementioned tests were around 1700 and 4000 in single- and multi-core performance respectively, so it looks like a win for the Galaxy S25 FE at this point.

*rumored 

In terms of RAM, the Pixel 9a features 8 GB of it, which in 2025 starts to seem low on an Android phone. The Galaxy S25 FE is expected to come with 12GB on board in all storage configurations. 

Now, when it comes to software, there’s no difference between these two support-wise, but the Pixel 9a launched with Android 15 out of the box, while the Galaxy S25 FE is expected to run Android 16 when it launches, which can lead to a one-generation software difference at the end of the seven-year support cycle both phones feature.

The camera specs of the Galaxy S25 FE are still under wraps, but according to the rumors, we will most likely get the same camera system as the predecessor. This includes a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.

The Pixel 9a is a known entity with its dual camera system. The phone comes equipped with a 48MP main camera with a 1/1.2″ sensor and a 13MP ultrawide one. There’s no dedicated telephoto, and you only get 2x crops from the main sensor as an optical-like alternative.

*rumored 

The Pixel 9a managed 134 points in our camera benchmark test, which, considering the lack of a dedicated telephoto, is a pretty decent result. We don’t know how the Galaxy S25 FE will fare, but the previous generation FE managed 150 points in the same test, so the new one might have an intrinsic advantage here.As always, camera specs don’t paint the whole picture, and we will snap some side-by-side comparison images once we get the Galaxy S25 FE.

The Pixel 9a has a decent 5,100 mAh battery on board, and it managed 8h 11m in our battery test, placing itself 19th among phones tested in the past 2 years. Not a bad result at all.

Stay tuned for our battery benchmarks, which will show how these 200 mAh have or have not improved the battery life of the FE and if it can be a match for the Pixel 9a.

*rumored 

So, which one is better, then? It’s too early to tell at this point, as the Galaxy S25 FE is still under wraps. But judging from all the information we have, the old saying “you get what you pay for” seems to apply here as well.

The Pixel 9a is $499, and some corners have been cut to achieve this price tag. There’s no telephoto camera, the back is made out of plastic, and the Tensor G4 chipset inside is not the most powerful out there.

The Galaxy S25 FE is expected to cost more (around $700), but these $200 on top will get you a bigger screen, one additional telephoto camera, potentially faster chipset and charging, and better build materials.

We’ll update this comparison once we finish the review of the Galaxy S25 FE.