Samsung Galaxy A26 vs. Galaxy A25
You are a fan of Samsung's ecosystem, or you just enjoy the One UI experience? Well, the Galaxy A2X lineup is one of the easiest entries into Samsung's ecosystem as it's one of the most affordable. With the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy A26 some of you are probably wondering whether the 2024 model Samsung Galaxy A25 is still worth buying in 2025 or you should go for the newer A26.
Samsung is seemingly phasing out the Galaxy A25 as the offers we found have higher than expected prices, often times closing in on the Galaxy A26 levels. So since you've landed here, we'd assume that you've found a good deal on the outgoing A25 and you are wondering which of the two phones is the better buy. Let's have a look at how they compare.
Table of Contents:
For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following text.
Size comparison
If you are looking for a more compact solution, then the Galaxy A25 will probably be a better fit for you. The device is shorter and narrower, mostly because it has a smaller 6.5-inch display.
Even if you don't care about the dimensions, you might appreciate the Galaxy A26's better build materials. It now features Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back and boasts IP67 certification against water and dust. The A25 settles for standard glass sheets and no ingress protection.
Display comparison
Aside from the obvious size difference, the features are mostly identical. Both devices cap at 120Hz refresh rate, have the same resolution and offer basic HDR support when streaming YouTube videos.
Interestingly enough, the Galaxy A25 seems like the better choice here as it offers higher brightness - a little over 1,000 nits, according to our tests, whereas the A26 didn't even touch 800 nits. So as far as sunlight legibility goes, the Galaxy A26 is better.
Battery life
The newer Galaxy A26 doesn't offer any improvements in battery endurance. The difference between the two phones in all categories is negligible. In either case, battery life is generally subpar.
Charging speed
Both handsets support up to 25W fast charging via the USB-PD+PPS standard, and they share the same battery capacity too, so it's no surprise that there's no difference in the charging rate either.
Speaker test
Even though the Galaxy A25's speakers aren't amazing, they are miles ahead of the A26's. And no wonder. Samsung downgraded the Galaxy A26's setup to a single, bottom-firing speaker, while the A25 has stereo speakers. As a result, the A25 has louder speakers with much better sound quality.
Performance
Memory configurations are identical. Both phones start from 4GB/128GB and offer up to 8GB/256GB.
The new Galaxy A26 features a more powerful Exynos 1380 compared to the Exynos 1280, which powers the A25. Except for the Galaxy A26 users in Latin America who have to settle for the same Exynos 1280.
In the case of the Exynos 1380-powered Galaxy A26, however, the performance jump is pretty substantial.
The Exynos 1380 boasts 20% higher combined performance, according to AnTuTu, as well as a 30% increase in CPU-heavy workloads, and about 20% higher GPU performance.
Benchmark performance
Camera comparison
The Galaxy A26 and A25 feature the same exact camera hardware. They have a 50MP main shooter on the back, aided by an 8MP ultrawide camera and a dedicated 2MP macro shooter.
As for the selfie, the two rely on a 13MP sensor sitting inside an identical teardrop-shaped notch.
Below we have a few samples taken by the two phones at different times.
Image quality
Even though the two devices share the same camera hardware, the Galaxy A26's main camera pictures seem consistently sharper and more detailed. The same goes for the nighttime shots, where the A26 produces cleaner photos with less noise and resolves more detail in the shadows.
Main camera: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
Main camera: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
On the other hand, the color reproduction at night seems to be better on the A25.
We couldn't find any difference in the 2x zoom shots.
2x crop zoom: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
2x crop zoom: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
The ultrawide cameras are very similar during the day, but the A26 achieves better sharpness and detail at night, while introducing much more noise into the scene. The A25's ultrawide shots are softer but with less noise.
Ultrawide camera: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
Main camera: Galaxy A26 • Galaxy A25
Video quality
Below we have a few framegrabs from the videos taken by the two phones at different times and locations.
No meaningful difference in the video recording capabilities, except that the Galaxy A26 shoots slightly better nighttime clips.
Video screengrabs: A26 FHD 0.6x • A25 FHD 0.6x • A26 4K 1x • A25 4K 1x • A26 4K 1x • A25 4K 1x
Verdict
Overall, user experience is about the same. The Galaxy A26 does offer some advantages, particularly in the camera department, but it's not very noticeable to the untrained eye. The newer model also offers longer software support (6 major OS updates vs. 4), has a bigger display, a much more powerful chipset, and a better build with IP67. These things alone will probably justify the rather small price difference.
Conversely, the Galaxy A25 surprises with a brighter display, better speakers, a more compact design, and maybe more appealing nighttime photos.
All in all, the Galaxy A26 seems to be the more adequate choice considering the small price difference in the biggest markets. But if the price gap is bigger in your region, then the Galaxy A25 would do just fine.
- The bigger display.
- The IP67 rating and Gorilla Glass back.
- The more powerful chipset.
- The longer software support.
- The slightly better camera quality.
Get the Samsung Galaxy A26 for:
- The slightly lower price.
- The similar user experience.
- The more compact size.
- The brighter display.
- The better loudspeakers.
Get the Samsung Galaxy A25 for:
Related
Reader comments
- PureOS
- 9 hours ago
- Mx}
It is okey to get CMF phone 1 to, which is 180€ now. It beats even the a35 in many aspects
- potato4k
- 10 hours ago
- I2Y
Or maybe there’s a flaw in GSMa’s battery test? There are increasingly inconsistencies across different brands and models when compared to findings from other reviewers.
- Anonymous
- 10 hours ago
- U@F
Samsung can only compare with Samsung. If they compare with other brands, they themself prove that they are scrap.
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