There are two sort of smartphone shoppers out there . One , that obsesses over spec , upgrade , and first - person user reviews from helter-skelter Reddit threads . The other class either puts their trust in the sticker cost of a phone from a reputed brand , hoping it will be deserving the hitting on the wallet , or simply get a phone for the one ( or two ) things that matter to them .
The Samsung Galaxy S25 unabashedly pimp to the latter class . And if you be in the US , you will even be spared the FOMO of not getting the good value . There just is n’t any meaningful competition for Samsung here in the Android world , so you may sleep in peace after spend a lower limit of $ 800 on this one .
There are two reasons to get a strong case for your new Samsung Galaxy S25 : First , you spent a hatful of money on it ; second , you desire to keep it pristine so you may get a high craft - in value when you finally upgrade . The i - Blason Armorbox will help protect your phone from even the harshest of daily drib , bumps and scratch . The two - piece design fully encloses the phone , giving you 360 degree shelter , but if you ’ve prefer for the S25 Ultra you still have full access to the S - Pen . Its shock - absorbing TPU and polycarbonate structure apply strong against any likely price . Additional quality - of - life features include its MagSafe charge ability as well as a built - in camera covering that double as a multi - angle kickstand .
The Samsung Galaxy S25 often struggles with background highlights.Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Here ’s the whole heap with the latest from Samsung . It ’s small . It ’s fast . It ’s dependable . If that watch out your laundry list of smartphone virtues , take care for a comely toter plenty and get this one . If you want to pore over the nitty gritty , well , you will find hurdles on nearly every route have with the Galaxy S25 . Let ’s dive in .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Specs
Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display
Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate ( 1~120Hz )
imagination takeoff rocket
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
adaptative color tone
12MP Ultra - Wide Camera ( F2.2 , FOV 120˚ )
50MP all-embracing Camera ( OIS F1.8 , FOV 85˚ )
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
10MP Telephoto Camera ( 3x Optical Zoom , F2.4 , FOV 36˚ )
Front photographic camera :
12MP , f/2.2
25W wired charge
15W Wireless charging ( Qi2 Ready )
annul wireless charging
Samsung Galaxy S25: Design and build
I late wrote aboutSamsung ’s crippling design problem . It ’s not simply about recycling the same rudimentary look for yr , but commodifying it across every price bracket . The Galaxy S25 embodies that lazy approach to an esthetic service . you may mistake it for the two - generations oldGalaxy S23any establish day .
The meat trouble , however , is that Samsung ’s fresh mainline flagship looks almost identical to phones that be a fraction of its paster price . And there are a lot of such telephone in Samsung ’s portfolio .
If that does n’t matter to you , this phone is as well - ramp up as it gets . Just ensure you do n’t find fault one of those dark colors . The invigorated navy blue and coral red shades take care stunning , and so does the pernicious light blue shade on my unit .
The most outstanding aspect , and one that is go to ignite the interest of any person who wants a thickset phone , is the Galaxy S25 ’s footprint . It ’s humble , lighter , and thin than theiPhone 16 .
But more than number , what matters here is the in - manus feel , and this phone feels marvellous . After using theiPhone 16 Pro , which is almost as giving but considerably laboured , the Galaxy S25 feels like a breath of refreshful tune .
The frame is made out of what Samsung scream Armor Aluminum , while the front and rearward faces are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus . I used the telephone set for the first week without any cover protection , and it fared well at keeping scuff mark and scratches at bay in my pocket .
The good part about using a speech sound this size is that you do n’t have to shrink from while test to reach the side and volume clit . I am not really a fan of sharp sharpness with prostrate side rails , since they cut into into the decoration , but the aerodynamic look here offer some conciliatory comfort .
It ’s just funny that Samsung ’s phone design has now come nigher than ever to iPhones . Those rounded corner , svelte bezel , flat slope , and field glass - metal sandwich design . Talk about heavy - handed private-enterprise inspiration . If you could overlook that , and just want a compact Android headphone , the Galaxy S25 wo n’t let down .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Display
Technically , this display is n’t an rising slope . It ’s the same 6.2 - inch size of it , FHD+ ( 2340 x 1080 pixels ) resolution , 120Hz refresh rate , and peak brightness level level . Once again , you are expected to ignore that and focus more on the quality .
The Galaxy S25 ’s active AMOLED 2X display is beautiful , and thanks to slight symmetrical bezels , it looks even better . It produces gorgeous colouring material and there is petty to complain about viewing angle , either .
I ’ve had some upshot with Samsung ’s auto - smartness algorithm in the past , but the Galaxy S25 appear to have left those demons behind . When using the telephone under direct sunlight , I did n’t finger the need to manually rage up the brightness to make sense of the on - screen content .
My biggest takings is the glare . It ’s not a problem alone to Samsung , but the company has a solvent already at its hand . TheGalaxy S24 Ultracame with a non - reflective layer atop the screen , which employed a nano - weighing machine layering process .
This nanoscale level dot strong light within the glass intercellular substance , instead of excogitate it back . Samsung should have put the tech on the Galaxy S25 , as that ’s the weak point of this otherwise gorgeous OLED panel .
The adaptive luminousness system work just o.k. , and on the rare scenarios when I want to read an email in broad day while on the go , the Extra Brightness feature add up in handy .
There ’s also an adaptative color tone system , which mechanically adjust color vividness and whitened Libra the Balance based on the ambient light . It makes the colors reckon more vibrant , especially pastel tones . The registration materialise easy , and with it enabled , the CRT screen is easier on the eye , if the light point are cranked up to the max economic value .
It somewhat overlap with the middle consolation shield organisation , which goes a shade fast-growing on give the screen a red - ish mite . However , I mostly kept the adaptative color on/off switch disabled out of personal druthers for a colder people of color profile , or else of a warm color musical note .
Thankfully , there are pot of controls , such as private RGB skidder , vividness strength , and manual bloodless balance adjustment to get the colour chemistry that is the most pleasing each person ’s eyes .
Since it ’s a 120Hz jury , all interaction feel fluent . Whether I was browsing preceding World Wide Web pages or playing game , the Galaxy S25 ’s projection screen did n’t disappoint . I also love the power to schedule the always - on display mode , but I mostly keep it throttle to only light up for refreshing telling to economise up on battery juice .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Performance
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S25 with a special “ For Galaxy ” reading ofQualcomm ’s Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon . This clock time around , Samsung has also upped the RAM to 12 G , which is in spades a welcome climb , especially in the backwash of heavy AI deployment across the board .
That ’s a strong combination , and it does n’t let down . I am a fairly hard user . My average work day is split across three loaded communicating platforms , an adequate turn of task direction apps , all - day music streaming , local television redaction for short video , and social medium .
I never felt the Galaxy S25 spelunk into the load . The situation with games was not too unlike . I mostly kept myself officious with losing in Diablo Immortal , Devil May shout : Peak of Combat , Battlegrounds Mobile ( BGMI ) , and Zenless Zone Zero . All these game are fairly graphics intensive , but the Galaxy S25 sailed past them with ease .
In BGMI , with frame of reference rates set to Extreme+ and graphics quality at Smooth preset , I had a fuss - free experience . I did run into stutters during acute scrap scenes , but those were far and few . I was strike by the operation consistency , as the game never dipped below the 86fps mark across multiple sessions .
These were the results I receive with the Balanced visibility in the Game Booster dashboard . shift gears to the operation mode , I cranked upanti - aliasing , and set the graphics combination to HDR + Extreme . At this res publica , the Galaxy delivered an even better experience in the 60fps range with minimal fluctuation .
In a room where the ambient temperature was at 28 degree Celsius , a gaming session worth around half an 60 minutes took the temperature level to 40 degrees Celsius . Those figures , once again , are dependable , specially for a phone this size .
Larger phones , such as theGalaxy S25 Ultraand theRed Magic 10 Pro , do a undecomposed job at high temperature dissolution , but that ’s because of the superior evaporation chamber system conform to inside their human body . But if I were to liken the Galaxy S25 to its predecessor , the improvements are praiseworthy .
The Galaxy S25 did n’t give me any pertain troubles with localized heating , though it does get warm . As far as battery consumption goes , you’re able to expect to sunburn anywhere between 20 - 25 percent battery for an time of day - long academic session in demand game .
The outing on benchmark platform does n’t disappoint either . For some reason , the 3DMark Steel Nomad test keep fail to run . Morever , owing to the deficiency of more RAM and better thermals , the Galaxy S25 ’s true potential is hold back .
It ca n’t quite catch up with the OnePlus 13 , which come fitted with the same flagship Qualcomm CPU . In an time of day - long man-made strangulation trial , the Galaxy S25 make out to race by theOnePlus 13 in the first one-half by retaining 62 % of its crown execution , but dunk under the 50 % level in the second one-half while its OnePlus challenger delivered good stability .
The Galaxy S25 , however , manages to storm in weird style .
After running the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test , it delivered a higher vizor score than the OnePlus 13 , but its lowest loop score come below the OnePlus 13 ’s tally . Stability was the key discriminator , as the OnePlus 13 deliver nearly 63 % on this metric unit . The Galaxy S25 ’s stability tolerate at 46.9 % , while also eat up 50 % more stamp battery juice than its rival .
Overall , the Galaxy S25 offers a famous jump in performance against its harbinger and can chew through any chore ( or game ) you throw at it with ease . It may not be at the top of the leaderboard ( neither does it strive to ) , but if you ’re implicated about any potential performance woes , there are n’t any such red flags here .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Cameras
The Galaxy S25 carries the imaging hardware from the Galaxy S24 , which itself is plagiarize from the Galaxy S23 . That ’s both good and bad news . You get a 50 - megapixel primary sensing element , alongside a 12 - megapixel sensing element for ultra - wide capture , and a 10 - megapixel telephotograph snapper with 3x optic zoom range .
That ’s reprehensively underpowered compared to other Android phone in the same price angle bracket . For comparison , the OnePlus 13 offer a trey of 50 - megapixel tv camera at the back , and they click fantastic pictures that are a excision above the Samsung Galaxy S25 .
Talking about the raw imagination execution , the main detector clicks beautiful hush with stack of details . If you are a sports fan of saturated pictures , then the Galaxy S25 wo n’t lead you disappointed . There is sizeable pungency in the pixel - binned 12 - megapixel shot .
you’re able to capture full - res 50 - megapixel shots , as well , and I opt them . These full - res shot are get at a slenderly low ISO grade , so the highlight appear slightly crushed . On the overconfident side , color reproduction in the non - binned ikon is more realistic . Of course , there is plenty of pixel contingent to glint at , so there ’s that benefit .
Close - up shots also turn out middling nice , and there is little nidus struggle at near quarters . However , the Galaxy S25 shin with achieving ashen symmetricalness uniformity across its lenses . Even under day , it ’s easy to see washed - out element when you compare the shots .
Another weak position is highlight management and occasional HDR stammer . I ofttimes comment the master and ultrawide camera blow out the background of a blue sky . You ask to set the nidus and adjust the pic slipper , but once it ’s done , there is a night and day between the picture quality .
I roll in the hay the new filter controls in the camera apps , especially the level of control they extend in customizing the skeletal system . The Galaxy S25 ’s execution is in spades better than thePhotographic Styles system on the iPhone 16 series .
The Galaxy S25 take in marvellous portrait shot . The subject separation is on point , the bokeh is n’t unnaturally mat , and there ’s mint of detail . However , it struggles with moving subject field , even at close cooking stove .
In modest light , the Galaxy S25 once again fork up miscellaneous results . In very dim rooms , it did a fantastic job of exposing elements and bringing out colors . However , Samsung needs to improve how it handles noise . It ’s easy to see the grainy grain and aggressive denoising in abject - light shots .
The 3x optically - stabilise zoom camera also does its caper well . But I suggest not function beyond the optional zoom range . When you exceed that , Samsung ’s camera algorithms do a spoilt job with oversharpening and give an left painted - over look to objects .
The selfie tv camera does an acceptable caper of depicting accurate hide tonus . It ’s not quite up there with the Google Pixel 9 or the iPhone 16 , primarily because the algorithmic processing often flatten the aerofoil details .
Otherwise , if your absorption is societal metier post , the Galaxy S25 ’s front camera will swear out just fine , especially with one of the AI filters applied . Samsung has also improve the picture stabilization pipeline , particularly with the SuperSteady mode enabled .
There is a chip of stress hunting in 4 K videos , and as a result , you might see some haphazardly strong highlights . Thankfully , the rich editing tools in the Gallery app can help finetune some of those imperfection and get pleasing clips .
Samsung Galaxy S25: AI features & Software
OneUI 7 is an win taste perception . At a time when even the common suspect from China are embrace a near stock feel , Samsung still serves a intelligent dose of bloat . Aside from over a twelve in - business firm apps , you also have Google ’s suite of Workspace apps , and for some reason , Microsoft services such as LinkedIn and Copilot .
Copilot is particularly perplexing , since the Galaxy S25 already service its own suite of artificial intelligence instrument under the Galaxy AI recording label , aside from on - gadget AI chopper with Google ’s Gemini Nano . So , you essentially have three AI adjunct apps that come in pre - installed on the Galaxy S25 .
Why , Samsung ?
To Samsung ’s credit , it has manage to create local AI integrations with its own apps , such as Notes and Calendar . Just like Gemini on Pixel headphone , Galaxy AI can also work with Google service such as Gmail , and even third - party apps like WhatsApp and Spotify .
It does n’t always work as advertised . I need it to take on “ So Long , Marianne ” by Leonard Cohen , and it instantly look at me to the playback sieve on YouTube Music .
Next , I call down the assistant to drop a line an electronic mail to my sister . In the first attempt , the onboard AI simply did n’t appeal the Gmail extension . On the 2d attempt , it wrote the email content but pulled up the Messages shortcut , rather of Gmail .
The heavily brag Now Brief and Now Bar do n’t really have anything deserving being excited about . The Now Bar acts more like the iPhone ’s Live bodily process system on the lock screenland , while the Now Brief organisation wishes you sound morning , exhibit a calendar and catch you up about the event lined up ahead .
I never felt compel to hold my Now Brief , because I already get pre - event alerts about my engagement via Google ’s suite of apps . There are a few AI - powered generative editing tools . These are fun to bet with , but also test your patience with blatant inaccuracy .
The most useful AI features let in the writing assist bundle ( Hello , drop a line tools on Apple ) , live translation for headphone call , and an interpreter mode that also works offline for veridical - time translations . A goodish few of these feature , however , have also appeared on devices such as the OnePlus 13 , so there ’s no “ sole ” bragging rights here for Samsung . Also , the Pixels still serve a more seamless AI experience than what Samsung tout for Galaxy AI .
One UI 7 , however , volunteer its own nuance on the Galaxy S25 such as the ever - useful side panel for quick access code to organization instrument , the Good Lock faculty for deeper customization , and one of the most feature film - heavy camera apps out there . Overall , One UI 7 is not terrible . It just take to prune some bloat and functional redundancies .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Battery
I ’ll start with the spoilt part(s ) here . The Galaxy S25 inherits the small 4,000mAh battery of its forerunner , its slow charging virtues , lack of magnetised radio charging , and the absence seizure of a charge block in the loge . The whole Pandora ’s box , if you will .
On the positive side , Samsung has optimize this small battery really well . The pitiful experience I had with the Galaxy S23 made me exceedingly skeptical about yet another electric battery anxiety repeat installment , but I was wrong . Despite my demanding usage , I could easy go a full day without charging .
Now , those figures are not absolute . If you are someone who wish to squeeze in a few rounds of heavy gaming , the small battery camp quickly loses juice . If your accumulative sentence drop in a battle royale antechamber or Hoyoverse stands close to a twain of hours each day , deport a power bank .
And this is where the Galaxy S25 goes on a downhill ride . One would have a bun in the oven the 4,000mAh battery to top up rapidly , but Samsung ’s laggard streak at charging tech means even this humble stamp battery pack takes well over an 60 minutes to charge to the full .
I have witnessed phones charging full in just over 30 minutes , so the precedent prepare by Samsung is really dreaded . The OnePlus 13 , with its supplied 100W courser , can satiate an empty 6,000 mah tank in less than 40 minutes .
The Galaxy S25 call for nearly double that time , despite packing a much small-scale battery . And it does n’t come with a charging brick in the box either , so there ’s that botheration to deal out with , as well .
There is little consolation on the wireless charging side , either . There are no magnets , a la MagSafe on iPhones . The Galaxy S25 can technically strive a 15W wireless commove stride , matching the peak yield of the Qi2 standard .
gratefully , there is support for inverse wireless power share , which means this phone can institutionalize accessories such as earbuds by simply placing them over the phone ’s rearward shell .
On a positive note , there are a handful of stamp battery performance optimisation features available on the Galaxy S25 . Unless you are someone totally loth to the theme of charging your phone midway through the day , I highly advocate that you enable adaptive charging and limit the tip battery top - up to the 80 % level to enhance its length of service .
Samsung Galaxy S25: Verdict
The Galaxy S25 is a fantastic telephone set on its own . It function a beautiful OLED screen , fast processor , adequate to camera , neat design , and a surprisingly good barrage fire life for its size . The One UI 7 software system has its own quirks , but it adds a few meaningful AI features that you might use every once in a while .
If your middle are fixated on this earphone , go get it . But if you are someone who weighs their choice and want the near economic value for their dough , the Galaxy S25 is a competitive mickle . you’re able to safely get the Galaxy S24 for a lower request price , and avoid any FOMO vibraharp .
Away from the Samsung ecosystem , you get the OnePlus 13 , which is an absolutely loaded package that handsomely beats the Galaxy S25 at nearly every parametric quantity for a $ 100 extra heft to the bill . Conversely , you may play it safe and get the iPhone 16 orGoogle ’s fantabulous Pixel 9for the same ask as Samsung .
The only scenario where I can recommend the Samsung Galaxy S25 is one where you ask a small speech sound , plan to use it for the next few years , and utterly love the Modern shade . To put it more accurately , you must really want this one , to splurge on it .
