You both fall into the “it’s just a phone” camp, otherwise you’re somebody who meticulously pores over all the brand new options of a smartphone, stays updated on all the highest gadgets yearly, and feels a way of satisfaction once you have a look at your shiny, dear funding.
This is my tenth yr of reviewing smartphones for a dwelling, and I nonetheless get excited. I saved up money working at my faculty library to purchase my first cellphone, and I’m simply as delighted a decade later when a brand new cellphone lands on my doorstep and I get to puzzle over its new capabilities, even when it solely has minor adjustments over its predecessor.
Except, I did not get any tingly emotions when the Galaxy S25 collection arrived. Samsung had one of the crucial lackluster smartphone launches I’ve seen of late—not as a result of these are dangerous telephones, however as a result of there’s not a lot new. The {hardware} is barely totally different—it is all AI, AI, AI, a few of which is beneficial, a few of which isn’t. I additionally battle to search out any character on this cellphone’s design—the launch colours are boring.
All this to say the Galaxy S25 ($800), Galaxy S25+ ($1,000), and Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300) are highly effective, dependable, and well-equipped smartphones. They’re wonderful upgrades if you happen to’re coming from a 3 or four-year-old gadget. They’re simply not in any other case attention-grabbing or thrilling.
Static Shock
I’m going over spec particulars and the like right here, however I wish to spotlight that I just like the tiny {hardware} adjustments within the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The sides have flat edges now, the corners are rounded, and even the S Pen stylus would not stick out a lot from the underside housing. The bezels (the black bars across the display screen) are slimmer, which makes the display screen larger with minimal adjustments to the cellphone’s dimensions. The flatter edges make the cellphone comfier to make use of one-handed, although nothing beats the compact design of the 6.2-inch Galaxy S25.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset delivers clean efficiency, however cellular players could respect the thermal enhancements in these telephones. Last yr, after I performed Genshin Impact for an prolonged time on the S24 collection, I encountered stutters and the cellphone bought scorching in a selected space. I did not discover this after practically an hour of gameplay on the Galaxy S25 collection, and that is with maxed-out graphics at 60 Hz. The improved cooling options appear to work.
I often ended a day with round 40 to 30 p.c battery left on all three gadgets with roughly 5 to 6 hours of screen-on time. Those outcomes are ok however nothing extraordinary for a modern-day top-end cellphone. The wi-fi charging story, nonetheless, is irritating.