Nothing Phone (4a) vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE | TechTalkTown
Nothing Phone (4a) vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Nothing Phone (4a)
Nothing
8.3
The mid-ranger that stands out
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Samsung
7.6
Closest-to-flagship FE yet, but Exynos still bites
Nothing Phone (4a)
What Reviewers Agree On
Distinctive Glyph design that stands out in a sea of black slabs — widely called one of the best-looking phones at its price
Excellent big screen for the money: a 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED, HDR10+, ~1,600 nits outdoor and a 4,500-nit HDR peak
Near-stock Nothing OS ranked among the best Android experiences, highly customisable and clean
A rare 3.5x (80mm) periscope telephoto at this price, adding real flexibility most budget rivals lack
A clear, substantial upgrade over the Phone 3a / Phone 3, fixing earlier design problems
Strong value — cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a while feeling more premium than the price suggests
Pros & Cons
Nothing Phone (4a)
Pros
Distinctive Glyph design that stands out in a sea of black slabs — widely called one of the best-looking phones at its price
Excellent big screen for the money: a 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED, HDR10+, ~1,600 nits outdoor and a 4,500-nit HDR peak
Near-stock Nothing OS ranked among the best Android experiences, highly customisable and clean
A rare 3.5x (80mm) periscope telephoto at this price, adding real flexibility most budget rivals lack
A clear, substantial upgrade over the Phone 3a / Phone 3, fixing earlier design problems
Detailed Comparison
Design & Build
Nothing Phone (4a)
Nothing's signature transparent-inspired look with the Glyph — divisive but genuinely distinctive at a budget price, and a real step forward from the Phone 3a.
It's both a step forward and a throwback to a better era in design, fixing everything that was wrong with the Phone 3 — a big upgrade.
A budget phone that stands out from the crowd.
The Glyph circle has ~137 mini-LEDs, 57% larger and twice as bright as the Phone 3's Glyph interface — and many call it the best-looking Nothing phone ever.
Nothing's design is appreciated for trying to be more unique than a plain black glass slab, even if some find the dot-matrix display almost useless.
TechTalkTown may earn a commission from purchases made through links below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not influence our reviews. Learn more.
The 3.5x telephoto is poorly optimised — among the worst processing JerryRigEverything has seen on a periscope lens
The 8MP ultrawide is a basic, low-resolution sensor
Battery life is divisive — several owners report only 4–6.5 hours of screen-on time despite a ~5,080mAh cell
The Glyph Matrix's real-world usefulness is questioned by multiple reviewers
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
What Reviewers Agree On
The 6.7-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display is bright, vivid, HDR10+ accurate, and at 1,900 nits one of the best screens you can get at this price.
Battery life comfortably lasts a full day on the 4,900 mAh cell — the largest ever in a Samsung FE — and matches the S25+ on capacity.
Seven years of OS and security updates is the longest support commitment in the midrange and beats every direct rival including the OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15T Pro.
The full Galaxy AI suite — Now Brief, Generative Edit, Audio Eraser, Circle to Search, Gemini — works identically to the more expensive S25 series, so you do not pay an AI tax for the FE label.
One UI 8 on Android 16 ships out of the box and is currently Samsung's most polished, slick interface to date.
The new thinner, lighter 190g design with slimmer bezels brings the FE much closer to the S25+ in look and feel than any previous Fan Edition.
Charging has finally been bumped to 45W wired (matching the S25+) and 15W Qi2-Ready wireless, a big jump from the S24 FE's 25W.
Deal Breakers
The Exynos 2400 chipset noticeably throttles in demanding 3D games like Fortnite, Honkai: Star Rail and Minecraft — multiple reviewers measured the phone climbing to 49°C and dropping to 13 fps in sustained gaming sessions.
Camera hardware is identical to the S24 FE — same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 8MP 3x telephoto — meaning anyone upgrading from a recent FE gets essentially no imaging improvement, and the 8MP telephoto is now dated against the Pixel 10 and Nothing 3a Pro.
At $649 it sits in an awkward pricing valley: the base Galaxy S25 was discounted to roughly $10 more during Prime Day, and Reddit users on r/gadgets and r/Android repeatedly describe the FE as a 'foolish edition' for that reason.
Base configuration is still only 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage — felt outdated by reviewers given a seven-year support window where future Android versions will demand more memory.
Qi2 is 'Ready' only — no built-in magnets, so MagSafe-style accessories require a separate magnetic case, the same complaint reviewers had with the full S25 series.
Strong value — cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a while feeling more premium than the price suggests
Cons
The 3.5x telephoto is poorly optimised — among the worst processing JerryRigEverything has seen on a periscope lens
The 8MP ultrawide is a basic, low-resolution sensor
Battery life is divisive — several owners report only 4–6.5 hours of screen-on time despite a ~5,080mAh cell
The Glyph Matrix's real-world usefulness is questioned by multiple reviewers
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Pros
The 6.7-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display is bright, vivid, HDR10+ accurate, and at 1,900 nits one of the best screens you can get at this price.
Battery life comfortably lasts a full day on the 4,900 mAh cell — the largest ever in a Samsung FE — and matches the S25+ on capacity.
Seven years of OS and security updates is the longest support commitment in the midrange and beats every direct rival including the OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15T Pro.
The full Galaxy AI suite — Now Brief, Generative Edit, Audio Eraser, Circle to Search, Gemini — works identically to the more expensive S25 series, so you do not pay an AI tax for the FE label.
One UI 8 on Android 16 ships out of the box and is currently Samsung's most polished, slick interface to date.
The new thinner, lighter 190g design with slimmer bezels brings the FE much closer to the S25+ in look and feel than any previous Fan Edition.
Charging has finally been bumped to 45W wired (matching the S25+) and 15W Qi2-Ready wireless, a big jump from the S24 FE's 25W.
Cons
The Exynos 2400 chipset noticeably throttles in demanding 3D games like Fortnite, Honkai: Star Rail and Minecraft — multiple reviewers measured the phone climbing to 49°C and dropping to 13 fps in sustained gaming sessions.
Camera hardware is identical to the S24 FE — same 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 8MP 3x telephoto — meaning anyone upgrading from a recent FE gets essentially no imaging improvement, and the 8MP telephoto is now dated against the Pixel 10 and Nothing 3a Pro.
At $649 it sits in an awkward pricing valley: the base Galaxy S25 was discounted to roughly $10 more during Prime Day, and Reddit users on r/gadgets and r/Android repeatedly describe the FE as a 'foolish edition' for that reason.
Base configuration is still only 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage — felt outdated by reviewers given a seven-year support window where future Android versions will demand more memory.
Some feel Nothing's design is now a parody of its original transparent, Teenage Engineering-like language.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Samsung has trimmed the S25 FE to 7.4mm and 190g — 8% thinner and 11% lighter than the S24 FE — while wrapping it in the same Enhanced Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ used on the S25 and S25+. Reviewers near-universally agree the phone now looks indistinguishable from the S25+ in the hand, though several note that the design also resembles every other 2025 Samsung phone including the much cheaper Galaxy A56. Colour options are limited to muted Navy, Icy Blue, Jet Black and White — a step back from the playful Mint and Yellow of the S24 FE.
At just 7.4mm thick and 190g the FE is 8% thinner and 11% lighter than the S24 FE, while somehow housing a bigger battery.
For the first time the FE looks and feels every inch the flagship the 'S25' in its name suggests, with an IP68 rating and Armor Aluminum frame nearly matching the S25+.
When I first took the S25 FE out of the box, I thought Samsung had played a cruel trick on me — the phone looks identical to its predecessor and I had to dig the S24 FE out of my drawer to compare them.
It looks almost identical to the Galaxy S25, which in turn looks like a carbon copy of the Galaxy A56 — Samsung's phones are now hard to tell apart.
It's hard to spot any difference between this phone and the Galaxy S25 Plus — only the slightly asymmetrical bottom bezel and camera ring design give it away.
The sides of the phone are flat and unfortunately pretty sharp, which can dig into the hand during long sessions.
The new matte back finish instead of last year's gloss is less prone to fingerprints — a welcome change.
The Navy colourway with silver aluminium railings is one of the nicest-looking phones I've tested all year — a real shame Samsung dropped the Mint and Yellow options.
Display
Nothing Phone (4a)
A genuine highlight for the price — a big 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED that's bright, sharp and HDR-capable, beating similarly priced rivals.
The 6.78-inch display is 23% brighter than the 3a, reaching 1,600 nits outdoors with a 4,500-nit HDR peak.
Brightness goes up to 4,500 nits peak, remaining easily readable outdoors — the display is very strong for this price range and one of the standout features.
In the real world it hits around 700 nits peak SDR and ~1,550–1,600 nits in HDR, with 460ppi and dynamic 120Hz.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel runs at 120Hz with 1,900 nits peak brightness, HDR10+ support, and 1080p (FHD+) resolution. Reviewers consistently call it the standout feature of the phone — practically indistinguishable from the S25+ in everyday viewing — though several note it falls short of the S25's 2,600 nits peak and is technically not an LTPO panel like the more expensive Galaxy S models. DxOMark singled out improved colour accuracy and viewing-angle uniformity versus the S24 FE.
It's easy to see the screen in bright sunlight thanks to 1,900 nits of peak brightness, and with HDR10+ support it's great for watching YouTube and Netflix.
With 1,900 nits, Samsung's Dynamic AMOLED panel and HDR10+, everything comes through with such vibrancy and contrast that you can't look away — like having a mini tablet on your person.
Slimmer, more uniform bezels give the phone an improved screen-to-body ratio and a more premium look closer to the S25+.
Peak brightness of 1,900 nits is lower than the flagship S25 models' 2,600 nits in HBM, which can hinder readability in strong sunlight.
Peak brightness sits at 1,900 nits, which is a downgrade from the S25+'s 2,600 nits, but you can still use it under the sun — it'll just look a little dim.
Battery & Charging
Nothing Phone (4a)
A ~5,080mAh cell with 50W wired charging — reviewers call endurance strong, but a notable group of owners report disappointing screen-on time.
The Nothing Phone (4a) features a ~5,080mAh cell which delivers very strong endurance in everyday use.
The battery grew slightly — about 80mAh in most markets but a more meaningful 400mAh in India — with a 50W PD unit recommended on the box.
Several owners report only 4–6.5 hours of screen-on time with moderate use — worse than other phones with similar ~5,000mAh batteries.
Battery life on this phone is excellent in everyday use.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
The 4,900 mAh battery is the largest Samsung has put in any FE phone and matches the Galaxy S25+. Real-world endurance is consistently described as a solid full day with battery to spare — Trusted Reviews ended a heavy day at 22%, Dave2D measured 24 hours of HD YouTube playback, SuperSaf gets a day with no anxiety. Charging finally jumps to 45W wired (from 25W on the S24 FE) and 15W Qi2-Ready wireless — but real-world full-charge times of 69-74 minutes still trail the Nothing 3a Pro and other rivals in the price bracket.
The S25 FE has the largest battery Samsung has ever put in an FE handset at 4,900 mAh (up from 4,700 mAh), with 45W charging giving 50% in 30 minutes.
In our YouTube HD video battery drain test, the S25 FE manages a respectable 24 hours of constant playback at max brightness — only two hours under the S25 Ultra and 5 hours more than the Pixel 10 Pro XL.
On a heavy day involving social, hotspotting, video, calls and gaming, the phone went from 9:25am to 10:40pm with 22% left in the tank.
From dead I clawed back 67% in just 30 minutes and a full charge took 69 minutes — definitely not the fastest around, but handy in a rush.
Plugged into a 130W charger the S25 FE took 1 hour 14 minutes to charge from 10% to full — only slightly faster than its predecessor despite the 45W spec.
Charging speed in real-world tests still lags rivals: a full charge takes 69-74 minutes even on a 130W charger, well behind the Nothing 3a Pro's 50W and cheaper Chinese midrangers.
Qi2 is 'Ready' only — no built-in magnets, so MagSafe-style accessories require a separate magnetic case, the same complaint reviewers had with the full S25 series.
Charging speed in real-world tests still lags rivals: a full charge takes 69-74 minutes even on a 130W charger, well behind the Nothing 3a Pro's 50W and cheaper Chinese midrangers.
While Samsung hasn't officially labeled this as an LTPO panel, the display can drop as low as 1Hz when idle compared to 60Hz minimum on last year's model — a genuine improvement.
The 120Hz refresh rate combined with the chipset's performance creates fast-paced, engaging gameplay, elevated by impressive stereo speakers with a surprisingly deep soundscape.
If battery life is important to you, the Nothing 3a Pro and Pixel 9a are better bets — both have bigger batteries and the Nothing gets 50W charging.
There's 15W Qi2 wireless charging but no MagSafe-style magnets — you need a third-party case to align with magnetic accessories.
Battery life is definitely better on the S25 FE than the S24 FE — it's a genuine full-day phone, though it won't stretch to two days.
