{"id":161378,"date":"2025-09-22T12:24:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/161378\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:24:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:24:20","slug":"5-android-phones-you-should-buy-instead-of-the-galaxy-s25-fe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/161378\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Android phones you should buy instead of the Galaxy S25 FE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

C. Scott Brown \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Between its flagship Galaxy S25 lineup and its latest Fold and Flip entries, Samsung has had a pretty busy 2025. But there\u2019s another Samsung phone that may have flown under your radar: the Galaxy S25 FE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Samsung announced the S25 FE earlier this month, and as we expect from the FE series, it\u2019s a lower-cost entry into the Galaxy S25 family. The Galaxy S25 FE has a big 6.7-inch display, an Exynos 2400 chipset, 45W wired charging, and an IP68 rating \u2014 all for $649.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a horrible price considering everything the S25 FE brings to the table, but there are far better and more interesting Android phones available for about the same price. Before you drop your money on the Galaxy S25 FE, consider these other Android phones first.<\/p>\n

What do you think is the best Samsung Galaxy S25 FE alternative?<\/p>\n

132 votes<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10<\/p>\n

28%<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus<\/p>\n

23%<\/p>\n

OnePlus 13R<\/p>\n

20%<\/p>\n

Motorola Razr (2025)<\/p>\n

16%<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE<\/p>\n

7%<\/p>\n

Other (let us know in the comments)<\/p>\n

6%<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Robert Triggs \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The Google Pixel 10<\/a> is one of the best Android phones released this year, and if it were my money, it\u2019s the phone I would personally buy over the Galaxy S25 FE.<\/p>\n

For me, a big part of this comes down to the software experience. While One UI has its fans, Google\u2019s Pixel software is my favorite way to use Android. The UI is clean, the latest Material 3 Expressive skin looks incredible, and the excellence of the Pixel-exclusive features can\u2019t be overstated. Once you use features like Now Playing and the numerous Call Assist tools, it\u2019s difficult to live without them.<\/p>\n

\"Someone<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I also think the Pixel 10 wins the hardware battle pretty handily. The smaller 6.3-inch display is easier to use one-handed, the overall design is more visually interesting, and the color lineup \u2014 specifically the Indigo and Lemongrass colors \u2014 is incredible. The Pixel 10 also has the advantage of a better telephoto camera (a 10.8MP sensor with 5x optical zoom vs. Samsung\u2019s 8MP 3x optical zoom camera), a much brighter display, and built-in magnets in its rear panel for use with magnetic chargers and other accessories.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 10 is more expensive than the Galaxy S25 FE ($150 more, to be exact), but I think it\u2019s well worth the extra money. Unless you need a larger screen size or slightly faster charging, I\u2019d choose the Pixel 10 over the Galaxy S25 FE any day of the week.<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10<\/a>\"Google\"AA<\/p>\n

Google Pixel 10<\/p>\n

New optical zoom camera \u2022 Long-term updates \u2022 Loaded with Google AI features<\/p>\n

Baseline excellence.<\/p>\n

The Google Pixel 10 is the 6.3-inch base model of the in-house Android phones from Google. With plenty of high-speed storage options, a good amount of RAM, and the all-new Tensor G5 processor, it should blow through your mobile computing tasks with ease. A triple camera system includes standalone ultrawide and telephoto lenses, and a 50MP main sensor.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking about buying the Galaxy S25 FE, there\u2019s a chance you know you want a Samsung phone and not a Pixel. And that\u2019s fine! But if that\u2019s your preference, I\u2019d recommend instead buying the Galaxy S25 Plus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, the Galaxy S25 Plus is a better phone than the Galaxy S25 FE in almost every regard. It has a more durable aluminum frame, a brighter (and sharper) display, a much more capable Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and more RAM and storage. The cameras are mostly the same, as is the battery size and charge speeds, but pretty much everything else is better on the S25 Plus compared to the S25 FE.<\/p>\n

Naturally, that means the phone is more expensive. The Galaxy S25 Plus\u2019s retail price of $999 is significantly higher than the $649 Galaxy S25 FE. But because it\u2019s been on the market since January, you can often find the S25 Plus on sale for considerably less.<\/p>\n

Amazon once had the S25 Plus for as low as $799, and if you keep an eye on Samsung\u2019s website and other retailers\/carriers, you can almost always find some sort of deal for the phone. Find it on sale, and the S25 Plus can be well worth a little extra money rather than settling for the S25 FE.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus<\/a>\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus<\/p>\n

Snapdragon 8 Elite power \u2022 12GB RAM \u2022 7 years software support<\/p>\n

A powerful 6.7-inch phone, with 7 years of updates<\/p>\n

The middle offering of Samsung’s 2025 flagship launch, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is a 6.7-inch QHD+ device with a 50MP camera, 12GB of RAM, 256GB+ of storage, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. UWB connectivity, a 4,900mAh battery, and ProScaler for QHD+ round out the upgrades over the base model phone.<\/p>\n

OnePlus 13R<\/p>\n

\"OnePlus<\/p>\n

Rushil Agrawal \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S25 Plus is a great \u201cbuy it on sale\u201d type of phone, but what if you don\u2019t want to wait around for a sale? What if you want a phone that\u2019s a great deal, no matter if you buy it discounted or at its full MSRP? In that case, look no further than the OnePlus 13R<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Put side-by-side with the Galaxy S25 FE, the OnePlus 13R comes out on top in basically every department. The display? The 13R has a slightly larger 6.78-inch panel with higher brightness and more pixels. What about performance? You get a slightly faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in the OnePlus 13R, plus more RAM (12GB) and storage (256GB) than you get on the Galaxy S25 FE, which has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of base storage. OnePlus also has a dramatic battery advantage, featuring a 6,000mAh battery and 80W wired charging compared to Samsung\u2019s 4,900mAh battery and 45W charging.<\/p>\n

To be fair, it isn\u2019t a complete blow-out for Samsung. The camera situation is pretty similar between the two phones. The Galaxy S25 FE has a more durable design (IP68 vs. IP65 on the 13R), and Samsung\u2019s update policy is far and away better. Where the OnePlus 13R is only promised four major Android updates (one of which will take the phone from Android 15 to Android 16), the Galaxy S25 FE ships with Android 16 and is promised seven years of major Android updates.<\/p>\n

Those are valid criticisms against the OnePlus 13R, but with a price tag of just $599, they\u2019re extremely easy to overlook. Unless you absolutely need an IP68 rating or seven years of updates, do yourself a favor and buy the OnePlus 13R instead of the Galaxy S25 FE.<\/p>\n

OnePlus 13R<\/a>\"OnePlus\"AA<\/p>\n

OnePlus 13R<\/p>\n

Speedy performance \u2022 Long-lasting battery \u2022 Superb value for money<\/p>\n

R-eally great.<\/p>\n

The OnePlus 13R is everything you\u2019d expect from a OnePlus phone \u2014 blazing performance, amazing battery life, and rapid charging. Add to that a gorgeous display and a smooth, feature-packed Oxygen OS experience, and you have a phone that feels like it punches well above its $600 price tag.<\/p>\n

Motorola Razr (2025)<\/p>\n

\"Motorola<\/p>\n

Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

If all you want with your next Android phone is a by-the-numbers, straightforward handset, the Galaxy S25 FE is a perfectly serviceable option. However, if you want something a little more exciting, it\u2019s worth looking at the Motorola Razr (2025)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Being a foldable phone, the Razr has an advantage the S25 FE will never be able to match: it can fold in half. When open, the Razr has a 6.9-inch display that resembles a \u201cnormal\u201d Android phone. But close the Razr shut, and you\u2019re met with a compact 3.6-inch screen you can use for just about anything \u2014 all in the form factor of a tiny, easy-to-hold square.<\/p>\n

\"Motorola<\/p>\n

Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

You could argue that this isn\u2019t practical, but there\u2019s an undeniable fun factor that comes with a flip phone like the Razr (2025). Having two distinct ways to use your phone is just cool. Having a phone you can close shut and slip into a tiny pocket rules. Effectively having a built-in kickstand for selfies or group photos is something you\u2019ll never want to live without once you try it.<\/p>\n

The Razr (2025) doesn\u2019t have the best IP rating, display quality, or camera system compared to the Galaxy S25 FE, but for a phone that can fold in half, I think it\u2019s a perfectly fair price to pay. Plus, with a retail price of just $699 \u2014 and often on sale for much less \u2014 going the foldable route won\u2019t set you back that much more compared to Samsung\u2019s non-folding phone.<\/p>\n

Motorola Razr (2025)<\/a>\"Motorola<\/p>\n

Motorola Razr (2025)<\/p>\n

Improved hinge \u2022 Flexible cameras \u2022 Excellent price<\/p>\n

The most affordable 2025 Razr<\/p>\n

A good looking 6.9-inch folding display is paired with a 3.6-inch external display to make up a compact folded phone, with few compromises at full-size. The Motorola Razr 2025 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X and 8GB of RAM, a 50MP camera, and a 4,500mAh battery.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Samsung\u2019s FE-branded devices have long been a good way to get a higher-end Samsung product at a lower price. It\u2019s existed for slab phones for years, and for the first time in 2025, Samsung expanded the FE series to its foldables with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Put next to the Motorola Razr (2025), the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE isn\u2019t as good of an overall deal. The Flip\u2019s cover screen is smaller, has a worse refresh rate and resolution, and has much more limited software compared to the Razr. Samsung\u2019s phone also has less storage (128GB instead of 256GB), a smaller battery, and slower charging. Not to mention, its design is a\u00a0lot\u00a0more boring, coming in just black and white colors compared to the Razr\u2019s navy, pink, green, and silver colors \u2014 all of which come in different patterns, too.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s all true, why recommend the Z Flip 7 FE? Because it\u2019s a Samsung phone, and that means it comes with all of the usual Samsung phone things \u2014 whether that\u2019s Galaxy AI, One UI, better compatibility with Galaxy Watches, or seven years of Android updates (the Razr is promised just three OS upgrades).<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE isn\u2019t a great purchase at its retail price of $899, but if you can find it on sale (which happens often), it\u2019s worth keeping in mind. At the time of writing, Amazon has the phone discounted to just $759, which is significantly better. If you can grab the Flip 7 FE at or around that price, it\u2019s a good pickup.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE<\/a>\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE<\/p>\n

Large cover screen \u2022 Seven years of updates \u2022 Good build quality<\/p>\n

Budget-friendly Galaxy Z Flip<\/p>\n

With as few compromises as possible to bring the price down, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE rocks a 6.7-inch main display, a 3.4-inch front display, and an Exynos chipset.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"C. Scott Brown \/ Android Authority Between its flagship Galaxy S25 lineup and its latest Fold and Flip…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[49,48,14602,190,5893,83848,24507,29542,5776,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-161378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-google-pixel-10","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-motorola-razr","13":"tag-oneplus-13r","14":"tag-samsung-galaxy-s25","15":"tag-samsung-galaxy-s25-fe","16":"tag-samsung-galaxy-z-flip-7","17":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}