Samsung Galaxy S25 Sequence Evaluation: Nice Cameras And Pervasive AI

	Galaxy S25 Sequence – Beginning at $799.99 Samsung’s newest flagship units do not break new floor, however they’re among the many quickest, prettiest, and most well-made Android telephones you should buy.
	Beautiful OLED shows Speedy efficiency Sturdy titanium body on S25 Extremely Tons of AI Nice cameras	No Bluetooth in S Pen AI options are hit or miss Excessive value for Extremely

Samsung has kicked off 2025 with three new high-end telephones, the Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Extremely. The lineup is extra related than it is ever been since Samsung switched to a triple-phone household lineup. Not solely have they got nearly equivalent designs, all three are working on Qualcomm’s enhanced Snapdragon 8 Elite, specifically engineered and binned for Samsung. These telephones are very quick, with premium supplies and beneficiant help however, relying in your perspective versus the earlier era Galaxy S24 collection, they might be considerably unremarkable.

Make no mistake—these are a number of the quickest Android smartphones you should buy at the moment, and so they’re overflowing with AI options, if that is your factor. Nevertheless, the S25 Extremely has misplaced a couple of issues that made it distinctive, and several other key options have seen little to no improve this 12 months. And but, you may spend as much as $1,300 on a brand new Samsung flagship telephone. Although it isn’t precisely a riveting improve this 12 months, Samsung followers will nonetheless be pleased with the telephones, that are nonetheless quicker and extra chock-full of AI than the S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Sequence Specs, Options And Design

The Galaxy S25 household would not make any dramatic departures from final 12 months’s telephones, however notably the Extremely feels just a little pedestrian this time round. The Galaxy S24 Extremely was Samsung’s titanium smartphone, nevertheless it was additionally a bit awkward to carry as a consequence of its pointy corners and gargantuan measurement. The S25 Extremely is not any smaller, nevertheless it does have smoother strains.

The S25 Extremely has the identical flat edges because the smaller telephones; simply barely much less rounded corners. The metallic body continues to be titanium, and we just like the end, which seems to repel fingerprints and pores and skin oils fairly nicely. The telephone can be a bit thinner and lighter than the S24 Extremely. Each little bit helps, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one of many largest, heaviest telephones on the market.

The S25 Extremely is a little more comfy within the hand than the S24 Extremely, nevertheless it additionally seems considerably fundamental, adopting the identical physique fashion as the opposite members of the S25 lineup. Samsung’s two smaller telephones have the identical flat edges and screens; the one bodily variations are the S Pen silo, the digital camera lenses, and measurement. The aluminum body of the S25 and S25+ really feel barely smoother than the titanium Extremely, and so they’re rounder the place the body meets the glass back and front. The non-Extremely telephones are lighter and extra comfy to carry, notably the S25, which ought to show comfy even for these with small fingers.

Left to proper: S25, S25+, S25 Extremely

Galaxy S25 Extremely Brings Refinement However Removes Pen Options

On the precise edge, you may discover the customary energy and quantity buttons. These controls are sturdy, wobble-free, and really tactile. The graceful, flat case additionally makes them straightforward to search out by really feel. The USB-C port is on the underside, and subsequent to that’s the S Pen. There’s additionally a speaker down there, with the opposite pulling double responsibility because the earpiece. It is a frequent association on telephones, however Samsung’s audio system are a reduce above, producing wealthy, full sound (for a telephone) even at larger quantity ranges.

With the S25 Extremely, Samsung seems to have made trade-offs on stylus enter. For the final a number of years, Samsung has included a Bluetooth S Pen that charged robotically every time it was stowed contained in the telephone. The brand new S Pen would not do this—it is simply an inductive stylus. Which means some helpful options, like utilizing the pen as a digital camera distant, are not accessible. You continue to get pressure-sensitive enter and on-hover actions, however it is a step down in comparison with the S24 Extremely.

There’s very practically no wasted area across the display screen—the titanium case and ultra-thin bezel make the telephone nearly all show. This allowed Samsung to barely improve the show to six.9 inches, up from 6.8 inches final 12 months. The OLED is, as soon as once more, greatest at school. It has a really excessive peak brightness of two,600 nits, and the sharpness at low brightness is unparalleled. The panel can be clad within the newest Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass, which is allegedly extra sturdy and has a more practical anti-reflective coating. The again panel is constructed from the identical superior Corning glass because the show cowl, however this panel has a clean matte texture; it hides fingerprints nicely.

Galaxy S25+ And Galaxy S25 Shows And Materials Adjustments

The S25 and S25+ each have spectacular OLED screens, too, that includes the identical super-slim bezel all the best way round. The S25+ clocks in at 1440 x 3120 and the S25 is 1080 x 2340. They share the identical 120Hz refresh charge and 2600 nits of peak brightness because the Extremely. Regardless of the lighting situations, all three screens will look phenomenal. Nevertheless, the 2 cheaper S25s do not have the most recent Corning glass—they should make do with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and front. The distinction in reflectiveness is substantial outside, the place the Extremely is way more straightforward to learn.

All three fashions have the identical ultrasonic fingerprint sensor below the display screen as final 12 months. No enhancements had been wanted, although. This biometric sensor is quick, correct, and it would not mild up a darkish room like optical sensors do. Some display screen protectors can intrude with the performance of the sensor, although.

The brand new Galaxy S25 Extremely design could be very understated. The one actual embellishment is the digital camera setup. The three massive lenses are barely elevated, giving them a floating look. You get the identical minimalist vibe with the S25 and S25+, though they solely have three lenses lined as much as one facet.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Sequence One UI 7 Software program And AI Options

Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 household runs One UI 7, which relies on Android 15. The Bixby assistant that has been normal on Samsung telephones over the previous few years is essentially banished from this telephone, changed by Google’s Gemini AI. Samsung has added its personal layer of AI to the telephone with an expanded set of Galaxy AI options.

Gemini on the S25 collection is extra plugged into your knowledge than ever earlier than. You’ll be able to concern advanced instructions that join a number of apps, like including content material from an e-mail to your calendar. When these options work, it may well really feel sort of magical. Nevertheless, they do not work typically sufficient. Gemini continues to be a generative AI chatbot at its core, and it makes errors. As typically as these integrations work, they fail with the robotic saying one thing irritating like “I am only a language mannequin.” 

The Galaxy AI function set runs the gamut from genuinely helpful to forgettable. Should you use Samsung Notes, Galaxy AI might be nice for organizing and cleansing up your scribblings, and the decision transcription can prevent from taking notes throughout necessary telephone calls. Samsung’s AI-powered picture era is well-suited to the Extremely’s S Pen, too. You too can have Galaxy AI reformat or reword your messages, a function that’s nearly common on AI smartphones at this level. The AI object eraser within the Gallery works nicely, however this isn’t an unique or notably new function. 

Samsung’s Now Bar A Present Miss However The Galaxy AI Menu Brings True Privateness

Maybe probably the most distinguished new AI facet of the S25 collection is the Now Bar, which seems in your lock display screen all through the day, offering entry to the Now Temporary. That is alleged to parse all the information in your telephone with the brand new Private Information Engine to create a personalized rundown of issues it is advisable to know. Samsung additionally has a Now Temporary shortcut within the sidebar and there is a widget on the house display screen. Sadly, the Now Temporary simply is not superb.

9 occasions out of ten, opening Now Temporary is a waste of time. It exhibits climate, upcoming calendar appointments, and a information story. This function is meant to incorporate content material out of your gallery, well being monitoring, messages, digital wellbeing, and extra—we have now all that enabled, however this function continued in providing nothing of worth after we examined it. Smartphones are a wellspring of private knowledge, and Samsung went to the difficulty of constructing on-device processing into its OS to leverage consumer knowledge in a personal method. So, in any case that, it is bewildering that Now Temporary simply would not execute on that objective, at the very least at the moment.

The S Pen is sweet if you wish to do some AI doodling.

There’s one undeniably nice function of One UI that different OEMs want to include, like yesterday. Within the Galaxy AI menu, there is a helpful toggle to run AI processing solely in your machine. This retains all of your knowledge (delicate and in any other case) safe in your telephone moderately than importing it to the cloud for processing. This does restrict some AI options within the browser, Notes, and different apps, and textual content ideas will not be pretty much as good. However in case you’re involved about privateness, it is a nice function.

One UI 7 Refinements And Samsung’s Finest Of Class Replace Dedication

One UI 7 additionally continues evolving Samsung’s design, together with some adjustments that mark a better departure from Google’s model of Android. For instance, Samsung takes a web page from Apple’s playbook by separating the short settings from the notification shade. There’s additionally little or no in the best way of help for Materials You theming, however Samsung’s personal theme retailer will get prime billing. Though, we do like that Samsung’s widgets are extra visually per different UI parts in One UI 7. Samsung has additionally adopted a vertically scrolling app drawer, which can be a welcomed change.

Samsung’s replace dedication continues to steer the business. The Galaxy S25 household is entitled to seven years of safety and full OS updates. Google gives the identical on its Pixel telephones. Nevertheless, there are many barely cheaper telephones which are more likely to fall behind after a few years.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Sequence Digicam Efficiency

Samsung made treasured few adjustments to its digital camera setup this 12 months. Nonetheless, the S25 Extremely continues to have one of the crucial technically spectacular digital camera arrays on a smartphone. There is a 200MP major, a 10MP 3x telephoto, a 50MP 5x telephoto, and new 50MP ultrawide sensor. Each the S25 and S25+ have the identical setup as final 12 months’s telephones: a 50MP major, 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide. Samsung additionally makes use of optical stabilization on all of the lenses except for the ultra-wides.

We admire that each one of Samsung’s cameras use lenses of various focal lengths—no cop-outs like macro or monochrome sensors. Naturally, the Extremely gives probably the most flexibility in taking pictures with its larger decision sensors and longer periscope-style telephoto digital camera. And with some tweaking and use of the sturdy guide mode, you may take some unbelievable photographs. That stated, Samsung’s default auto mode nonetheless has a couple of minor shortcomings.

The 200MP decision of the S25 Extremely’s primary digital camera doesn’t imply you may get 200MP photos. There’s a full-resolution mode, however the photos look worse than the binned 12MP photographs you get with the default processing. The identical is true of the 50MP capability of the S25 and S25+, which additionally produce binned 12MP photos.

The Extremely does shoot barely brighter, sharper photographs in comparison with the opposite S25s. Should you pixel-peep, the Extremely’s bigger sensor retains extra correct particulars. The S25 and S25+ look a bit over-sharpened, which might make busy photographs look harsh.

The principle benefit of the Extremely is the plethora of lenses. This telephone provides you the prospect to border your topic good with a minimal of digital zoom. Photographs shot with the first in good mild are sharp and vibrant—generally a bit unrealistically so. Samsung’s picture processing is extra succesful than what you’d see on OnePlus or Motorola telephones, nevertheless it pales compared to Google’s nice HDR+ processing on Pixel telephones. Nonetheless, we expect the 10x hybrid zoom photographs look strong (above), and the Galaxy S25 collection is a decent competitor to Google’s newest Pixels. 

With dim lighting, Samsung’s telephones have a tendency to elongate publicity however hold the ISO comparatively low. This minimizes graininess, nevertheless it’s arduous to get good indoor photographs of a wiggly pet or hyperactive child even with Samsung’s Extremely telephone. This tends to make photos look too gentle, even when Samsung’s processing can restrict the blur. Samsung’s night time mode does an amazing job of reproducing topics that do not transfer. However once more, Pixel 9 at the moment does this higher. Samsung’s model can fuzz some positive particulars.

The Extremely’s new 50MP ultrawide would not have optical stabilization, however you do not really want it. The ultrawide takes nice panorama photographs, pulling in a number of mild with quick exposures, and there is little or no edge distortion. It additionally has autofocus for macro photographs, which look higher than what you get from the devoted macro sensors on cheaper telephones. It is a huge step up from the 12MP ultrawide within the S25 and S25+.

The worth soar from the Plus to the Extremely is substantial, however the digital camera helps justify it just a little. The Extremely’s zoom setup makes it way more succesful than the cheaper telephones. Here is a collection of zoom photographs as an instance the vary of the S25 Extremely.