Samsung Galaxy S25 Review: Great, But Forgettable

Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Familiar recipe, familiar taste?

The Samsung Galaxy S25 was released in February, and this phone is almost the same as the predecessor Galaxy S24, with only slight differences in design and functionality. This reminds people of a movie about time loops—the phone feels exactly the same.

Samsung Galaxy S25: 7/10

Samsung Galaxy S25 is a powerful, compact smartphone with a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 120Hz refresh rate, equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of memory and a 4000mAh battery, and supports 25W super fast charging .

Pros and disadvantages:

• Advantages: Continues the excellent compact design of the Galaxy S24; excellent performance and battery life; new software additions with strong practicality; powerful camera system.
• Disadvantages: "Qi2 Ready" feature is disappointing; the upgrade is not enough to be convincing.

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Product Test Process

We experience each product firsthand to ensure it is worth the money.

Price and listing situation

The Samsung Galaxy S25 128GB version costs $799.99, and the 256GB version costs $899.99. Most retailers offer four colors: Navy, Mint Green, Ice Blue (shown in this review) and Silver Shadow. If you order directly from Samsung, you can also get Obsidian Black, Coral Red and Rose Gold color schemes.

Specification parameters

• Chip:Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
• Display: 6.2 inches, 2340 x 1080, Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz
• Memory: 12GB
• Storage: 128GB, 256GB
• Battery: 4000mAh
• Interface: USB-C
• Operating system: Android 15 with One UI 7
• Front camera: 12MP f/2.2
• Rear camera: 50MP f/1.8 10MP f/2.4 12MP f/2.2
• Color:Navy Blue, Mint Green, Ice Blue, Silver Shadow
• Protection level: IP68

Probably the best small size Android phone

The Galaxy S25 is extremely similar to the Galaxy S24 in terms of design. Samsung claims it is 0.4mm thinner and 5g lighter than its predecessor, but that's almost impossible to detect. I found two subtle changes:

People who upgraded from Galaxy S24 may notice more square corners. The transition between the glass back panel and metal bezel of the Galaxy S24 is relatively rounded, while the Galaxy S25 is close to a right angle of 90 degrees. The phone feels slightly different, but it is not uncomfortable. However, it is indeed slippery. To improve the grip, I used an ultra-thin protective case with aramid fiber provided by Latercase, which was a remarkable effect. This phone may need a protective case – not just for anti-slip.

Another subtle change is the camera lens module. Samsung made the lens thinner, looking like it raised directly from the back of the phone, rather than embedded in the metal ring. If you compare the Galaxy S25 and S24 together, this is almost the only way to distinguish them at a glance.

Nevertheless, the Galaxy S25 is still a well-designed and a great-looking phone. However, it is surprisingly small and lightweight, which instead makes it feel less high-end. I often need to touch my pocket to confirm if I have it. But this may be an advantage for users who like small phones. It is one of the few compact flagship phones on the market.

The display is the same as the Galaxy S24 - that's not a bad thing. It is a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2340 x 1080, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a brightness of up to 2600 nits. Samsung's display has always been excellent.

Overall, my biggest dissatisfaction with the Galaxy S25 hardware is the compromise on the "Qi2 Ready" feature. Samsung did everything that supported the new Qi2 standard, except adding magnets to the back of the phone to fit the accessories. You need a protective case with a magnet to use MagSafe accessories. This situation weakens some of my expectations for the Qi2, but for this phone I will use a protective case anyway.

The best software new feature is not AI

I have never liked Samsung's One UI software very much, but I have to admit that it has become quite good over the years. My experience with One UI 7 based on Android 15 is good and bad.

First of all, the advantages. As my colleague Justin Duino discusses in detail in his Galaxy S25 Ultra review, the new "Now Bar" is awesome. This is a pill-shaped widget that is located on the lock screen and can also appear in the notification panel. When something happens that you may care about—such as a sporting event, a timer, or a navigation route—you will find real-time information there. I find this great, especially when it comes to tracking sports events.

"Now Brief" is far less practical. This is a panel that should give you an idea of ​​what happened that day. However, nine out of ten, it only shows the weather forecast and events in the calendar. It's not revolutionary, and Justin discovered it in his tests.

The next is the disadvantage. Samsung often gets inspiration from Apple. This is sometimes a good thing, for example, Now Bar is similar to Apple's Lingdong Island. However, they also borrowed some of the less-than-good ideas from Apple's One UI 7.

The notification function of iPhone lags far behind Android. This is well known. However, Samsung decided to make the One UI 7 more like an iPhone, which is hard for me to understand. By default, notification visibility on the lock screen is low. Notifications from the same app will stack together. You have to swipe from one side of the screen to open the notification panel. The application's notification channel is disabled by default.

Most of these settings can be changed, but by default it is so disappointing. All of this is a downgrade to how Android notifications usually work. Don't change what is already excellent.

Galaxy AI Gemini

Samsung has to emphasize AI capabilities because the hardware is similar to last year. I was pleasantly surprised by some updates, thanks to Google's Gemini.

I used to praise the Pixel screenshot feature in my Pixel 9 review, but it's not as good as I thought. The example I'm giving is being able to recognize the details of events on the screen and add them to my calendar. At the time, Gemini could do the first part, but couldn't connect the information to my calendar. Now, Gemini on the Galaxy S25 can do that.

This is thanks to Gemini's improved ability to interact with apps on your phone. It works especially well with Google and Samsung apps, but there are also some third-party apps (WhatsApp and Spotify). This even includes setting up an app, which can be difficult to navigate. You can ask Gemini how to do it, and it usually takes you to the right place without you knowing the exact name of the setting.

No need to say much about performance and battery life

S25 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of memory. It can handle all tasks easily and feels like we've reached the pinnacle of smartphone performance. One positive side effect of AI being stuffed into these phones is that they require strong computing power to handle it, but this overall improves performance.

I was also impressed by battery life. One night, I had about 55% of my battery left when I went to bed at 10:30 pm. I decided not to charge at night and when I woke up it was still over 50%. I can barely survive the day without charging if I need to. I rarely tested a phone that could really last two days in my use case.

The camera is still excellent... Again

In terms of cameras, the situation is roughly the same. The Galaxy S25 is exactly the same configuration as last year. It comes with a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 10MP telephoto camera (3x optical zoom), and a 12MP self-photo camera.

As with last year, this camera system performed well. It captures detailed images in most light conditions and has Samsung's signature rich saturation. The zoom quality is top notch, the low light performance is also great, and I still think Samsung has the best portrait mode of any smartphone.

If you want to choose the "best camera" in your Android phone, it will ultimately depend on your personal preferences. I can tell you that the photos taken by the Galaxy S25 are excellent, but you may not like the Samsung style. The Pixel 9 also has its unique Pixel style. With a lot of processing behind the scenes, it's not just a matter of pixels. You have to decide which style fits your personal taste.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S25?

I said bluntly: There is absolutely no reason for users of Galaxy S24 to consider upgrading to Samsung Galaxy S25. In fact, even if your phone is broken and you really need a new one, I suggest you save some money and replace it with another Galaxy S24.

This is the problem with the Galaxy S25. It's common for new phones to not be worth upgrading from the previous generation, but I don't know if the Galaxy S25 is worth upgrading from any generation. It's a very good phone and technically there's no problem, but I can't find any compelling reason for it to need to exist.

If you are looking for a new Samsung phone in the market, last year's Galaxy S24 series is still a good choice. The Galaxy S24 in particular is perfect for those looking for a tiny body. If you want a larger screen and better battery life, you can choose the Galaxy S24.

For Android fans who don't lock in buying Samsung phones, the Pixel 9 is the closest competitor to the Galaxy S25 and S24. The specifications and parameters of the two are roughly similar, but the Pixel 9 lacks a telephoto camera, and the Tensor G4 processor is not as good as the Qualcomm Snapdragon series.

All in all, the Galaxy S25 is a phone that is easy to forget. It does not provide enough convincing upgrades to prove its existence. No AI can save it.

Samsung Galaxy S25: 7/10

Samsung Galaxy S25 is a powerful, compact smartphone with a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 120Hz refresh rate, equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of memory and a 4000mAh battery, and supports 25W super fast charging .

[Samsung official website](See at Samsung) [Amazon]($800 at Amazon) [Best Buy](See at Best Buy) [AT&T](See at AT&T) [Verizon](See at Verizon) [T-Mobile] (See at T-Mobile)

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