Samsung Galaxy S25 review

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Introduction

The most compact Galaxy is back! It brings the largest performance jump in years, but it will also go down in history as the tiniest update so far! That is because the Galaxy S25 update list has only one entry - the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.

The Galaxy S25 series has dropped the chipset fragmentation this year and every device gets the good stuff. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the most powerful chip on Android to date, and this one is a special enhanced version for Galaxy. It allows for massive performance gains and also supports new connectivity options such as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Other than the heart of the Galaxy, the rest is the same as on the S24. The Galaxy S25 is an IP68-rated phone with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels and an aluminum frame. It has a 6.2-inch 1080p Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a small punch hole.

All cameras on the S25 are the same as they were on the S24 - a 12MP AF selfie and a trio of rear cams - a 50MP OIS primary, a 10MP 3x OIS telephoto and a 12MP FF ultrawide.

The charging capabilities remain identical, too. There is a 4,000mAh battery with support for 25W wired, 15W wireless and up to 4.5W reverse wireless charging. There is an update here that can easily go unnoticed - the wireless charging capabilities have been expanded to be Qi2.1 Ready.

Android 15 and One UI 7, with the power of the new Snapdragon chip, brings many software improvements and AI features, highly advertised by Samsung. Most of those, if not all, will make it to the older generation, too.

At least Samsung introduced some new colorways for the Galaxy S25, which is probably the only way to tell the S25 from the S24. Unfortunately, the Black color has become a Samsung.com exclusive, so if you hoped to get a dark color from your carrier or favorite retailers, Navy (dark blue) or Silver Shadow (gray) are your best mainstream options.

Samsung Galaxy S25 specs at a glance:

• Body: 146.9x70.5x7.2mm, 162g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), Armor aluminum 2 frame.
• Display: 6.20" Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 416ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 15, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4000mAh; 25W wired, PD3.0, 50% in 30 min, 15W wireless (Qi2.1), 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Circle to Search.

The Galaxy S25 is a wonderful compact phone even it its only upgrade is performance. If you are not coming from a Galaxy S24, but an older phone or a different maker, you will find it a great all-rounder. We did hope for an ultrawide camera upgrade, though, and we were disappointed to find out Samsung has brought exactly zero updates in the camera hardware.

Unboxing the Galaxy S25

The Galaxy S25 arrives in a thin black box and its only companion is a USB-C cable rated at max 3A.

The Galaxy S25 supports up to 25W fast charging, so you do not need to shop for another cable, only for a compatible USB-PD adapter if you don't already own one at home.