There are plenty of tech products out there. Some are great buys offering excellent value, but others aren't. Most fall somewhere in the middle.
Unless you have the means to buy one of everything, you have to decide if something is the right fit for you. That can be hard; the companies making them will tell you that you need one to make your life complete, people who got a lemon or just didn't like it will say the product is garbage, and reviewers simply can't cover everything.
So many tech products! It can help if you take a breath, a step back, and think about what you really need. We're here to help you do just that!
Often, it's good to take a step back and see what you're going to get inside that pretty package. Was it worth what you paid for it? Will you get enough use from it to justify the purchase? Or maybe you should hold off and see what's coming next.
We can't make those decisions for you, but we can tell you what we think and maybe where you should start your decision-making process.
Samsung has released the "budget" Galaxy S25 FE. Should you buy it, or are you better off going for the original S25?
The price looks good. At first glance, the features look good. So far, the performance feels good. Is there any reason to spend a little more on the standard S25?
What's great about the original Galaxy S25
The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is the best the company offers, with three sizes and three price points to fit everyone. Add in the S25 Edge and the newest S25 FE, and you have something for everyone.
Samsung's Galaxy phones offer one thing consistently: performance. You might not like some of the features or a few things about the way they look and feel, but when a phone gets the "Galaxy" name, it is Samsung's best-in-class offering. Both the small Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 FE fit the bill here. They're damn fine phones.
But they do have their differences. Here's what the standard Galaxy S25 simply does better.
It has a much better display. I'm starting here because this is the most important difference. The S25 FE has a good screen, a 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED panel. The regular Galaxy S25, though, has one that's better; it's denser, so it will look clearer, it's brighter, and it has full HDR support. These differences might sound minor, but the display is what you're looking at 100% of the time you're using your phone. Nothing is more important than the display.
The chip is better. The Galaxy S25 comes with a Qualcomm SM8750-AB, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The FE uses a Samsung Exynos 2400 S5E9945. Both are more than powerful enough to do all your phone things, but the Snapdragon makes a big difference when it comes to battery life and network connectivity. If you're into benchmarks, the Snapdragon destroys the Exynos, too.
It has a better camera system. The telephoto lens on the standard S25 is a better piece of hardware, offering a higher zoom and better focal length. If you want to stand back and zoom in, you'll see the difference.
The fingerprint scanner is better. A small nitpick that really bothers me. I hate in-screen sensors, but the S25 FE uses an optical sensor while the standard version uses an ultrasonic variant.
What's great about the S25 FE
The S25 FE has a few things you won't find on the standard version, even though it's a little cheaper. The most notable features and specs:
It's bigger. At one time, every company was trying to make phones as tiny as they could. Not today! For a lot of people, a bigger phone is better, and the FE is big without being too big. A 6.7-inch·2340x1080px display is the sweet spot for a lot of folks, and the FE nails it when it comes to size.
The battery. It's bigger, almost 20% bigger. The FE has a 4,900 mAh battery compared to the 4,000 mAh battery on the standard S25. While the more efficient Qualcomm chip on the standard S25 means it doesn't last longer most of the time, the FE's extra capacity is the reason why. That's rare to see when comparing an Exynos phone to a Qualcomm phone, so the extra battery was a great choice.
The update cycle. The FE ships with Android 16 and will get seven years of updates. Since the original S25 debuted so much earlier, it shipped with Android 15 and also gets 7 years of updates. When all the dust settles, the FE could get one extra platform update because of when it was released.
My verdict
You're going to be happy with either of these phones. They are very similar to each other when it comes to features and performance, but the regular S25 has just a bit more to offer.
I like the better display on the standard S25, and when it comes to network operability, the Qualcomm chip means the standard S25 is not only faster at transferring wireless data, but also has Wi-Fi 7, mmWave support, and can connect to more FDD, TDD, and 3G fallback bands that you won't find on the FE. Depending on where you are, this might make a big difference.
The FE has a bigger display, enough battery power to make it last as long as the regular version (a big win for an Exynos chip!), and charges faster. More importantly, both phones charge safely. Samsung learned its lesson and offers the safest methods available when it comes to refueling your battery, since we're monkeys who always make bad decisions, that matters. 🐵
I would spend the extra few dollars on the regular S25 because I care about the display quality more than the other differences. But really, this is a toss-up. You'll pay more for the standard S25, but it's worth every penny. So is the FE. Grab either and you're good.
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