Is the Samsung Galaxy S25+ Well worth the Improve?

Galaxy S25+’s huge show on a skinny design

The Galaxy S25+ contains a slim physique dominated by the large 6.7-inch OLED show on the entrance and the now conventional triple digicam lenses on the again. The design is usually inherited from the S24+, with flat edges.

Dealing with the S25+ is ok regardless of the large dimensions, helped by the truth that it options small bezels across the show. That helped make the telephone barely smaller than its predecessor, even on the 7.3 mm thinness (7.7 mm on the S24+), and in addition comparatively gentle, at 190 grams (196 g on the S24+)

The button placement on the precise facet is inside attain of the right-hand thumb or left-hand index finger, however the in-display fingerprint reader requires altering the grip to achieve its place down on the display screen (even when you have a brief thumb), which might be improved by transferring it up barely.

Samsung despatched us the blue model of the telephone, and the end on each the aluminum body and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again are impeccable, with the added bonus of hardly getting fingerprints on the again matte floor. The supplies are the identical as these within the earlier mannequin, similar to the IP68 score for mud and water safety.

The show makes use of mainly the identical 6.7-inch OLED panel as its predecessor, with a pointy 3120 × 1440 (QHD+) decision, and contains a variable refresh charge starting from 1 to 120 Hz, providing each power effectivity and easy animations on the display screen.

Brightness ranges had been completely positive outdoor, with out ever being required to make use of the complete brightness setting, even below direct daylight. Simply as necessary, it may be set to a really low stage for utilizing the telephone at the hours of darkness.

Seven Years of Software program Assist for the S25+

Regardless of being late to the Android 15 get together, Samsung outfitted its 2025 flagships with the most recent OS model. On prime of that comes One UI 7, which options some interface modifications after retaining principally the identical up to now 5 years.

We already talked about within the Galaxy S25 Extremely overview an important modifications, so you’ll be able to skip the following two paragraphs should you already learn that check. Firstly, the notification space and fast settings had been separated like in different Android skins and iOS, however it may be modified within the panel settings menu.

One other change is that Bixby took a again seat to Gemini, with the AI-powered instrument taking up because the default assistant within the Galaxy S25+. Within the course of, Google’s AI was higher built-in with the Samsung instruments, permitting to save lots of notes or make appointments from nearly any a part of the interface.

Prime-notch Efficiency From the S25+

Powered by the identical Snapdragon 8 Elite chip present in mainly all Android flagships in 2025, the Galaxy S25+ didn’t disappoint within the efficiency division. Actually, the telephone even outperformed its Extremely sibling in most of our assessments. However it is very important be aware that, we couldn’t discover any distinction between the 2 in each day utilization.

Multitasking and app switching had been easy, assist by the a lot 12 GB of quick LPDDR5x RAM, and we didn’t discover slowdowns or hiccups all through the interface or the standard apps for social media, messaging, video calls, and internet searching.

In artificial assessments, the S25+ even beat the S25 Extremely, and even when the distinction was inside the margin of error, they had been nonetheless constant by way of totally different assessments and runs.

The desk above additionally exhibits how that was not the case in 2024, with the Exynos-powered S24+ clearly dropping to the S24 Extremely with a Snapdragon chip. Fortunately, for the S25 sequence, there is no such thing as a segregation between fashions and areas.

Gaming efficiency was equally flawless, with the SoC able to dealing with excessive graphical settings at easy framerates. The S25+ curiously even provided a extra steady efficiency than the Extremely, with much less variation between runs on the 3D Mark stress assessments, with out getting too scorching to the contact.

Samsung S25+ Cameras: Good at Day, Meh at Night time

The S25+ digicam package is unchanged compared to its predecessor: A major 50-megapixel digicam with optical picture stabilization and a f/1.8 aperture, a 12 MP ultra-wide with f/2.2, and a ten MP telephoto lens with 3x zoom and a f/2.4 aperture. By default, all cameras save information at a 12-megapixel decision, together with the telephoto, curiously.

In daylight, all three cameras carried out effectively, with sharp pictures and good coloration replica–a minimum of as a lot because the cloudy days allowed. Pictures from the telephoto digicam had been barely much less saturated however nonetheless very usable.

Going additional within the zoom vary, particularly on 10x magnification and past, ends in over smoothed pictures, so it’s higher to get nearer to the topic.

Images with the S25+ at evening disillusioned, with a noticeable quantity of noise, even with the evening mode enabled, which alternatively had the impact of smearing some textures. Images from the principle and ultra-wide digicam are nonetheless usable for sharing on social media and messaging apps however don’t anticipate to print them.

We didn’t discover the darkish bars different customers reported on low-light pictures, however even with out that bug, it appears Samsung nonetheless has some positive tuning to do on the S25+.

On the subject of selfies, those taken in daylight had been good, with a pleasant stage of element and sharpness and good topic separation in portrait mode. At evening, selfies weren’t as sharp however nonetheless usable, and portrait mode had a bit extra issue separating the totally different layers.

Lengthy Battery Life on the Galaxy S25+

Within the battery division, our expertise with the S25+ was superb. The telephone survived a whole day of normal use with social media, messaging, gentle hotspot utilization, and music streaming with loads of cost left. Lighter utilization even received the telephone as much as two days away from the wall, however as all the time, your mileage might differ.

Charging instances, as traditional for Samsung telephones, weren’t as aggressive. Supporting as much as 45 W charging, the Galaxy S25+ took simply over one hour to cost utilizing a appropriate adapter (mannequin EP-T4510). However the charger doesn’t come within the field, as is changing into the norm.

The Galaxy S25+ presents each wi-fi charging and reverse wi-fi charging, however there is no such thing as a assist for Qi2’s magnetic attachment.

Within the PCMark Battery Check that simulates a workload with the show on and counts the time between 80 and 20% cost, the Galaxy S25+ did effectively. Regardless of the 7% smaller battery in comparison with the rival Xiaomi 15, it had solely a 4% shorter runtime whereas doing extra work, scoring extra efficiency factors within the check.

In comparison with the S24+, the Galaxy S25+ confirmed higher effectivity throughout, with each an extended runtime and extra efficiency. It’s price noting that the check was run within the default 1080p decision. Switching to the utmost 1440p (QHD) decision, the S25+ had a shorter 16h04 runtime, with a barely larger 20,996 efficiency rating.

Ought to You Purchase the Galaxy S25+?

The Galaxy S25+ looks like a bare-bones improve over its predecessor. It’s good that Samsung didn’t break up areas with totally different specs, however apart from the processor, there wasn’t a big change over the previous S24+. So, for homeowners of each the S24 and S23 fashions, it’s merely not definitely worth the funding, particularly since each generations ought to obtain many of the options launched with the S25 household.

In fact, if you’re about to resume a contract and the S25+ could be had for very low cost (or free), it’s a good telephone with a wonderful show, efficiency, and construct high quality. However the identical could be mentioned about mainly each competing flagship telephone launched in 2025.

Samsung nonetheless has some benefits which can be price contemplating thought, particularly its huge ecosystem of gadgets, which makes the S25+ a very good possibility for households already invested within the Galaxy or SmartThings techniques. 

Samsung’s promise of seven years of software program updates continues to be solely matched by Google, making the Galaxy S25+’s lifespan longer should you like to make use of a tool for so long as doable or reward it to a relative or pal after just a few years.

However the lack of upgrades within the digicam and battery departments stops us from giving a better rating to the Galaxy S25+. Perhaps subsequent 12 months.

The place To Purchase the Galaxy S25+

The S25+ is accessible in two storage choices: 256 or 512 GB, and 7 totally different colours–three are unique to the web Samsung Retailer. MSRP begin at $1000 for the 256 GB mannequin, with the 512 GB model priced at $1,120.

Samsung presents a trade-in bonus, and there are reductions out there should you signal a contract plan with one of many main carriers. Additionally it is doable to verify for particular offers on the carriers pages, in addition to on the standard retailers, each on-line and off.