More powerful, but more of the same

Over a year since it dipped into generative artificial intelligence, Samsung’s Galaxy S-series phones are now the vanguard for its gen-AI features. This year, we’re getting even deeper hooks into Google’s Gemini AI assistant and more built-in software tricks than ever before. At the same time, however, the Galaxy S25 arrives with marginal hardware upgrades over last year’s S24.

While there’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” you’ll need to stare hard at the spec sheets to spot the differences between this year’s phone and the 2024 model. With the Galaxy S25, there’s a triple-camera system, a 6.2-inch Full HD+ screen and support for the ever-improving Galaxy AI, which the company seems to be prioritizing this year — even if it isn’t quite enough to carry an entirely new device.

Hardware and design

Barring a powerful new chip, the S25 is a massive serving of deja vu from a hardware perspective. You could revisit last year’s S24 review to get the gist.

Samsung decided thinner is the new direction this time around. Galaxy S25 Edge aside, this year’s range has been slimmed down. I think the S25 is tangibly thinner – but that’s because I was able to compare it with a Galaxy S24 side-by-side. It’s less of a selling point when measuring a change of 0.4 millimeters.

After several years of carrying around and testing phones with screens over 6.5 inches, having the S25 with me is refreshing. Even if the 6.2-inch screen is a little small for extensive Netflix or YouTube watching, like the 6.3-inch Pixel 9 Pro, it remains plenty big for pretty much everything else. The 2X AMOLED screen tops out at 2,600 nits, which is plenty bright enough, with variable refresh rates that top out at 120Hz.

I received the Silver Shadow S25 with a frosted sheen, which I love. It’s not the most eye-catching option, however. I think the rich Navy blue is my pick. But who are we kidding? Most of us throw our phones into cases – and I’ll do the same once my case gets here.

Oddly enough, one of the upgrades with the S25 involves adding a case: support for faster Qi2 charging (and magnetic latching) is only possible through compatible cases. Those cases, however, weren’t available for this review. My colleague Sam Rutherford explains it all here; but at least there’s some compatibility, which was lacking in last year’s Galaxy phones.

Cameras

Samsung makes some of the best smartphones for photography, which is lucky because the S25’s camera sensors appear identical to last year’s. Which themselves are the same as the year before. Hmm.

As a refresher, that includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide shooter and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera with a front-facing 12MP camera. if you’re looking for 5x zoom and high-res sensors, you should check out the Galaxy S25 Ultra (or the Pixel 9 Pro) — but the setup on the base S25 still works well, despite the aging sensors.

I was pleasantly surprised with the S25’s sheer consistency. Most of my photos were crisp and objects were in focus, although I preferred the iPhone 16’s results in darker conditions. I found that the Galaxy S25 tends to process images differently between the telephoto and primary sensor, with some night-time shots coming out a bit amber-hued.

Samsung’s claims that the new Snapdragon 8 Elite would help low-light performance are also accurate. The company says that with the chip’s power, the S25 series can better analyze noise, even detecting moving and static objects and processing them differently. Samsung’s computational photography has also improved when it comes to difficult shooting conditions. Digital zoom, at 10x, seems crisper and offers more usable photos than its predecessors.

If you’re willing to dip into a separate camera app, Samsung’s Expert RAW features another new option: virtual aperture. I’ve struggled to discern a tangible difference while shooting with the S25. It appears to be a more advanced version of Portrait mode, without requiring the phone to identify a person or subject to apply a soft bokeh to the background. The effect is moderately successful, but demands a good level of light. I found it struggled to apply a virtual aperture effect in dark environments.

Unfortunately, the feature is hidden away in the experimental section of Samsung’s Expert RAW camera app, which needs to be downloaded separately. This camera app is for power users who demand manual controls, and it’s great that it’s available. However, lots of (maybe most) prospective S25 buyers won’t need it, or even know it exists

Another under-the-hood improvement is within S25’s gallery, where the search feature has improved categorization and makes it generally easier to find what you’re looking for. As I typed, it’d suggest WhatsApp images, locations and more. Samsung says it’s added 2.7 times more keywords, which is delightfully specific.

While photography is still similar, spec-wise, on the S25, Samsung has substantially improved video for more seasoned cinematographers. This year’s phones will also capture video in HDR by default, while a new Galaxy Log mode means you can capture log video for improved dynamic range. It’ll also mean you can apply more accurate color grading if you like to edit videos and get in deep. Video is also recorded in 10-bit color, offering more latitude for editors. Still, like I said, this is for folks already neck-deep in using LUTs, with a compatible editing app at the ready.

With Audio Eraser. Samsung has caught up with Apple and Google. This is its own post-processing feature for recording video in louder environments. It taps into AI to nix specific environmental noises, like wind, water and traffic. The effect isn’t quite as impressive in real life as during Samsung’s S25 launch keynote, however.

When faced with the erratic street traffic noise, Audio Eraser’s automatic setting compressed the audio pretty severely, leaving my voice sounding a little gurgly and crunchy. It’s similar to audio with noise cancellation on Google Meet and WhatsApp voice notes. I was definitely more audible – but it wasn’t easy listening.

The upgrades are welcome, but given the iPhone 16’s Camera Control button and the Pixel 9’s latest software tricks like Add Me, Samsung’s cameras have had a weaker showing than the competition.

Software

Software additions don’t stop at the camera app. There’s a scattering of new features across the board with the S25. The most immediately noticeable update is more of a duo: Now Bar and Now Brief. The Now Bar is a new lockscreen tile — part contextual info panel and part notification banner. With rolling Google Maps navigation instructions and media playing functions, we’ve seen many of these ideas on the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. Samsung’s version is more limited, at least for now.

Embarrassingly, only eight apps (or features) can appear on the Now Bar, including the clock, sports notifications from Google and a voice recorder. It’s underwhelming. If third-party app makers (or more Google apps) can make their way into the Bar, it could be more helpful, but as it is, it’s barely more than a lock-screen widget.

The Now Brief, similarly, could use a little more meat. I hate to make another Apple comparison, but it’s a more accessible version of the iPhone’s summaries generated in Notifications. The Now Brief populates with relevant notifications, weather summaries and even traffic guidance, all of which is possibly most valuable in the mornings. It will also generate daily summaries accessible from a widget on the S25’s home screen. I’ll be strapping on a Galaxy Watch to see how these interact with fitness goals and wellness, so stay tuned for more insight here.

(Sidenote: Google Discover, a swipe-left-from-home screen also offers a similar stream of news, notifications and other smartphone info. It has been around for years.)

Changes elsewhere seem more like rebranded features. AI Select (once called Smart Select) resides in the pull-out Edge Panel (and the screenshot toolbar) and will offer up suggested actions once you select or circle something onscreen. It can offer clever suggestions when it contextually detects an event to add to your calendar or something that needs translating. I’m not sure AI Select is noticeably better than Smart Select, but it’s at least on by default. You had to enable the former in Settings for it to appear in the Edge Panel. While it’s not completely straightforward, AI Select does work well as a shortcut, suggesting translation with foreign languages or offering to pull dates into your calendar with a tap.

This ties into Gemini AI upgrades, which appear first on the S25 series but will be coming to other Android phones that can run Gemini AI. With a long press of a button, your voice commands to Gemini can pull in information and then apply them to make a reminder, plan a route or send details through text message to a friend, or even a WhatsApp message. I’m looking forward to Android adding further third-party apps and services, but I’ve been waiting for more effortless uses for AI assistants. This is a step in that direction.

I’m also not entirely writing off the Now Brief. It could improve over time, especially with Samsung’s Personal Data Engine, which will attempt to join the dots between your smartphone interactions. As I finished this review, the Now Brief began offering audio highlights from The Guardian, even though I hadn’t yet installed the news organization’s app. However, Galaxy AI figured it out, it was the right choice: I don’t read the Daily Mail Online. I wish Google and Apple News would work that out without me having to actively block news sources.

Performance and battery life

Has Samsung solved our smartphone battery life woes? The Galaxy S25 clocked in at over 28 hours of video playback. That’s almost four hours more than last year’s S24, and given the hardware parity with the S25, it’s a testament to the processor efficiency upgrades this year. With more typical use, I was recharging the phone every two days. That’s not how often I usually have to charge smartphones during reviews — I’m very impressed.

With the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, those gains aren’t just in efficiency. The CPU multi-core performance hit 8,950 (up from 7,049 on the S24), while GPU scored 19,158, up from 15,082 last year. Not that there was that much need for such a leap.

Once again, the Galaxy S25 is fast and handled everything I threw at it effortlessly. However, back-to-back generative AI requests and shooting and uploading 4K video made the S25 heat up – it lacks the expanded vapor chamber that Samsung added to the S25 Ultra.

Wrap up

With the Galaxy S25, never has a Galaxy S series seemed more iterative. Fortunately, Samsung’s premium smartphones are in a commanding position, so even with a screen (an cameras) that are now two years old, the Galaxy S25 isn’t a bad smartphone. In fact, it’s a very good one.

I described the S25’s cameras as consistent and I think that applies to the entire phone. The screen is bright, smooth and rich, the battery life is, frankly, incredible, while both performance scores and my experience with it prove this is a powerful flagship phone.

I love the streamlined Gemini AI capabilities, which can take a voice command and easily turn it into a calendar entry, reminder and even plan my route. Even Galaxy AI diversions like the Portrait Studio offered more refined (and consistent) 3D cartoons and sketches of my portrait photos. I’m not sure Samsung’s features would warrant an AI subscription — I doubt many would pay for them as they stand.

And that brings me to a bigger point: Besides a powerful new chip and AI tricks, why isn’t the S25 cheaper? The Galaxy S25 is priced at $799 at launch, the same as the S24 and even the S23. The comparison you have to make isn’t only with the latest iPhone, but also cheaper Android phones, like the $499 Pixel 8a. Or, unfortunately, the year-old Galaxy S24. Unless you’re desperate for a bump in processing power and battery life, it would be wise to see how heavily last year’s models get discounted in the coming months.