The Samsung Galaxy S25 (starting at $799.99) is the entry point into the powerful S25 series. It's the most compact model of the bunch, blending high-quality hardware with cutting-edge technology and packing it all into a reasonable size. It maintains the high standards of its stablemates with just a few compromises, such as less storage and a lower-resolution display. Despite its wallet-draining price, the Galaxy S25 Ultra (starting at $1,299.99) is our Editors' Choice thanks to its S Pen stylus, additional camera power, and overall utility, but the Galaxy S25 is easy to recommend if you prefer a smaller Android phone or want to spend well under $1,000.
Design: Sleek, Refined, and a Little Stale
The Galaxy S25 shares the same design, specs, and cameras as the larger S25+ (starting at $999.99). Measuring 5.78 by 2.78 by 0.28 inches (HWD) and 5.71 ounces, the S25 is just slightly smaller than last year's S24 (5.79 by 2.78 by 0.3 inches, 5.93 ounces). Despite the minor difference in size, the S25 and S24 feel almost identical to hold and use. The S25 is light, comfortable, and easily slips into a pocket. Meanwhile, the S25+ (6.24 by 2.98 by 0.29 inches, 6.7 ounces) and the S25 Ultra (6.41 by 3.06 by 0.32 inches, 7.69 ounces) are much larger and demand more room in your hand and your pocket.
Compared with non-Samsung devices, the $799 Apple iPhone 16 is a hair bigger at 5.81 by 2.82 by 0.31 inches and a smidge heavier at 6.0 ounces, while the $799.99 Google Pixel 9 is more substantial than both the S25 and iPhone 16 at 6.0 by 2.8 by 0.3 inches and 7.0 ounces.
Like the S25+, the S25 has an Armor Aluminum frame with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protecting the front and back. The S25 Ultra has a titanium frame and a stronger Gorilla Armor 2 panel on its front, which also rejects glare better than the other glass. The S25 is rated IP68, meaning it can withstand dust and water to the same degree as the iPhone 16 and the Pixel 9.
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The S25's ports and buttons are in the same configuration as the previous model. A volume rocker and power/lock button are on the right, and a pill-shaped antenna indent is on the left. A SIM card tray, USB-C port (v3.2), and speaker slit are on the bottom edge, with two mic holes visible on the top rail. There is no headphone jack nor a microSD card slot. Three vertically stacked lenses with bold black rings—a change from the thin silver rings of the S24—stand out prominently on the rear panel.
An ultrasonic fingerprint sensor resides below the display and is the phone's most secure biometric authentication method. It works consistently with light or heavy taps. Face unlock is also available, but it's not secure enough for sensitive applications like banking. Apple and Google both offer secure face-based biometrics, and there is no reason for Samsung to lag behind.
As for colors, the S25 and S25+ share the same palate: Icyblue, Mint, Navy, or Silver Shadow. Three additional colors are available only from Samsung's website and include Blueblack, Coralred, and Pinkgold. I prefer these whimsical shades over the stodgy, business-like colors of the S25 Ultra. I tested the Icyblue model. It's a nice, subtle shade with a matte metallic finish. It mostly rejects fingerprints, but be prepared to see smudges.
There's nothing wrong with the S25's design. It's a beautiful piece of technology made with high-quality materials and assembled with excellent craftsmanship. However, the design has remained virtually unchanged since the Galaxy S22. Further, the iPhone and Pixel share strikingly similar looks with flat side edges, rounded corners, and flat screens. Three generations of near-identical hardware is too many, and Samsung needs to shake things up like it once did. (And no, I'm not just looking for the S25 Edge).
Samsung Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra: Hands On
Display: Small, But Still Sharp
The Galaxy S25's screen is a direct carryover from the S24. It's a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The S25+ and S25 Ultra screens are larger (6.7 and 6.9 inches, respectively) and sharper (3,120 by 1,440 pixels) but otherwise have the same specs and features.
Thanks to its brightness, the S25 is easy to see indoors and outdoors, even under direct sunlight. The S25 Ultra's anti-glare glass is easier on the eyes, however.
For comparison, the iPhone 16 features a smaller 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen with a resolution of 2,556 by 1,176 pixels, a fixed 60Hz refresh rate, and a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits. The Pixel 9 has a larger 6.3-inch OLED panel at a resolution of 2,424 by 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate that ranges from 60 to 120Hz, and a maximum brightness of 2,700 nits. All three screens are pixel-dense for crisp, clear, and bright images.
Performance: A Big Year-Over-Year Jump
Every model in the Galaxy S25 lineup worldwide uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. Developed jointly by Samsung and Qualcomm, this processor is tailored to boost the phone's AI capabilities. For example, the vapor chamber that helps regulate interior temperatures is 15% larger than that of the S24, which Samsung says helps maintain performance over time.
All three Galaxy S25 models also share the same 12GB of RAM. At this price, 12GB is pretty good, though we would have liked to see Samsung make more RAM options available. The base S25 comes with 128GB of storage, but you can upgrade that to 256GB for $859.99. The Pixel 9 is also available with 128GB or 256GB of storage, while the iPhone 16 adds a 512GB configuration. I'd like to see 256GB become the default option for premium phones, especially since none of them support expandable storage via microSD.
To assess the S25's performance, we ran benchmarks against key competitors, including the iPhone 16 (Apple A18), Pixel 9 (Google Tensor G4), OnePlus 13 (Snapdragon 8 Elite), and Galaxy S24 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy).
In Geekbench 6, which measures raw CPU Power, the S25 easily surpassed all the competitors in the single-core and multi-core tests with one exception. The iPhone 16's single-core score of 3,091 just barely beat the S25's 3,050 mark.
On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which gauges how a phone handles general mobile tasks, the S25 (19,060) trounced the OnePlus 13 (14,454), Pixel 9 (10,468), and S24 (17,399). This test does not run on Apple devices.
To assess graphics performance, we use the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test. The Galaxy S25 managed an impressive 118 frames per second (fps), a sizeable improvement over the S24's 85fps, while all the other phones ran at 60fps or lower.
For real-world gaming performance, we test with the resource-intensive title Genshin Impact. During a 15-minute session at the highest graphics settings and at 60fps, the S25 produced smooth animation with no slowdown or dropped frames. The back of the phone warmed up a bit, but it remained comfortable to hold.
Battery Life: Similar to the S25+ and Ultra
The S25 has a 4,000mAh battery capable of 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging—all of which are unchanged from the Galaxy S24. There's no charger in the box, but there is a USB-C-to-USB-C cable.
In our battery test, in which we stream a full HD YouTube video over Wi-Fi with the screen at its maximum brightness, the S25 lasted 14 hours and 15 minutes. This is better than the S24 (13 hours and 5 minutes), the same as the S25 Ultra (14 hours and 15 minutes), and just shy of the S25+ (14 hours and 40 minutes). No matter which S25 you get, you'll have over 14 hours of battery.
Connected to a 25W charger, the Galaxy S25 reached 35% in 15 minutes, 64% in 30 minutes, and required 65 minutes for a full charge. This bested the competition, as the iPhone 16 (25W) required 66 minutes, and the Pixel 9 (27W) took 1 hour and 45 minutes. The S25+ and S25 Ultra are capable of quicker 45W wired charging.
Connectivity: Fast 5G and Wi-Fi
For connectivity, the Galaxy S25 supports 5G (sub-6GHz, C-band, and mmWave), Wi-Fi 7 (an upgrade from the S24's Wi-Fi 6E), NFC, and Bluetooth 5.3. It also supports one physical SIM card and one eSIM.
On T-Mobile's 5G UC network in New York City, the S25 reached a maximum download and upload speed of 463Mbps and 43.7Mbps, respectively. For comparison, the Pixel 9 reached 430Mbps down and 83.9Mbps when tested in the same spot.
When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the S25 reached peak speeds of 512Mbps down and 21.5Mbps up. The Pixel 9 outdid the S25 with 605Mbps down and 21.7Mbps up. When I took the phones to the far edge of my Wi-Fi network, both performed very well. The S25 reached 351Mbps down and 21.5Mbps up, while the Pixel 9 reached 341Mbps down and 16.6Mbps up.
Audio: Decent Decibels
Call quality on the Galaxy S25 is on par with the other S25 models. In a test recording, my voice sounded clear, and the phone did a good job of removing loud background music. The speakerphone's top volume reached 83.4dB, and the earpiece speaker hit 90.5dB. I find volumes at or above 70dB easy to hear, and the S25 easily surpasses that threshold.
The earpiece and the down-firing speaker work together to produce stereo sound. When playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the phone reached 92.6dB, which fills a small room nicely. The lowest bass notes of The Knife's "Silent Shout" were not audible through these speakers (which is the norm for phones), so I suggest using a good pair of wireless headphones for a better audio experience.
Cameras: A Pocketful of Photo Power
The Galaxy S25 and the S25+ pack the same camera hardware as their predecessors—and one another. The S25 carries a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an 85-degree field of view (FoV), a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree FoV, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a 36-degree FoV, and a 12MP front camera with an 80-degree FoV. Samsung says its ProVisual Engine, new for 2025, enhances natural skin tones, textures, and color accuracy, particularly in low-light scenes.
In testing, the S25 and S25+ produce almost identical results, with any variation between them easily explained by small environmental lighting changes or my shaking hands. Colors appear slightly oversaturated, and Samsung over-brightens the final result to a degree. You'll see true-to-life color when you watch the Motion Photos you've captured with the phone, and when they stop, you can see how the final image is processed (and made brighter). This is true across the phone's four cameras.
Day Photography
By default, images are binned at 12MP, though you can shoot at the full 50MP resolution with the main camera if you wish. Below, you can see that the cameras produce similar results:
At its maximum range, the 30x Space Zoom provides clear-ish images, which can be useful in a pinch.
Night Photography
Even with little light, the S25 produces clear, bright images with good detail for close objects, though that breaks down some with faraway subjects. There is almost no noise or grain unless you're using Space Zoom. The pictures below were taken at sunset, which explains the color variation.
The 30x Space Zoom works almost as well at night as it does at night, though it has more grain.
Selfie Camera
The Galaxy S25 has the same selfie camera as the S25+ and S25 Ultra, so it's no surprise that it performs exactly the same. Images are slightly oversaturated and brightened. Its portrait mode can be aggressive in adding blur, but you can control it in the Gallery app.
Video
The S25 captures video up to 8K in resolution and 30fps. However, videos at this resolution are dark and and shakier than lower-resolution videos. At 4K60, the footage is more detailed, appears much brighter, and the stability is improved. The stabilization does a tremendous job of reducing shake at 4K and below.
Software: Galaxy AI Flexes Its Smarts
The Galaxy S25 runs Android 15 with Samsung One UI 7 atop it. The phone will receive seven OS upgrades with seven years of security updates. This seven-year commitment matches Google's, which is the best you can get for an Android device.
One UI gives the S25 phones productivity features like enhanced multitasking, a desktop-like interface called DeX, and Galaxy AI. I repeated all the tests from the Galaxy S25+ and S25 Ultra on the base S25 model. Here are some highlights from testing:
Cross App Actions
Cross App Actions let you make complex requests using Google Gemini, the S25's default assistant. I asked it to create a list of "pet-friendly restaurants in Clearwater, Florida and send it to Bob." Gemini found the information online, formatted a list, and placed that information in a text message. It then gave me the option to modify or send the message as is.
Natural Language Search
Samsung's Bixby assistant powers natural language search in the Settings and Gallery apps. In Settings, I asked, "Can I check notifications received yesterday?" and it brought me to the Notification History option, which is normally found in Settings > Notifications > Advanced Settings > Notification History. This is much easier than having to walk through all of those steps.
In the Gallery app, I asked, "Do I have any pictures of statues?" The Gallery's search results brought me pictures of a Chester A. Arthur statue and several pictures of a stegosaurus display. This conceptual search did not accidentally include pictures of people, though it classified the dinosaur display as a statue.
Smarter Gallery
All of the Galaxy S25 phones have new offline Gallery capabilities. You can perform generative edits like removing or resizing items in photos without a connection. The results can be hit or miss depending on the complexity of the photo, as you can see below. Best Face lets you replace faces in group shots as long as the original is a motion photo.
Audio Eraser analyzes videos on the device and categorizes the audio into groups like voice, music, and noise. In a test, it successfully removed the loud background music of "E Talking" by Soulwax from a video, though it was faintly audible when a voice was present. Circle to Search can now search for music playing with videos on your device, and it, too, successfully identified "E Talking" in the test video.
Portrait Studio reinterprets pictures of people into various art styles, such as comics, sketches, and watercolors. As you can see below, it had difficulty with pictures of me. It consistently changed my skin color and, arguably, my race. I even tried closing my eyes in another test only to be met with the same results.
Overall, Galaxy AI makes the S25 series easier to use for newcomers and longtime Android users alike.
Verdict: Small and Mighty
The Samsung Galaxy S25 offers a high-quality Android experience without the added bulk of its pricier siblings. Despite its smaller stature, it doesn't skimp on performance or features; it shares most of its specs and advanced AI capabilities with the Galaxy S25+ and S25 Ultra. For those who want it all, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is our Editors' Choice for its S Pen stylus, stunning screen, and additional camera zoom. But if you don't like large phones or want to spend less money, the Galaxy S25 is a compelling alternative.
The Galaxy S25 brings almost everything you want from a flagship Samsung phone to a more compact size and accessible price while maintaining the performance of its larger siblings.
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