Samsung Galaxy S25 review

Competition

With yet another modest upgrade of this year's Galaxy S25 and the ever-evolving competition, it's becoming increasingly hard to recommend a Galaxy outright. On the other hand, only a handful of small-sized flagship solutions are out there, so the competition for the Gaalxy S25 in particular isn't as fierce.

Still, for around €800-900/$800-900, you can get an iPhone 16, Google Pixel 9 Pro and if you are willing to spend a little more, you can also snatch a Galaxy S25+ or a Xiaomi 15. The S25+ is obviously a very close alternative, so you will pay more for a slightly bigger display, faster charging and a few other small extra features here and there.

Apple iPhone 16 • Google Pixel 9 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S25+

The Galaxy S24 will also give you about the same user experience at a lower price. Especially when considering the fact that Samsung is offering long software support and the vanilla S24 will remain relevant for years to come. The lower 8GB RAM might affect AI performance negatively if that's something you care about. Also make sure you get the 256GB version at least as it has faster storage.

Xiaomi 15 • Samsung Galaxy S24

In any case, if you are looking for the best camera-centric phone without sacrificing portability, the Xiaomi 15 and the Pixel 9 Pro are probably your best bets. Both devices offer considerably better camera performance than the S25. Even the iPhone 16 delivers somewhat better stills, even though it doesn't have a dedicated telephoto unit.

You might be more satisfied with the competitors' battery life too. Although marginal in some cases, pretty much all of the Galaxy S25's direct rivals offer better endurance. In this context, the iPhone 16 is the undisputed champion, while the Xiaomi 15 beats all in the fast-charging race.

Verdict

The Galaxy S25 seems like a well-rounded compact device, probably one of the thinnest and lightest in its class, too, but it fails to impress with meaningful upgrades this year, and it's been running on the same camera hardware for a few generations now. Most of all, we are grumpy for not seeing some of the features of S25+ trickle down. There's no bump in the charging speed, no UWB support, it comes with 128GB storage by default, and battery life isn't exactly on par with the competition. Sure, the new AI smarts are nice, but the big upgrade in the software department doesn't make up for the lack of hardware innovation.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 is a solid all-rounder. It doesn't stand out, but it's somehow "good enough", especially if you are looking for a compact Samsung flagship. That's pretty much your only choice. You can rest assured that the display is excellent, performance is on point, the camera experience is just okay and battery life is dependable.

Still, if you aren't entirely sold on the Samsung ecosystem and you are just looking to replace your old compact Android phone, or iOS phone for that matter, there are better options for the asking price.

Pros

• Stunningly light and very comfortable to use.
• Solid LTPO OLED display, which gets sufficiently bright.
• Similar battery life as S24 with a much more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite inside.
• One UI 7 is a nice visual upgrade; 7 major OS upgrades promised.
• Plenty of AI software features; some world's first.
• Improved speaker sound quality compared to S24.
• Dependable camera quality (assuming our ultrawide's misaligned lens is a one-off).

Cons

• Generational upgrades are few and far between.
• Charging is still capped at 25W and there is no charger in the box.
• The anti-reflective Gorilla Armor glass is reserved for the S25 Ultra for yet another year.
• No autofocus on the ultrawide cam.
• Entry-level storage tier is only 128GB.