Galaxy S25 Plus vs Galaxy S24 FE: Innovation vs. value

By Aleksandar Anastasov

Updated: Jan 23, 2025, 4:30 AM

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Two-color background with phones displayed in each half.

Intro

The new Galaxy S25 series has arrived and with it, we have the Galaxy S25 Plus model, a $1,000 phone with a big screen and top-end specs. But if you want to save up, you still have the similarly big and also quite powerful Galaxy S24 FE, which you can find for about half the price of the S25 Plus.

So is it really worth overspending for the Galaxy S25 Plus? Or is the Galaxy S24 FE good enough at a much lower price?

We compare the design, performance, cameras, battery life and a lot more to answer that question. Read on.

Galaxy S25 Plus vs Galaxy S24 FE differences:

Galaxy S25 Plus	Galaxy S24 FE
Aluminum frame and 6.7" display, but slimmer bezels and higher brightness	Same display size with non-uniform bezels and lower brightness
Faster Snapdragon 8 Elite chip	Slower Samsung Exynos 2400e chip
12GB RAM	8GB RAM
Triple-camera setup with wide, ultra-wide, and a 3x telephoto camera	Similar triple camera
4,900 mAh battery	Slightly smaller 4,700 mAh battery size
7 years of software support and the latest AI features, will launch with Android 15	Same 7 year software update commitment, but phone launched with Android 14
Double the base storage (256GB)	128GB base storage
$1,000 starting price	$650 starting price (but often discounted to $550)

Table of Contents:

Design and Size
Display Differences
Performance
Camera
Battery and Charging
Specs
Summary

$249 ⁹⁹

$649 ⁹⁹

$400 off (62%)

The Galaxy S24 FE is up for grabs at the official Samsung Store. Currently, you can save up to $400 on the handset with eligible trade-ins.

Buy at Samsung

$34 off (5%)

The Galaxy S24 FE is also available at Amazon. The model in Gray with 128GB of storage is currently available at lower prices, and you can save 5% on it.

Buy at Amazon

$299 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

$700 off (70%)

The exciting Galaxy S25 Plus has finally been revealed. Pre-orders are now open, and you can pre-order a unit for up to $700 off at the Samsung Store with eligible trade-ins. There's an additional $100 Samsung Credit available.

Pre-order at Samsung

$299 ⁹⁹

$799 ⁹⁹

$500 off (63%)

The "vanilla" Galaxy S25 is here! Now's the time to pre-order one with exclusive discounts of up to $500. To get the discount, you must trade in an eligible device. There's an additional $100 Samsung Credit available, which includes your $50 Reservation Gift!

Pre-order at Samsung

Hard to tell apart

Samsung has unified the design of its phone lineup throughout the last few years, making it harder and harder to immediately distinguish them from each other.

And that is exactly the case with the Galaxy S25 Plus and the Galaxy S24 FE, the only thing that separates them are the slightly restyled camera lenses on the back (slightly bigger on the S25 Plus).

Both phones are made out of the same materials—glass for the back and aluminum for the frame—so holding them will likely feel very similar.

There are some small differences in their size, though. The S25 Plus has been slimmed down to 7.3mm, making it one of the slimmest Plus models yet, compared to the 7.7mm thickness of the S24 Plus. This means a more compact feel, despite the larger battery and display size.

The Galaxy S25 Plus is available in the following colors:

Midnight Black
Moon Night Blue
Silver Shadow
Sparkling Blue
Sparkling Green

The Galaxy S24 FE comes in the following:

Blue
Graphite
Gray
Mint
Yellow

Display Differences

Both phones feature a 6.7-inch display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, but the S25 Plus has slimmer bezels and slightly higher brightness than the S24 FE.

The Galaxy S24 FE also has the lower resolution (1080p), while the S25 Plus runs at crisper 1440p resolution. The S25 Plus also uses LTPO AMOLED technology for improved power efficiency.

Being the flagship phone, the S25 Plus can also get brighter, hitting 2,600 nits of peak brightness compared to 1,900 nits on the S24 FE. Just keep in mind that these brightness measures are not linear, so your eyes will not see this as big of a difference as the numbers suggest.

The Galaxy S25 Plus uses an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, while the S24 FE bets on an optical one. The ultrasonic won't shine bright at night and is a little more reliable, but it's not a huge difference.

Performance and Software

The S25 Plus features the beastly new Snapdragon 8 Elite

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside the Galaxy S25 Plus is one of the biggest leaps in processor power in recent years. In comparison, the Galaxy S24 FE runs on a Samsung-made Exynos 2400e processor, which is definitely not in the same league.

We don't have the full benchmarks yet, but expect to see the Galaxy S25 Plus score 50% or better CPU, GPU and NPU performance. That is a big leap.

RAM is another area where the S25 Plus is superior, with 12GB on board, up from 8GB on the S24 FE, and by now we all know that RAM is very important for AI tasks.

The S25 Plus also comes with double the storage in the base model – it's 256GB on the S25 Plus vs 128GB on the S24 FE.

In terms of software, Samsung is one of the best Android phone makers. It promises SEVEN years of software and security updates for both of these phones. However, keep in mind that the S24 FE launched with Android 14, while the S25 Plus arrives with Android 15, so it's one year ahead.

As for AI features, we are yet to learn if all the cool new tricks and Gemini integration make their way to the Galaxy S24 FE. We will be updating this part with more color as we learn more.

Camera

Only a small difference in image quality

The Galaxy S25 Plus keeps the same hardware as previous generations, so you get the following:

Main (wide)—50 MP, f/1.8 aperture, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
Ultra-wide—12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video
Telephoto—10 MP, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS

This means no big difference compared to the Galaxy S24 FE camera specs:

Main (wide)—50 MP, f/1.8 aperture, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
Ultra-wide—12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 123˚, 1/3.0" 1.12µm, Super Steady video
Telephoto—8 MP, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4, 75mm, 1/4.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS

The lower resolution of the telephoto camera is the main hardware difference

However, we have the new ISP on the Galaxy S25 Plus and software improvements.

We will update this section with actual photo and video samples soon, so you see if the difference is indeed big enough or not.

Battery Life and Charging

Where the S24 FE falls a bit short

The Galaxy S25 Plus gets a 4,900 mAh battery, while the S24 FE has a slightly smaller, 4,700 mAh battery size.

And while that is an advantage for the S25 Plus, it's not a big one – the difference between the two is less than 5%!

However, we expect the real-world battery life to be more than 5% better on the S25 Plus, mostly thanks to the more efficient and newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside it.

The S25 Plus also beats the S24 FE in charging speeds. You get 45W charging via a wire on the S25 Plus, while the S24 FE maxes out at 25W.

Both support wireless charging at similar 15W speeds, though.

Specs Comparison

Below is a quick comparison of the specs. The main visible differences are the newer and more advanced processor of the S25 Plus, its higher RAM, and faster charging. For a deeper dive you can check our Galaxy S25 Plus vs Galaxy S24 FE specs page.

Galaxy S25 Plus	Galaxy S24 FE
Size and Weight: 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7 mm 197 g	Size and Weight: 162 x 77.3 x 8 mm 213 g
Display: 6.7" LTPO AMOLED 120Hz	Display: 6.7" Dynamic AMOLED 120Hz
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 3nm	Processor: Exynos 2400e 4nm
Versions: --- 12/256GB 12/512GB LPDDR5	Versions: 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB LPDDR5
Camera: 50MP main 12MP ultra-wide 10MP 3X zoom 12MP front	Camera: 50MP main 12MP ultra-wide 8MP 3X zoom 10MP front
Battery: 4900 mAh	Battery: 4700 mAh
Charging: USB-C 45W wired 15W wireless or higher	Charging: USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless

Summary

The Galaxy S25 Plus and S24 FE offer similar design and displays, making it challenging to distinguish between the two at first glance.

However, the S25 Plus is much faster thanks to its newer chip and it has more RAM, which you need for AI. You also get double the storage in the base version.

There are also some smaller upgrades on the S25 Plus. Despite the similar camera hardware, the actual photos and videos should look better on the S25 Plus. It should also achieve better battery numbers and it charges faster (more on that soonm, after we test the S25 Plus in detail).

So should you get the S25 Plus? If you are a power user, that's likely a "yes", but otherwise, the Galaxy S24 FE still stands like a great value offer that will still not disappoint and it allows you to save a good $500 in the process.

So, which one would you go for?

View Full Bio

Aleksandar is a tech enthusiast with a broad range of interests, from smartphones to space exploration. His curiosity extends to hands-on DIY experiments with his gadgets, and he enjoys switching between different brands to experience the latest innovations. Prior to joining PhoneArena, Aleksandar worked on the Google Art Project, digitizing valuable artworks and gaining diverse perspectives on technology. When he's not immersed in tech, Aleksandar is an outdoorsman who enjoys mountain hikes, wildlife photography, and nature conservation. His interests also extend to martial arts, running, and snowboarding, reflecting his dynamic approach to life and technology.