Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Manufactured in August, 2018, with display 6.4 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810, vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2400. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Higher pixel density: 514ppi
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 190g vs 201g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4900mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1440x2960 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 514 ppi 385 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 520 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 84 % 89.2 %
Features Always-On Display - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
657 nits
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
sRGB gamut144.6 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)227 Hzn/a
Response time8 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.9 mm (6.37 in) 161.3 mm (6.35 in)
Width 76.4 mm (3.01 in) 76.6 mm (3.02 in)
Thickness 8.8 mm (0.35 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 190 g (6.7 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Brown
- White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor Yes rear Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
84 %
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
89.2 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 FE In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 Samsung Exynos 2400
Max Frequency 2700 MHz 3200 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 10 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
- 4/1.95 (Cortex-A520)
- 3/2.6 (Cortex-A720)
- 2/2.9 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.21 (Cortex-X4)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 10 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G72 MP18 Samsung Xclipse 940
GPU Cores 324 768
GPU Frequency 572 MHz 1095 MHz
FLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS 3406.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
828
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
2116
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2026
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
7035
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)8282116
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)20267035
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a18270
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
457443
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
1801002
CPU147238429356
GPU137906715844
Memory86902352083
UX85397303719
NanoReview Score4574431801002
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2333
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Max Surface Temp.48.7 °Cn/a
Stability95 %n/a
Graphics Test13 fpsn/a
Graphics Score2333n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
6325
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Writing score6182n/a
Web score5312n/a
Video editing5462n/a
Data manipulation5867n/a
NanoReview Score6325n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 1794 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1UFS 4.0
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 8.1 (Upgradeable to Android 10) Android 16
OS Size 19 GB 23.8 GB
UI Skin One UI 2.5 One UI 8.0

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 4900 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi/PMA (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 35 min) Yes (65% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:40 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
19:26
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Web Browsing07:31 hn/a
Video Playback11:36 hn/a
Games05:01 hn/a
Standby Mode96 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 3x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.5 - 2.4f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSamsung SAK2L3n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/1.57
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length52 mm75 mm
SensorSamsungn/a
Sensor size1/3.41/4.4
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.0
Pixel sizen/a1.12 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
107
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
94
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
103
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels n/a
Aperture f/1.7 f/2.2
Focal length 25 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3H1 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.2
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1440p at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.4
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)
LTE category1820
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
71.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date August, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 649
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S25 FE the clear winner in this comparison.

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