Samsung Galaxy S25 Collection Evaluation: Nice Cameras And Pervasive AI

	Galaxy S25 Collection – Beginning at $799.99 Samsung’s newest flagship gadgets do not break new floor, however they’re among the many quickest, prettiest, and most well-made Android telephones you should buy.
	Attractive 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 virtually 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 assist 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. Nonetheless, the S25 Extremely has misplaced just a few issues that made it distinctive, and a number of 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 is not precisely a riveting improve this 12 months, Samsung followers will nonetheless be proud of the telephones, that are nonetheless sooner and extra chock-full of AI than the S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Collection Specs, Options And Design

The Galaxy S25 household does not make any dramatic departures from final 12 months’s telephones, however significantly the Extremely feels slightly pedestrian this time round. The Galaxy S24 Extremely was Samsung’s titanium smartphone, nevertheless it was additionally a bit awkward to carry because of its pointy corners and gargantuan dimension. 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 remains to be titanium, and we just like the end, which seems to repel fingerprints and pores and skin oils fairly properly. The telephone can also 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 snug within the hand than the S24 Extremely, nevertheless it additionally seems to be considerably primary, adopting the identical physique model 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 digicam lenses, and dimension. 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 snug to carry, significantly the S25, which ought to show snug even for these with small fingers.

Left to proper: S25, S25+, S25 Extremely

Galaxy S25 Extremely Brings Refinement However Removes Pen Options

On the best edge, you will discover the customary energy and quantity buttons. These controls are sturdy, wobble-free, and really tactile. The graceful, flat case additionally makes them simple to seek 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. This can be a frequent association on telephones, however Samsung’s audio system are a minimize 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 routinely at any time when it was stowed contained in the telephone. The brand new S Pen does not try this—it is simply an inductive stylus. Meaning some helpful options, like utilizing the pen as a digicam distant, are not out there. You continue to get pressure-sensitive enter and on-hover actions, however it is a step down in comparison with the S24 Extremely.

There may be very practically no wasted area across the display screen—the titanium case and ultra-thin bezel make the telephone virtually all show. This allowed Samsung to barely enhance the show to six.9 inches, up from 6.8 inches final 12 months. The OLED is, as soon as once more, greatest in school. It has a really excessive peak brightness of two,600 nits, and the sharpness at low brightness is unparalleled. The panel can also 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 produced from the identical superior Corning glass because the show cowl, however this panel has a easy matte texture; it hides fingerprints properly.

Galaxy S25+ And Galaxy S25 Shows And Materials Modifications

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 circumstances, all three screens will look phenomenal. Nonetheless, the 2 cheaper S25s do not have the newest Corning glass—they must make do with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and front. The distinction in reflectiveness is substantial outside, the place the Extremely is far more simple to learn.

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

The brand new Galaxy S25 Extremely design could be very understated. The one actual embellishment is the digicam setup. The three giant 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 aspect.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Collection 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 commonplace on Samsung telephones over the previous couple of years is basically 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 information than ever earlier than. You’ll be able to situation 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 possibly really feel form of magical. Nonetheless, they do not work typically sufficient. Gemini remains 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. In the event you use Samsung Notes, Galaxy AI will be nice for organizing and cleansing up your scribblings, and the decision transcription can prevent from taking notes throughout vital telephone calls. Samsung’s AI-powered picture era is well-suited to the Extremely’s S Pen, too. You may also have Galaxy AI reformat or reword your messages, a function that’s virtually common on AI smartphones at this level. The AI object eraser within the Gallery works properly, however this isn’t an unique or significantly new function. 

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

Maybe essentially the most outstanding 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 speculated to parse all the info in your telephone with the brand new Private Knowledge Engine to create a personalized rundown of issues it’s worthwhile 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 instances 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—now we have all that enabled, however this function continued in providing nothing of worth once we examined it. Smartphones are a wellspring of private information, and Samsung went to the difficulty of constructing on-device processing into its OS to leverage person information in a personal method. So, in any case that, it is bewildering that Now Temporary simply does not execute on that purpose, no less than at the moment.

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

There may be one undeniably nice function of One UI that different OEMs want to include, like yesterday. Within the Galaxy AI menu, there is a useful toggle to run AI processing solely in your machine. This retains all of your information (delicate and in any other case) safe in your telephone slightly 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 nearly as good. However in case you’re involved about privateness, it is a nice function.

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

One UI 7 additionally continues evolving Samsung’s design, together with some modifications that mark a larger departure from Google’s model of Android. For instance, Samsung takes a web page from Apple’s playbook by separating the fast settings from the notification shade. There’s additionally little or no in the best way of assist 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 in keeping with different UI components in One UI 7. Samsung has additionally adopted a vertically scrolling app drawer, which can also be a welcomed change.

Samsung’s replace dedication continues to steer the trade. The Galaxy S25 household is entitled to seven years of safety and full OS updates. Google provides the identical on its Pixel telephones. Nonetheless, there are many barely cheaper telephones which might be prone to fall behind after a few years.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Collection Digital camera Efficiency

Samsung made valuable few modifications to its digicam setup this 12 months. Nonetheless, the S25 Extremely continues to have one of the technically spectacular digicam arrays on a smartphone. There is a 200MP main, 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 main, 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 respect that every one of Samsung’s cameras use lenses of various focal lengths—no cop-outs like macro or monochrome sensors. Naturally, the Extremely provides essentially the most flexibility in capturing with its larger decision sensors and longer periscope-style telephoto digicam. And with some tweaking and use of the strong guide mode, you may take some unbelievable pictures. That stated, Samsung’s default auto mode nonetheless has just a few minor shortcomings.

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

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

The primary benefit of the Extremely is the plethora of lenses. This telephone offers you the prospect to border your topic excellent with a minimal of digital zoom. Images shot with the first in good gentle 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 predict the 10x hybrid zoom pictures 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 preserve the ISO comparatively low. This minimizes graininess, nevertheless it’s arduous to get good indoor pictures of a wiggly pet or hyperactive child even with Samsung’s Extremely telephone. This tends to make photographs look too mushy, even when Samsung’s processing can restrict the blur. Samsung’s evening mode does an important 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 high quality particulars.

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

The worth leap from the Plus to the Extremely is substantial, however the digicam helps justify it slightly. The Extremely’s zoom setup makes it far more succesful than the cheaper telephones. Here is a collection of zoom pictures as an example the vary of the S25 Extremely.