Just to set expectations right from the start, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 announcement spends a lot of time on One UI 7, its new AI features and the Personal Data Engine. Looking at the complete package, software may make up more than 50% of the value of the new Galaxy S25 and S25+.
They have new hardware too – a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset that promises 37% higher CPU performance, 30% more GPU compute power and a 40% faster NPU compared to the previous generation.
Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25+
On the Samsung Galaxy S25, the Snapdragon is paired with 12GB of RAM – 8GB is...
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has arrived and it's everything we thought we'd get. It makes a great first impressions with its smarter design. Samsung rounded off the sharp corners to make the big phone more comfortable to hold.
This has shaved off some fat and the Galaxy S25 Ultra is both thinner (8.2mm vs 8.6mm) and lighter (218g vs 233g) than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The phone still incorporates titanium in its frame (and all its colorway names) and lays exclusive claim to the new Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which is more durable than the previous-generation ceramic glass and still...
Goodbye, all those Note vestiges, and hello to new, or at least more consistent, design language. The all-new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra finally looks like a part of the Galaxy S Family, sharing the same flat band wrapping around its body.
For this latest flagship, Samsung has recast the Galaxy S25 Ultra in the image of its siblings while maintaining that Ultra flair with premium materials, the largest screen, and, yes, the integrated S Pen.
Like the rest of the line, the S25 Ultra now features Qualcomm’s best mobile CPU, the 3-nanometer Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite for Galaxy, which promises to be faster and more efficient than anything the Galaxy S line has run before. Samsung told us this is actually a custom version of the processor, but didn’t go into detail.
While we’ve not yet had the time to benchmark the new phone – we’ll be doing that for our full review – the company did note that the NPU could be 40% faster, the CPU is, as they measure it, 37% faster than the last Ultra, and the GPU is, they promise, 30% faster. Even ray tracing gets a boost with Samsung’s benchmarks finding it 40% better than the S24 Ultra’s Ray Tracing capabilities. Put another way, this might be a very good gaming smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review: Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on January 22. It's available to pre-order now in a choice of four colors: Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Black.
The phone ships in either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage configurations, and every variant comes with 12GB RAM.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra will begin shipping on February 7 for the following prices:
Samsung Galaxy S25 series: $900 instant trade-in credit and up to $300 credit at Samsung Looking for an unlocked device? This right here is your best option by far. The official Samsung Store is offering an excellent trade-in rebate of up to $900 and $300 of store credit on the house for both carrier and unlocked devices today. The trade-in here is superb and the $300 credit is also a significant bonus that can be used to pick up any number of cheap accessories at the Samsung Store. Overall, a superb opening deal and one that's even better than I anticipated.View Deal
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review: Specs
Here's a look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's key specs:
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review: design and display
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra looks and feels good, and while some might prefer the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s more rounded styling, the S25 Ultra is 15% lighter and, as a result, feels better in the hand. It’s also still rated IPX68 for water and dust resistance.
Samsung has mostly chosen to leave the screen technology as it is. Covered in more scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass Armor 2 (the previous model had the first generation of Armor glass), the display still has a sharp and pleasing QHD+ resolution, but it’s slightly larger than the S24 Ultra's at 6.9 inches instead of 6.8 inches diagonally. Samsung did this not by making the phone larger, but by shrinking the bezel by 15%.
It’s still an adaptive refresh screen, moving smoothly from 1Hz to 120Hz on an as-needed basis. New to the screen technology is ProScaler, which actually comes from Samsung's TV line and upscales lower-resolution content. This is a hardware update that will not filter down to previous models.
(Image credit: Future / Jake Krol)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review: cameras
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
While the camera array has been redesigned, and the three rear lenses now almost float above the phone body, two of the three cameras are unchanged from the S24 Ultra: the 50MP 5x zoom and the 200MP wide main camera. New to the trio is the 50MP ultra-wide. Shooting macro images in 12MP binned format, I could already see the quality difference and was especially impressed with the level of close-up detail I could capture. The front-facing portrait camera is unchanged from the S24 Ultra. It's still 12MP, and in my brief hands-on time it did an excellent job of capturing portrait-mode photos.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
I’m a bit disappointed that Samsung didn’t bring back its optical 10x zoom from the S23 Ultra, but the 10x zoom that crops in on the higher pixel count zoom will probably satisfy most people.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: battery and performance
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Battery size is unchanged from the S24 Ultra, but Samsung says we should expect better battery life from the Galaxy S25 Ultra thanks to the Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite’s 3-nanometer process and the new 40% larger vapor chamber that Samsung has paired with a Thermal Interface Covering (TIM). The TIM sits right on top of the CPU, and the vapor chamber is on top of that to deliver more efficient heat dissipation, which can extend better battery life. Speaking of the battery, Samsung says the phone is “Qi2 compatible”, but that support is not built into the phone; in other words, the phone will work with an external accessory that supports the updated wireless charging system.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: software
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Perhaps the biggest upgrade over the S24 Ultra is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s impressive AI capabilities. This is more than just a Galaxy AI upgrade; Samsung has infused AI throughout the system, and given it broader capabilities that span across Samsung and Google apps. The company is calling it Cross Action Apps.
Smart select is, well, smarter now, with the ability to recognize on-screen elements and then make suggestions about what you might want to do, AI-wise, with the image. For instance, it could suggest a straight generative edit or making a GIF.
Circle to Search is now aurally capable, with the ability to identify sounds in a video. It's also adept at naming that tune. I pressed the home button, tapped the new music note icon, and began humming Hot to Go by Chappell Roan. The AI got it right, bringing up the music video from YouTube in Google search. It did similarly well with my terrible hum of Fly Me to the Moon. The recognition isn't instant; you have to know more than a few bars, and the software will prompt you to "keep going" as necessary.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
AI-assisted search is now more agnostic. I long-pressed the home button and asked natural language questions about travel and buying a new vacuum. In each instance, the system used Google Gemini to tap into YouTube and Samsung Notes. It found what I was looking for on Google’s service, dug into videos to find the details that mattered to me, made summaries, and saved them in Samsung Notes.
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
These Gemini Live and Bixby enhancements can access all native Samsung and Google apps. Plus, Samsung plans to release the APK so that other third-party companies can become part of the Galaxy AI ecosystem. At launch, it'll feature built-in Spotify and WhatsApp support.
Samsung has also enhanced many of its generative image tools. I took a photo, and drew a marquee to select and remove all the background people in the shot with a single tap. I could tap another icon to quickly see the original photo. The Galaxy S25 Ultra did a good job, even neatly removing shadows.
Other photography features have also been given a generative-AI sheen. Portraits can now instantly be turned into excellent pencil sketches, and the ones I generated looked as good as any sketch portrait that might appear in The Wall Street Journal. Seeing the quality made me a little sad for the soon-to-be-unemployed sketch artists around the world – although I felt a little better when I took another portrait, but in less dramatic light, and the sketch looked nothing like my subject.
There's also a powerful new AI audio cleanup tool called Audio Eraser, which I used to remove distracting background noises from an interview – I could do it on the fly in the video playback, and tone the background noises down or up to my taste. When I fully removed the background noises, though, the main audio sounded a bit artificial. This is similar to the Audio Mix tools Apple introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro, but with fewer audio presets, and I can’t say for certain yet if it has more limited capabilities until I get to spend more time with it.
Sketch to image, which I used to entertaining effect on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 last summer, is now multi-modal, which means you can start with a photo, draw on that, and have the generative AI do its image magic. You can also use text prompts to adjust the image, although I didn't get to try this feature in my brief hands-on time.
Even Samsung's photo library app, Gallery, has been given a brain transplant, and now lets you search by voice. I asked it to show me pictures of "wine" and quickly got a gallery of photos of wine bottles.
One UI overhaul
One UI 7, a three-year-long project for Samsung, has had a complete makeover. I generally like One UI because it’s long been one of the least overbearing Android overlays, and based on my brief look at it, I think One UI 7 continues this trend.
There’s also a new Now Brief widget, which uses on-system AI to learn about you and give you morning and evening briefs that can help you manage your days and nights. There’s health-related info, upcoming schedules, your energy score, sleep quality, weather, reminders, and more. The connections to some of Samsung’s other devices, like the Galaxy Ring are impressive – if you own all the latest Samsung gear, the S25 Ultra could be an even more worthwhile upgrade.
(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)
What’s interesting here is how Samsung is managing this private data locally, using something called the Personal Data Engine. Through this the phone sends your data to an onboard core that can use AI to understand and act as AI agents on your behalf. None of your data, which is protected by Samsung's Knox security, is shared with the cloud or with apps. It’s the kind of insight Apple has been promising us with Apple Intelligence but has so far failed to deliver.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review: S Pen
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
The S Pen is still there, but Samsung has removed Bluetooth LE support because, it told us, no one was using it. Its main function was to enable you to use the pen as a remote control for shooting photos or controlling presentations. I doubt I will miss it. Otherwise, the S Pen’s operation is unchanged – I drew with it a bit on the S25 Ultra and was impressed with the responsiveness.
Finally, the good news is that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra costs the same as its predecessor, starting at $1,299 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (you can go up to 1GB). That’s still a hefty price, but you should expect some early promotions to lower the pocket pain, and trade-in deals are typically excellent.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 is polished, powerful, and predictable. Everything about the Galaxy S family has gotten a bit better over the years – the sleek design that is totally not an iPhone lookalike; the One UI 7 interface that looks much nicer even as it grows more complex; the bright and colorful display that draws you into every web page and photo. It’s all great, but it’s not very exciting.
The Galaxy S25’s performance is top-notch: this is the fastest phone you can buy at the time of its release, other than the more expensive Galaxy S25 Ultra. Unlike Apple, which hobbles its base model iPhone 16 with a slower processor, Samsung has ensured that the Galaxy S25 starts on the same platform as its larger brethren, with an identical Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside. There’s nothing this phone can’t handle.
That might be an empty compliment, because the Galaxy S25 just doesn’t do very much more than you’d expect a flagship phone in 2025 to do… not yet. At launch, Samsung bragged on and on about Galaxy AI, and all the ways this phone would get to know you. Maybe it will, someday, but none of that is here just yet.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
In fact, throughout the phone, the AI takes steps backwards. The Now Brief feature that Samsung wants us to use multiple times a day? It offers the weather, and news stories I really don’t want to read – at least Google Discover knows the stories I like. Even the health advice wasn’t helpful – get more sleep? Thanks, I’ll get right on that.
I used to be able to use AI to turn on the flashlight or activate my personal hotspot. Now I have to wrestle between competing AIs. Samsung said users won’t need to know whether they’re using Bixby or Google’s Gemini, so seamless will the combined AI experience be. In my time with the phone, however, that was not at all true. Many of the features I used to enjoy with Bixby are now hidden, because Gemini takes over the side button when you set up the phone, and Gemini cannot do half of what Bixby can do.
Bixby continues to improve, and it comes closer to fulfilling its promise of a voice interface. I can now ask Bixby to “help me charge my Galaxy Buds using my phone” and it will open the correct Settings menu for wireless power sharing. Sadly, Bixby itself is hard to find, relegated to the Search bar in the Settings app.
I can always put Bixby back on the side button, but then I’d lose Google Gemini features, such as they are. It’s easier now to talk to Gemini, and Google’s Search is more ready than ever to identify whatever you see or hear, whether that’s live in person or on the phone screen. Beyond that, it can, um… I’m not sure, exactly.
Samsung told me that Galaxy AI would do things like turn off the TV when I fall asleep, or identify the best thermostat setting to help me fall asleep. Yes, Samsung appears to be obsessed with sleep across its Galaxy range.
So where, exactly, is the AI? I’m using a Galaxy S25, and a Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. I’m watching my Samsung Smart TV, and controlling everything, including my lights and thermostat, through Smart Things. So, where is it? Where are the suggestions? Where is the intelligence?
If Samsung is being cautious and not overextending Galaxy AI for now, then I appreciate the sensitivity and I will be patient. I don’t need AI-generated fake news headlines, or inaccurate summaries of my messages. When Samsung’s Galaxy AI summarized my phone calls or my Notes, it was very accurate, with no glaring errors. There’s no AI help for Notifications yet, sadly.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I will continue to feed my Galaxy S25 my personal data to keep in the Samsung Knox-secured Personal Data Engine, and hopefully its Galaxy AI will chew that up and spit out features that are tailored to my personality and habits. I can be patient, because, AI features aside, the Galaxy S25 is a satisfying phone.
The cameras on the Galaxy S25 are great, even if they didn’t get an exciting upgrade with more megapixels or longer zoom. Samsung’s One UI 7 software is the most heavily customizable version of Android you’ll find – you can change everything down to the number of rounded corners on your squircle-shaped widgets, or you can leave everything unchanged, and enjoy the colorful, smooth feel of One UI 7.
Here’s the thing. The Galaxy S25 is a great phone, but there are competitors that are finally catching up to Samsung. You can get a OnePlus 13 for the same price (with OnePlus’s trade-in offer), and that phone has better battery life and nicer cameras. The Google Pixel 9 Pro just got a fabulous new look; it’s more expensive, but I’ve seen that price drop to the Galaxy S25’s level for Black Friday, and its price will surely drop again.
If you need a phone, the Galaxy S25 is an excellent choice that will keep you satisfied for years. If you’re looking to upgrade from a Galaxy S24, you may want to wait a bit longer, because the Galaxy S25 offers only subtle improvements, and I’m hoping that Samsung freshens up the Galaxy S lineup with something more exciting next year.
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Available for $799 / £799 / AU $1,399 with 128GB of storage (256GB in Australia)
All the colors are kinda blue, including Icyblue, Navy, and Mint (and Silver)
The Samsung Galaxy S25 starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, which is not only the same price as the Apple iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 (the Pixel 9 is very slightly cheaper in Australia), but also the same price as last year’s Galaxy S24 at launch. It’s a big deal that Samsung didn’t raise the price, because I’ve heard strong rumors that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside is more expensive than previous Snapdragon platforms. It’s worth the premium.
The Galaxy S25 starts with a paltry 128GB of storage in the US and UK, but Australia skips that low-end model and starts at 256GB. Also, for some reason US customers can’t buy a Galaxy S25 with 512GB of storage, although it’s not really an issue, as 256GB is probably the sweet spot. Every Galaxy S25 comes with 12GB of RAM inside.
You can find the Galaxy S25 in a few shades of blue and also silver, and Samsung is keeping a few colors exclusive to its own online web store, like a snazzy pinkish Coralred color. My review sample is Silver Shadow, and it’s a nicer-than-average shade of light grey, with real depth to the finish on the back glass.
An important note here is that Samsung fans often say nobody pays full price for a Samsung phone. You can look for sales throughout the year, especially in the form of a trade-in discount if you give Samsung your old phone. The Galaxy S25 is worth the list price, but keep an eye out for deals, and we will do the same.
Value score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 series: $900 instant trade-in credit and up to $300 credit at Samsung Looking for an unlocked device? This right here is your best option by far. The official Samsung Store is offering an excellent trade-in rebate of up to $900 and $300 of store credit on the house for both carrier and unlocked devices today. The trade-in here is superb and the $300 credit is also a significant bonus that can be used to pick up any number of cheap accessories at the Samsung Store. Overall, a superb opening deal and one that's even better than I anticipated.View Deal
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Specs
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The standout spec in the Samsung Galaxy S25 is the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset. It seems that Qualcomm has overclocked the two primary Oryon cores by 0.15GHz – and if that doesn’t sound like much, know that those cores run at a mind-melting 4.47GHz at peak, and it's hard to imagine squeezing any more speed out of these chips.
That gives Samsung the benchmark crown for many of our Future Labs benchmark tests, whether you’re comparing the Galaxy S25 to the iPhone 16 Pro or any other Android phone. The Galaxy S25 isn’t the spec champ in most other ways, but it has enough power for bragging rights.
You can find phones with screens that refresh faster than 120Hz, like the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro. You can get a phone like the OnePlus 13 with 16GB of RAM, not to mention much faster charging speeds; Samsung is still stuck in the slow lane when it comes to charging.
Finally, the camera specs haven’t improved, and that’s disappointing. It doesn’t seem like any of the three main camera sensors have gotten larger, which is the most clear sign that image quality will improve. Samsung’s camera software, with its AI help and Snapdragon image processing pipeline, is better than ever, but I’d still like to see Samsung focus its camera sights on a phone that isn’t its Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Smaller than an iPhone 16, with a larger display
Still looks like last year’s Galaxy S (and the year before’s, and…)
The Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch display, but the phone is smaller in every way, and even lighter, than the Apple iPhone 16 with its 6.1-inch display. The greatest trick Samsung ever pulled was fitting a larger display into a smaller phone – but we saw that trick in 2023 with the Galaxy S23, and it’s still the same trick.
Sadly, Samsung hasn’t changed the Galaxy S design significantly since the Galaxy S23, when it introduced the porthole-style cameras. The new phones look so much like the older models, even the dimensions are unchanged. The Galaxy S25 matches the Galaxy S23 in height, width, and depth to within a millimeter.
Why does that matter? Because I expect a phone design should improve or the phone should drop in price, and the Galaxy S hasn’t improved. Why are we paying the same amount for a phone that hasn’t changed since 2023? Except for the main processor and RAM, these phones are identical.
It’s a good design, it gets the job done, which is getting out of the way of Samsung’s fantastic phone display. The bezel is even smaller this year, though we’re talking fractions of millimeters, not a noticeable improvement. There is still a bezel; it’s just very small.
Frankly, if you’d never seen a smartphone before, you’d have a hard time telling a Samsung Galaxy S from an iPhone. The two have come full circle to resemble each other again. The camera lenses are arranged differently, but otherwise, these phones are glass slabs with rounded corners. The only real difference is where Samsung and Apple stick the buttons.
Design score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Excellent, bright AMOLED screen with full-color always-on display
Fingerprint scanner is still glitchy
The Galaxy S25 has a fantastic display. It’s bright, colorful, and extra smooth when you’re scrolling through your apps or web pages. There’s very little distance between the glass and the screen, so it feels like elements are floating just beneath the surface.
Samsung displays also excel in bright light, and the Galaxy S25 was easy to use for taking photos on a bright, sunny day with heaps of dazzling, white snow on the ground. The extra brightness really kicks in when the sun is out, and it makes a big difference.
The S25 doesn’t get the ProScaler technology that’s designed to make videos look better, with a higher resolution, but I didn’t see much difference between videos on this phone and the Galaxy S25 Plus, which, along with the S25 Ultra, has the Samsung TV tech. In terms of color, smoothness and brightness, the two are identical.
I think the fingerprint scanner under the display needs improvement. After using the OnePlus 13 for a few months I’ve been spoiled by the reliability of that phone’s scanner. The Galaxy S25 often made me re-present my fingerprint two or three times, and then resort to using my password because it couldn’t recognize my finger.
Display score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
One UI 7 is the best-looking One UI in a long time
Still far too complicated, though Bixby helps
I expected to write a few hundred words about Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S25, but, um, where is it? The usual stuff is here, including the photo-editing tools, and the writing assistance, and the transcription for phone calls and voice memos. The phone does a nice job of making suggestions for apps, settings, and even widgets, when you open the widgets menu. It takes a light touch, offering suggestions but not being too pushy.
I was expecting more pushy. I was hoping for more pushy. Samsung sent me a Galaxy Watch Ultra to go along with the Galaxy S25, and I’ve been feeding my phone, via its Personal Data Engine, all of my health data for days. The most I’ve gotten is a critique on my sleep habits. I was expecting much more.
At Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung said the Galaxy S25 would use the Galaxy Watch to learn when I fall asleep, and then check Smart Things to understand how the temperature and lighting in my home affected my sleep patterns. I have all of those things set up, including my lights, thermostat, and Samsung TV on Smart Things. And… nothing happens.
I’ve asked Samsung, and they’ll get back to me with more instructions on how to set this all up, but that’s my big problem with Galaxy AI so far. It doesn’t happen, and I might need to do more to set it up.
Take Google Gemini, which now lives on the Side Button of my Galaxy S25. So long, Bixby, right? Nope, Bixby is still there, but you have to find it. If you use the Search feature in the Settings menu, you’re using Bixby. You could have kept Bixby on the side button, but the setup process pushes you to use Gemini instead.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
That’s too bad, because Bixby is better for the Galaxy S25. Bixby can do things, and I don’t just mean setting timers and checking the weather. Bixby understands the Settings menu better than the Samsung Help Hotline. You can ask Bixby a question using natural language and it will find the settings you need. Say “Bixby, I want to use my phone to charge my Galaxy Buds” and Bixby opens up the Battery menu to Wireless Power Sharing.
You can say “turn on the flashlight” and Bixby can do that, but Gemini can’t. I wish that Bixby were in charge of the phone, including Gemini. Gemini can have a conversation, but Bixby can get things done. Let Bixby talk to Gemini for me.
Samsung said this wouldn’t be confusing, and that users wouldn’t need to know whether they were using Bixby or Gemini or some future AI feature. That’s not exactly true. If you ask the wrong AI to do something, it will act confused and ignore you. That doesn’t make me want to keep using the AI.
Elsewhere, I hate to say that Samsung is falling back into its old ways of software bloat with the Galaxy S25. The amount of extra, unnecessary software is mind-boggling. From Samsung, you get the Samsung Members app (which should just be a website), Shop Samsung to buy Samsung gear, and the Galaxy Store for apps, almost all of which are available on Google’s Play Store as well.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
You also get the Samsung Smart Things app, even if you don’t have any Smart Things equipment, and the Galaxy Wearable app, even if you don’t have any Galaxy wearables. But wait, there’s more. There’s Samsung News, Samsung Global Goals (?!), and an app just for Tips about your phone.
Then there are two photo gallery apps, one from Google and one from Samsung. Also two Calendar apps, two web browser apps, oh, and Microsoft gets to stick four apps on your phone as well, just for good measure. Hope you enjoy LinkedIn.
All told, there are 46 apps already installed on your phone before you turn it on for the first time; the final one of these, YouTube, dangles alone an unsightly second page for apps. It’s too much. It’s time for the junk to disappear; it’s time for the duplicate apps to end.
I will freely admit that Samsung Internet Browser is faster than Google Chrome, but it doesn’t benefit users to have two web browsers on a brand-new phone, it just confuses me.
Software score: 3 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Reliable cameras with great camera modes
Not the best quality, but still impressive
The Galaxy S25 has an impressive array of cameras that take excellent photos, especially if you love to share your photos for some dramatic effect. The cameras tend to saturate colors deeply and give images a warmer tone, which makes subjects like food, sunrises, and faces look more dramatic and inviting. It’s not exactly accurate, but who cares!
These aren’t the best cameras around, not even in this price range. The OnePlus 13 really impressed me with its image quality, and side-by-side shots taken against the Galaxy S25 show the Galaxy can’t match OnePlus for dynamic range, low-light exposure, and accurate color.
I still like the Galaxy Camera app for its versatility. You get the normal shooting modes for slow motion or portrait shots, in addition to a dedicated Night mode. There’s also a great Food mode that is my go-to for showing off anything I cook.
In classic Samsung fashion, there’s a Pro mode, or you can download an extra app for Expert Raw mode, which gives you even more advanced features like simulated aperture and astrophotography.
Image 1 of 2
A photo of me in front of a helicopter with some random people in the background (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 2
Photo edited using AI (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I’m not the biggest fan of AI photo editing, but occasionally even I would like to remove a random passerby from my tourist photos. The Galaxy S25 is so good at this that it can even remove a person’s shadow with accuracy. If someone is standing on a wood floor, the generative AI will perfectly match the wood planks when it makes the shadow disappear.
Camera score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Camera samples
Image 1 of 5
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 5
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 3 of 5
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 4 of 5
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 5 of 5
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Snapdragon delivers on its performance promise
Too bad there aren’t more cool features to take advantage of it
What do you do with the fastest smartphone in the world? That’s the question Samsung needs to answer, because while the Galaxy S25 wins on many performance and benchmark tests, it’s not clear what the phone can do with all of that power.
To be fair, Samsung lets you choose to limit Galaxy AI so that all computations are handled on the device, and not in the cloud. It’s unclear if that saves a lot of energy, but it certainly shows Samsung’s confidence in the power of the Galaxy S25. OnePlus is still offloading almost all of its AI tasks to cloud computers, even though its OnePlus 13 has the same Snapdragon 8 Elite processor as the Galaxy S25.
Well, not exactly the same processor, as Qualcomm overclocks the chipset just a smidgen so that Samsung can add a ‘for Galaxy’ label. That makes it the de facto performance winner, though again I wish Samsung were putting all of that power to better use.
Don’t get me wrong, everything is very smooth. The interface is buttery slick, and all of my games and apps ran at top performance on the S25. I have no complaints - I was just hoping for a bit more. While One UI 7 looks nicer than ever, I was hoping for maybe something a bit flashier to take advantage of that powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Where’s my rippling screen when I tickle Bixby, the way my iPhone ripples when Siri wakes up? How about cool animations, or even a fancy screensaver? There’s a generative AI wallpaper that will change the weather in any photo to match your local weather, but it just adds snowflakes on top; it doesn’t let snow accumulate, which would have been cool.
It’s too bad that all of that Snapdragon power is going to AI features, because I would have liked to have seen some real advances in the interface this generation to match the leap in performance. Samsung has a winner – the Galaxy S25 is unequivocally faster than the iPhone 16. Now, let’s see what it can do with all that power, besides standing atop the winner’s podium.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Best battery life of any phone this size
The Galaxy S25 Plus and Ultra have faster charging
The Samsung Galaxy S25 has excellent battery life, better than competing phones of this size. In my testing, the Galaxy S25 lasted a full day every single day I used it, even if I took a lot of photos or played graphically intense games with a Bluetooth joystick connected.
Our Future Labs tests say the same. The Galaxy S25 lasted longer than the similarly-sized iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9. The iPhone 16 lasted less than 12 and a half hours in our battery rundown test, while the Galaxy S25 made it to nearly 16 hours.
You can find better battery life on a phone, but you’d have to buy a much bigger phone. For phones this size, the Galaxy S25 has the best battery life I’ve seen, likely thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which has gone hand in hand with impressive battery longevity in every phone I’ve tried, like the OnePlus 13 and the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.
For charging, the Galaxy S25 is capable, but its speed is average. It charges at 25W, the same as the iPhone. It charged to 50% in 30 minutes, and was fully charged within an hour, but I’ve seen much faster charging on phones like the OnePlus 13.
The Galaxy S25 has wireless charging as well as reverse wireless charging, so you can power up your Galaxy Buds 3 Pro case by laying it atop your phone battery – and Bixby can help you find the feature if you get stuck.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Buy it if...
You need a really good new phone If you’re looking for a phone this size, or this price, the Galaxy S25 should be one of the top options on your list. It’s a great all-around pick with few faults.
You can get one for free, or almost free Samsung phones tend to come with great deals from your carrier, if you’re willing to sign a long-term contract. Not every phone this good is so easy to buy.
You want a great phone to mix work and personal use The Galaxy S25 is great for work, thanks to DeX desktop software and strong multi-tasking, but it’s also great at keeping work separate from your fun time.
Don't buy it if...
You want the best cameras and can spend a bit more You may not find better cameras at this price, but for just a bit more (or if they’re on sale), the OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9 Pro have the Galaxy beat.
You wish it were a whole lot thinner The Galaxy S25 Edge is coming, and it will probably cost more than the Galaxy S25, but who knows? If it’s thin and similarly priced, it could be worth the wait.
You want a whole lotta AI, for whatever reason I don’t judge – if you want an overwhelming amount of AI controlling your phone, you might try an iPhone or Pixel instead.
Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Also consider
Apple iPhone 16 The iPhone 16 doesn’t have the same great battery life, and its cameras lack zoom, but it has iOS and all of the powerful Apple Intelligence features you won’t find on other phones.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Sometimes the Pixel 9 Pro goes on sale and drops to the same price as the Galaxy S25 – keep your eyes peeled for Pro cameras, and a bargain.
Benchmark testing is for comparison, not scoring purposes
I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 extensively, alongside the Galaxy S25 Plus, for almost two weeks, using the same work and personal apps and accounts on each.
I used the Galaxy S25 for taking photos, communicating with work colleagues using messages and Slack, and conducting video conference calls. I played games, and edited photos from my Google Photos library.
I connected the Galaxy S25 to a Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, supplied by Samsung. I wore the Galaxy Watch to bed, and let the Galaxy S25 monitor me as I slept. I connected an Xbox wireless controller to play games. I connected the Galaxy S25 to my car for Android Auto and multimedia. I connected the phone to my Steelseries USB-C keyboard, my MX Master mouse, and my Dell monitor for DeX capabilities.
I used Smart Things on the Galaxy S25 to control my home thermostat, lights, security, and television. I used Gemini as my primary side button AI, but also used Bixby extensively.
Why you can trust TechRadar
☑️ 100s of gaming laptops reviewed ☑️ 15 years of product testing ☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total ☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech
The Galaxy S25 Plus is much better than good enough. For a few hundred more than the Galaxy S25 you’re getting a major upgrade over that phone – much bigger than the step up from the Plus to the Galaxy S25 Ultra. If you’re looking for a larger-screen Android phone and you like the smell of what Samsung is cooking, the Galaxy S25 Plus is easy to recommend. It does everything well, and you won’t be wasting your time and money on features you don’t need.
Don’t call the Galaxy S25 Plus a Goldilocks phone. It isn’t just a slightly bigger Galaxy S25, or a slightly cheaper Galaxy S25 Ultra. The screen size is actually in the middle, fractionally smaller than the Ultra display, but it feels like a much larger phone compared to the Galaxy S25’s more pocket-friendly size.
The Galaxy S25 Plus’s secret weapon is its display. It packs the same number of pixels as the larger S25 Ultra, but more densely into a 6.7-inch panel, instead of the 6.9 inches of the Ultra. That means it’s technically Samsung’s sharpest phone screen, with a higher pixel density than the more expensive flagship, even if you might not notice the difference in day-to-day use.
Galaxy S25 on the left, Galaxy S25 Plus on the right (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
What else do you get with the Galaxy S25 Plus, besides the best display? The Plus charges a bit faster, up to 45W, than the Galaxy S25, which charges at up to 25W. Of course it has a larger battery inside as well, which translates to longer battery life. In our battery tests, the S25 Plus actually beat the S25 Ultra by 10 minutes – a nice win considering it has a slightly smaller battery cell.
Another fun advantage the Galaxy S25 Plus has over the Ultra is the choice of colors. Samsung sent me the S25 Plus in blue, and it's the nicest-looking blue phone I’ve ever seen. It’s a deep, rich hue that changes as it refracts light. I’m almost relieved that I didn’t get a case with it, because I love showing off this phone.
During my review period, the Galaxy S25 Plus was a joy to use, and I found myself using the larger Plus much more often than the smaller Galaxy S25. I loved having more screen real estate, especially when it came to shooting photos.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I wish I had more to say about Galaxy AI, but in the two weeks I spent with the phone, it didn’t do very much. I was expecting more suggestions and recommendations, if not a complete AI takeover like we’re seeing with Apple Intelligence. Instead, during my time with the Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy AI was… quiet?
I didn’t mind. The Galaxy S25 Plus is solid, really pleasing in almost every way – and I wonder if more AI would have made my experience worse, rather than better.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Available for $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 with 256GB of storage
Better display than Galaxy S25, cameras a step down from S25 Ultra
While Apple charges $100 / £100 / AU$200 for its ‘Plus’ iPhone 16 over the smaller model, Samsung asks for more when you upgrade to Plus, and it gives you more. The Galaxy S25 Plus isn’t just a larger version of the Galaxy S25; it’s a step up in terms of the display, and it has better battery life with faster charging. Frankly, that puts the Galaxy S25 Ultra in a precarious position, priced as it is above the $1,000 / £1,000 threshold.
What the Galaxy S25 Plus lacks, compared to the flagship Ultra, is the best cameras Samsung offers. The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus have the same cameras as last year’s Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus, and frankly these cameras look suspiciously similar to the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus. If you want Samsung’s best cameras, and one of the best camera phones you can buy, you’ll need to pay an exorbitant $300 / £250 / AU$450 premium, although you do also get the S Pen.
The Galaxy S25 Plus comes in the brighter, more vibrant colors that you’ll also find on the Galaxy S25, not the made-for-business hues of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. My review sample is, to my mind, the best color, the striking Navy Blue; you also get the Plus in Icyblue, Mint, and Silver Shadow, along with some exclusive colors that Samsung is saving for its own web store.
At this price tier the competition is especially fierce. You can forgo the basic iPhone 16 and get the titanium iPhone 16 Pro. You can get a Google Pixel 9 Pro for around the same price, but the Pixel phone often drops closer to the Galaxy S25’s price level, so it can look a bargain next to the Samsung. The OnePlus 13 is cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Plus, and OnePlus has a perpetual trade-in deal in the US that keeps the final price even lower.
I’m just saying, this phone is a good choice, but it would be even easier to recommend if it had some new, amazing cameras.
Value score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 series: $900 instant trade-in credit and up to $300 credit at Samsung Looking for an unlocked device? This right here is your best option by far. The official Samsung Store is offering an excellent trade-in rebate of up to $900 and $300 of store credit on the house for both carrier and unlocked devices today. The trade-in here is superb and the $300 credit is also a significant bonus that can be used to pick up any number of cheap accessories at the Samsung Store. Overall, a superb opening deal and one that's even better than I anticipated.View Deal
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Specs
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Galaxy S25 Plus gives you more than just a bigger display and battery, compared to the Galaxy S25. The display is much bigger, a full half-inch diagonally, which makes the phone seem a whole larger category of device. It’s also a better display, with more pixels per inch, making it seem just a touch sharper than the Galaxy S25 – as mentioned, it’s technically more sharp than even the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
You also get a bigger battery in the Galaxy S25 Plus than in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and Samsung also increases the charging speed to 45W versus the Galaxy S25’s 25W charging. In our testing, that translated to about 10% more battery every 15 minutes of charging, a nice little boost.
The Galaxy S25 Plus starts with 256GB of storage, which is twice what most of the world will find on the base model Galaxy S25. Every Galaxy S25 model, including the Plus and Ultra, comes with 12GB of RAM inside.
Samsung offers enough of a spec bump with the Galaxy S25 Plus to justify its price jump over the Galaxy S25, but I wonder if it could have made better choices. At this price range, Apple, Google, and OnePlus give you the best cameras those phone makers offer. With Samsung, you still need to spend more to get the best cameras, and then you’ll end up with the Ultra, which might be more phone than you need, and more money than you’d like to spend.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Much bigger than the Galaxy S25, not much smaller than the Ultra
Half the buttons of an iPhone 16
Samsung has stagnated when it comes to its phone design, and the Galaxy S25 Plus looks just like the Galaxy S25, as well as the Galaxy S24 and S23. That’s not the worst thing – the Galaxy S25 Plus feels like a polished, well-built, premium smartphone – but it also feels like a missed opportunity.
Maybe Samsung doesn’t need a full redesign, but can’t we at least have one more button? When the iPhone 16 got the Camera Control and an Action button I predicted that Samsung would eventually catch up; but the Galaxy S25 was already too far along, I suppose, for Samsung to add more hardware to keep parity with Apple’s base model iPhone.
The Galaxy S25 Plus just needs… something. The side button can now activate Google Gemini, in addition to Bixby, but I kind of like using that button for Bixby, to turn on the flashlight or turn on my Wi-Fi hotspot. I don’t need a Gemini button; I want my hardware buttons to control the hardware.
I’d love to see Samsung nail the camera button, because Apple left me wanting something softer, with more travel. Or maybe a temperature sensor, like the Pixel 9 Pro. Or maybe an infrared emitter to control my home gear, like the OnePlus 13. See, the Galaxy S25 Plus needs something, because the competition is offering more and more for the same price, or less.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Also, the overall design hews too close to the iPhone… again. If you’d never seen a smartphone and I handed you a Galaxy S25 Plus and an iPhone 16 Plus, you’d think they were made by the same people. That’s a backhanded compliment, but Google, OnePlus, and even Motorola have shown us that there is room for originality in phone materials and design – not every handset has to be hazy glass and metal slabs with rounded corners, and cameras in the upper-left corner.
Design score: 3 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Higher resolution than the Galaxy S25, not just bigger
Fingerprint scanner didn’t work consistently
The Galaxy S25 Plus has a fantastic display, and it might be Samsung’s best, on paper at least. Instead of blowing up the Galaxy S25 display, with its lower resolution, Samsung shrank the Galaxy S25 Ultra display a bit, so both phones pack the same pixels. Because the S25 Plus is a bit smaller, it packs those pixels more tightly, resulting in a display that’s technically sharper. I couldn’t see a difference from the Ultra, but the step up from the smaller Galaxy S25 is noticeable, and significant.
The Galaxy S25 Plus is especially bright, which helps when you need to use the phone outdoors. This phone is great for taking photos, because the viewfinder is easy to see in any situation, and I preferred shooting with the larger S25 Plus versus the Galaxy S25 because the larger display made it easier to see my subjects.
The Galaxy S25 Plus, like the S25 Ultra, gets Samsung’s new ProScaler technology, which the phone maker says it’s borrowed from the Samsung TV group. This tech is supposed to upscale the resolution on any video content you watch on the Galaxy S25 Plus. It won’t change the frame rate, so you won’t get the weird motion effect you see on some TVs; it just improves the resolution.
In practice, I didn’t notice much difference between regular HD video quality on this phone and the smaller Galaxy S25. If I paused a video, I could see less blurriness on the Plus, but it wasn’t noticeable while the video was playing.
Like the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus has a fingerprint scanner that gave me some trouble. About once a day it failed to open for my fingerprint, and I had to use my password instead. I’ve seen much more reliable scanning from competitors, especially the OnePlus 13.
Display score: 5 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Samsung One UI is colorful but more polished than ever
Galaxy AI isn’t overbearing, at least not yet
I usually complain about Samsung phone software – I find the settings and the sheer number of features and options to be confusing and excessive. In this case, I’m going to let things slide. The Galaxy S25 Plus has the latest One UI 7 version of Android 15 from Samsung, and it looks good. It’s colorful and original, and it still offers plenty of customization, but now the phone does more of the work for you, thanks to improved AI.
For instance, every time I opened the Widgets menu to add a new widget to my home screen, the Galaxy S25 Plus had new suggestions for me – and they weren’t bad! I found some useful widgets this way, even though I’m not sure what criteria the AI uses to decide what I’d like. The Galaxy S25 Plus also did a fine job with other suggestions, like suggesting replies to text messages, or suggesting edits in the photo Gallery app.
Somehow Samsung has struck the best balance between powerful AI and obtrusive AI of any phone maker. Galaxy AI appears in the form of suggestions, not demands. You can almost ignore the AI features entirely, or just have all of the AI results computed on your phone, instead of in the cloud. This is a nicely measured approach to mobile AI, and Samsung is doing it best.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
I also appreciate the improvements to Samsung’s own Bixby AI. Bixby is better than ever at finding and controlling features on your phone. We’re still not at the finish line – I think Bixby could become even more helpful if it could explain things better. Still, for finding features and taking actions on the phone, Bixby is the best AI, better than Siri or Gemini, for sure.
Sadly, Bixby has been cut off from most of the Galaxy S25 Plus. At startup, your phone encourages you to make Gemini your side-button companion, relegating Bixby to the settings menu or its own Bixby app. I worry that most people won’t find my friend Bixby, which makes me sad, because Bixby has finally gotten smart enough to be interesting.
It’s still early days for all of this mobile AI stuff, and even new phones like the Galaxy S25 Plus will have years to improve, with Samsung promising seven full Android OS updates. As my phone collects more data about me and learns to do more itself, and once Samsung figures out how to integrate Gemini and Bixby properly, I think Samsung could have the best mobile AI device around.
For now, the AI just doesn’t do much, and I’m fine with that – it doesn’t do too much. I wish it did everything Samsung promised at launch, like turning off my TV when I fall asleep or suggesting better lighting for bed time. We’ll get there. For now, I’m just enjoying the suggestions.
Software score: 3 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Cameras
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Solid cameras that work well in a variety of situations
Great pro settings, though some require extra downloads
The Galaxy S25 Plus takes great photos, and I especially like Samsung’s Camera app for all of its shooting modes, though it can get a bit confusing, in classic Samsung style. If you like shooting bright blue skies, crispy croissants, and colorful crowds, the Galaxy S25 Plus is the right camera for you, because Samsung excels at photos that are meant for sharing.
You won’t get the most accurate colors or the most detail, but the Galaxy S25 Plus is very reliable, and I knew it could capture low-light photos and get me the details I wanted, or close-up macro photos to catch that bug before it skittered away. It feels versatile, and there’s no situation it can’t handle.
There are, perhaps, a couple too many shooting modes. There’s a Pro mode, as well as Pro Video, and you can get even more Pro and become an Expert Raw user. Expert Raw is a separate app, though you access it through the Camera, and it gives you features like astrophotography and even more photo controls.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
If you shoot mostly video, the Galaxy S25 Plus now supports Log file recording, which gives you much more control over your color profile at the editing stage. The maximum video resolution is 8K at 30fps, which is higher-resolution than any monitor I own.
I’m skeptical about AI photo editing, but the Galaxy AI tools have become truly impressive. For fun, I decided to cut my exes out of old photographs, and the Galaxy S25 Plus gave me perfect selfie shots in romantic locations – nobody else included. It even managed to create proper folds in my pullover, or add landscape to fill in the blanks. Only the closest scrutiny would cause a viewer to suspect the photo was altered by AI, were it not for the ‘AI-generated content’ logo that appears at the bottom after you make such changes.
Camera score: 4 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Camera samples
Image 1 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 3 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 4 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 5 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 6 of 6
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Top-ranking performance from the Snapdragon 8 Elite
Where does all that power go? It’s hard to tell
The Galaxy S25 Plus is one of the best-performing phones I’ve ever tested, matched only by the other two Galaxy S25 devices. That’s thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset inside, a bespoke version of Qualcomm’s Elite mobile platform that has been just slightly overclocked for Samsung, and while it’s enough for Samsung to claim bragging rights, this processor was already plenty fast.
In fact, I’m not sure why I need all that power? Last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could already run all of the best Android mobile games at the top performance settings. What’s above the top? Samsung hasn’t done much visually to take advantage of the improved performance, though I suspect that the Galaxy AI features, especially the AI features that will eventually come to this phone, will take up much of the processor’s clock time.
For now, you can choose to run most of the Galaxy AI computations on the phone instead of sending that work to the cloud, if you’re especially security conscious or worried about the impact on the environment.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
You can also run DeX, Samsung’s desktop environment, though DeX is looking more and more mobile these days, more like a big iPad than a Chromebook. If you want to get some work done on a bigger screen, and with a bigger keyboard, and a mouse even, you can plug all of those into the USB port on the Galaxy S25 Plus (or connect wirelessly), and you suddenly have a mini desktop computer. It’s pretty sweet for the right circumstance, like answering work emails or checking out photos on a big screen.
I still wonder if it’s time for the Galaxy series to step up to a more advanced experience. I’d love to see more desktop-level apps, like a real Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, since the Snapdragon seems to have that kind of power. I haven’t seen huge improvements in Android apps for a while, besides some choice games, which the Galaxy S25 Plus can handle easily, with all the ray tracing and pixel pushing required.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Best battery life of the Galaxy S25 family
Faster charging than the Galaxy S25
Battery life on the Galaxy S25 Plus is remarkable. The phone easily lasted through a full day in my time using it for work and play alike, and probably could have made it through two days with more conservative usage – but I take a lot of photos.
Our Future Labs testing agrees. In our battery rundown test, the Galaxy S25 Plus is our new Samsung battery champ, beating even the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is odd considering that the Ultra has a slightly larger battery. The S25 Plus lasted 18 hours and 45 minutes, while the Ultra lasted 18 hours and 35 minutes. Both of those are stellar results. The smaller Galaxy S25 was also admirable, but it lasted less than 16 hours in our testing; so if you want the best battery from a Samsung Galaxy, get the Galaxy S25 Plus.
That said, the OnePlus 13 lasted 19 hours and 45 minutes in the same battery rundown test, making it our outright battery champ, but all of these phones will easily get you through an active day of use.
The Galaxy S25 Plus charges faster than the other Galaxy phones as well. With a 45W charger, you can charge the S25 Plus to 70% in 30 minutes, and my phone was fully charged within 50 minutes. That’s faster than the iPhone 16 or the Galaxy S25, which both max out at a slower 25W charging speed. Once again, however, the OnePlus 13 steps out ahead with incredibly fast 80W charging (with a 100W charger on the way).
It’s strange that Samsung hasn’t improved its charging speed, whether that’s for USB-C or wireless charging. Phones from many Chinese brands can charge much faster, but I guess that since Apple and Google aren’t competing with faster charging, Samsung hasn’t stepped up. Hopefully we’ll see this improve with in the next generation.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Buy it if...
You want a Galaxy S25, only bigger and better You might spend more to get a larger screen and more battery life, but the Galaxy S25 Plus also gives you faster charging and a sharper display.
You have hope for the future Galaxy AI doesn’t do much right now, but there are seven years of Android updates ahead for this phone. It can only get better, right?
You’re all-in on Galaxy gear If you have a Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Book, or Galaxy Buds, the Galaxy ecosystem is growing, and Galaxy devices work better together.
Don't buy it if...
You want the best cameras Unlike Apple and Google, Samsung makes you pay more if you want the best cameras. Only the Ultra has the best cameras Samsung makes, sorry Plus.
You’re buying a house, or you like to draw The Galaxy S25 Ultra has the S Pen, which is useful if you sign a lot of digital documents, or you want professional-strength drawing capabilities.
You want something fresh and new The Galaxy S family has been stagnant for a while, so if you don’t need a new phone right away, maybe wait until Samsung has some new ideas.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Also consider
OnePlus 13 For less than the Galaxy S25 Plus you can have much better battery life, better ultra-wide and zoom cameras, and a more durable phone in the OnePlus 13.
Galaxy S25 Ultra Let’s be honest, cameras are the most important feature, and the Galaxy S25 Plus just doesn’t have them. If you want the best cameras, you need the Ultra.
Benchmark testing is for comparison, not scoring purposes
I received the Galaxy S25 Plus almost two weeks before this review was published. I tested the phone extensively, alongside the Galaxy S25, using the same work and personal apps and accounts on each.
I used the Galaxy S25 Plus for taking photos, communicating with work colleagues using messages and Slack, and conducting video conference calls. I played games, and edited photos from my Google Photos library.
I connected the Galaxy S25 Plus to a Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, supplied by Samsung. I wore the Galaxy Watch to sleep, and let the Galaxy S25 Plus listen to me as I slept. I also connected an Xbox wireless controller to play games. I connected the S25 Plus to my car for Android Auto and multimedia. I connected the phone to my Steelseries USB-C keyboard, my MX Master mouse, and my Dell monitor for DeX capabilities.
I used Smart Things on the Galaxy S25 Plus to control my home thermostat, lights, security, and television. I used Gemini as my primary side-button AI, but I also used Bixby extensively.
Why you can trust TechRadar
☑️ 100s of gaming laptops reviewed ☑️ 15 years of product testing ☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total ☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech
T-Mobile has been the last 2G holdout in the US, still keeping its vintage network live despite AT&T having discontinued 2G service in 2017 with Verizon and Sprint following a few years later.
Now it's finally (almost) T-Mobile's turn. The carrier has started sending out emails to affected users, telling them that the shutdown of the 2G network will begin on February 9.
It's unclear how long it will take from that point on until the entirety of the 2G network is fully shut off, but it's coming. So if for some reason you still have a 2G device on T-Mobile, you should switch - and the...
George Zhao resigned as Honor's CEO last week, prompting further changes at the smartphone company's executive level. A recent report disclosed that the Global Marketing Chief, the Chief Marketing Officer for China, and the Sales leader for China have all left the company.
A company representative commented that "this is a routine adjustment of regional managers."
Guo Rui, previously the CMO for overseas operations, will now take on the CMO position for the domestic market. He replaces Jiang Hairong, who is reportedly exiting the company. Additionally, Zheng Shubao, the sales...
Apple launched two iPad Pros last May with OLED displays, and we now hear that the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to launch at least one new OLED iPad Pro this year.
This information comes from the South Korean publication The Elec, which claimed the new OLED iPad Pro will look similar to last year's model since it will only be slightly modified. Apple launched two OLED iPad Pros in 2024 - one with an 11" screen and an 8,160 mAh battery and another with a 13" display and a 10,290 mAh cell.
Apple iPad Pro 11'' (2024)
The source also claims that South Korea's LX Semicon could...
The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo is instantly striking with its retro design and ultra-wide body. If you're after the best instant camera for hybrid photography (i.e. the ability to print film images taken directly on the camera or sent from your smartphone) and prefer to shoot on wide format prints, then this really looks like it could be the model for you.
Although it doesn't come cheap, the Instax Wide Evo is very much the step-up from Fujifilm's other Instax hybrid, the Mini Evo, that was launched in 2021, offering most of the same great features, including an LCD display screen, 10 lens and 10 film effects that make 100 different creative combinations, and a microSD card slot, along with a few more new additions.
(Image credit: Future)
A wider film print means this instant camera is a bit on the larger side, but it makes use of the extra real-estate by adding more physical buttons that let you quickly change settings. These include a dedicated wide angle button that lets you switch to a more standard field of view (FoV) if you don't want that cinematic look.
Speaking of, you can also switch between six different film styles, one of which puts black bars to give your pictures that IMAX feeling, using a button on top of the camera. There's also a dial on the left side of the camera to cycle through the 10 different lens effects, with another dial on the opposite right side to switch between the 10 different film effects. My favorite, though, is the crank that lets you manually print a picture by winding it, which is a nice design nod to the crank for winding back film on the best film cameras.
It gets five stars for fun for all the creative photo editing options it offers, but what about the image quality? I've only been able to try out the new Instax Evo Wide for an hour on the day of its launch, so I didn't test out that many settings. Although I did print out three photos, two of these were selfies (one unedited, the other cropped and enhanced before printing), which looked soft and rich with great contrast using the monochrome film effect.
The Instax Evo Wide will by no means replace your dedicated digital camera – and if you love the 'magic' of purely analog instant film cameras, then this might not be right for you either as your images will always be digital first – but it is a perfect piece of extra kit if you want to be creative with your photography and experiment with a larger field of view.
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Price and availability
There's a dedicated button at the top of the camera for switching between six different film styles. (Image credit: Future)
The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo was launched on January 21, 2025 with a price tag of $349.95 in the US and £319.99 in the UK. We don't yet have Australian pricing, but based on these initial figures it might cost around AU$560.
The Wide Evo is also almost double the price of Fujifilm's other Instax hybrid, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo, which retails for $199.99 / £174.99 / AU$299.99. Does the extra cost account for the more premium, larger features in the step-up model? We'll have to see once I've had a chance to weigh this up against its performance.
There's also optional accessories available for the Evo Wide, including a leather case that costs $49.95 in the US and £37.99 in the UK, but might be a necessary additional cost to make sure to protect the LCD display screen (if this gets too scratched up, then you won't be able to take let alone see your photos).
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Specs
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Design
The left dial on the Instax Wide Evo is for switching between the 10 different lens effects. (Image credit: Future)
A hybrid instant camera that can print directly or from your catalog of shots, stored on Micro SD
Plenty of dials and switches to select various film effects
Includes a mirror and switch to take selfies
When rumors started to circle about the Instax Wide Evo, there was talk that it would be "regarded as the best-looking Instax camera ever made" and that caught a lot of enthusiast's attention, including TechRadar's senior news editor Mark Wilson who said off the back of it that the "Instax Wide Evo sounded like my dream instant camera".
Considering that the only wide-format Instax camera alternative is the big and bulky Instax Wide 400, the Wide Evo's textured, minimal black design is definitely a lot more easy on the eye than the plasticky, dull green finish of its larger cousin. (Another alternative if you're set on a wide-format is 2024's Lomo’Instant Wide Glass – an attractive instant camera that we gave 4.5 stars in our in-depth review.) Indeed, I don't think many would be opposed to slinging the Wide Evo over their shoulder for the day.
The leather case that you can buy alongside the Wide Evo makes this very easy to do and might be a crucial accessory – not just for protecting it from nicks and scratches but – to make sure that it has a long life, as the LCD screen could easily get scuffed up over time. That's not great for a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder. Of course, I can't yet say that this will be an issue but it's worth considering.
This is how you would hold the Instax Wide Evo to take a selfie, with your thumb pulling down on the shutter switch button. (Image credit: Future)
It also helps that the Evo Wide is light – it weighs about half a kilo – making it very portable, but don't expect to be able to fit the Wide Evo in any pocket. As you would expect, because it takes wide-format instant prints, it's on the larger side.
The shutter button is a lot different to the Mini Evo, which has a standard push button on top of the camera. Instead of this, the Wide Evo has a rocker style switch (like the ones you would use to turn on a light) that's situated on the front of the camera, beside the lens. I found this placement and style initially cumbersome, especially when taking a selfie as I couldn't immediately engage the auto focus by half pressing it down.
To be clear, this might be just be because it was my first time using it and could become more easier, but I will say it's not initially intuitive. That's also not to say that all the buttons are like this. The spin dials and crank for printing photos, for instance, are extremely tactile and easy to use.
Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo: Performance
This image was shot with the warm film effect and color shift lens effect settings turned on. (Image credit: Future)
Plenty of scope to try different looks, with 100 creative combinations
The widest-ever Instax lens and wide-format prints give extra breathing room for your subjects
The Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo's built-in film and lens effects make experimenting with different styles extremely easy. The fact that you can create 100 different creative combinations with these settings means there's plenty of room to play around.
Indeed, there's even an Instax Wide app for even more editing options as well as a 'Discovery Feed' for sharing and seeing fellow creations. While I haven't yet had a chance to test these out properly, I did find these effects to cover a lot of different styles during a brief session with the new camera.
When it comes to the picture quality overall, I'm most interested in testing out how the film prints compare to those taken on an instant camera as the images are digital first on the Evo Wide. This is a big deal for me because I'm split between analog and digital, and this in my opinion takes a bit of the magic away.
For context, I bought my first Instax in 2014 and of course quickly realised how expensive this style of photography is after discarding some duds, which made me even more selective with every picture I took. My boyfriend decided to buy me an Instax printer to solve this issue, but this for me took away what I loved about the style in the first place. I also found that picture quality wasn't on par.
The dial on the right side of the Instax Wide Evo is for switching between the 10 different film effects. (Image credit: Future)
Could a hybrid instant camera offer the perfect middle ground? Or will it be just another printer? I'll be sure to report back as soon as I've had a chance to put the new Instax Wide Evo through its paces properly.
In terms of the wide-angle prints, the larger size makes them feel much more premium than the smaller rectangular formats that mimic your smartphone pictures and is much more akin to the classic square instant prints that were once more popular. The Wide Evo has a dedicated button on the front of it that turns off the wide-angle, but I can't see myself personally using this a lot, but it's a nice feature that nods to its hybrid functionality.
Could this replace the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo as the best hybrid instant camera? I couldn't possibly say without having tested it, but I'll be sure to report back with more details once I've got a sample in.
How I tested the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo
A one hour hands-on session at the UK launch event
I tried various filters, two lenses and selfie mode
My time with the Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo was very brief – just a one hour session at the UK launch event in London. However, during this time, I had decent chance to get a feel for the camera; how it handles for regular photos and selfies, plus the various filter and film effects possible through the physical controls on the camera.
Truecaller today is rolling out an update for its iOS app, which finally brings it on par with the Android update. Starting with this update, iOS users will get the same automatic unknown or spam call blocking that Android users have enjoyed with the app over the years.
The latest Truecaller update for iOS leverages the new iOS 18 feature called Live Caller ID Lookup, which enables apps like Truecaller to provide live caller ID for calls. Truecaller says that this API uses state-of-the-art homomorphic encryption and that it is the first in the world to deploy this at scale for caller...
