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Recensione Redmi Buds 6
3:44 pm | February 4, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phone & Communications Pro | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Redmi Buds 6: Recensione rapida

Gli auricolari true wireless sono diventati un accessorio indispensabile per chi desidera ascoltare musica, effettuare chiamate o seguire contenuti multimediali senza fili e con la massima libertà di movimento. Xiaomi, con la serie Redmi Buds, ha sempre puntato su un ottimo rapporto qualità-prezzo, offrendo dispositivi accessibili ma ricchi di funzionalità. Con i nuovi Redmi Buds 6, il brand cerca di alzare ulteriormente l’asticella, proponendo un doppio driver per una qualità audio superiore, cancellazione attiva del rumore fino a 49 dB e un’autonomia prolungata.

Rispetto ai modelli precedenti, i Redmi Buds 6 migliorano diversi aspetti chiave, come la qualità del suono, la riduzione del rumore e il comfort. Pur mantenendo un prezzo competitivo di circa 43 euro, offrono funzioni avanzate che si trovano solitamente su dispositivi più costosi. Tuttavia, ci sono anche alcune limitazioni da considerare, come la mancanza della ricarica wireless e la scelta di un cavo USB-A a USB-C invece di un più moderno USB-C a USB-C. In questa recensione analizzeremo nel dettaglio tutti i pro e i contro, valutando se i Redmi Buds 6 rappresentano davvero la scelta ideale per chi cerca auricolari economici ma performanti.

Redmi Buds 6

(Image credit: Redmi Buds 6)

Redmi Buds 6: Design, comodità, ergonomia

I Redmi Buds 6 si distinguono per un design moderno e compatto, progettato per un uso quotidiano confortevole e discreto. La custodia ha una finitura opaca che migliora la presa e riduce le impronte, un dettaglio che la rende più elegante e resistente nel tempo. È disponibile in tre colorazioni: Ivy Green, nero e bianco, permettendo una scelta estetica più ampia rispetto a molti concorrenti nella stessa fascia di prezzo.

Il peso ridotto della custodia (43,2 g con gli auricolari inclusi) la rende facilmente trasportabile in tasca o in una borsa senza risultare ingombrante. Anche gli auricolari, che pesano solo 5 g ciascuno, sono leggeri e ben bilanciati, riducendo la fatica anche durante sessioni prolungate di ascolto.

Per garantire la migliore vestibilità possibile, Xiaomi include punte in silicone intercambiabili in più misure. Questo dettaglio è fondamentale per migliorare sia l’isolamento passivo dal rumore esterno sia il comfort, evitando che gli auricolari si spostino o risultino fastidiosi dopo un uso prolungato. Inoltre, la certificazione IP54 assicura resistenza a polvere e schizzi, rendendoli adatti all’uso in palestra o sotto la pioggia leggera.

Un aspetto da considerare è l’assenza della ricarica wireless, una funzione sempre più diffusa anche in modelli economici. Sebbene comprensibile per un dispositivo dal prezzo contenuto, avrebbe migliorato ulteriormente la comodità d’uso. Inoltre, il cavo incluso è USB-A a USB-C, una scelta che potrebbe risultare meno pratica per chi utilizza principalmente caricabatterie USB-C a USB-C.

Redmi Buds 6

(Image credit: Redmi Buds 6)

Redmi Buds 6: Applicazione per smartphone

I Redmi Buds 6 sono compatibili con l’app Xiaomi Earbuds, disponibile per Android e iOS, che aggiunge un livello di personalizzazione e controllo avanzato alle cuffie. L’interfaccia è intuitiva e ben organizzata, permettendo di monitorare la batteria sia degli auricolari che della custodia, nonché di regolare impostazioni fondamentali per l’esperienza d’ascolto.

Tra le funzioni principali, spicca la possibilità di personalizzare i comandi touch per ogni auricolare, consentendo di assegnare azioni diverse a tocchi singoli, doppi o prolungati. È possibile, ad esempio, attivare/disattivare l’ANC, gestire la riproduzione musicale, rispondere alle chiamate o attivare l’assistente vocale.

L’app include anche quattro preset EQ per adattare il suono alle preferenze personali:

Bilanciato – un profilo neutro per la maggior parte degli ascoltatori.

Bassi potenziati – ideale per chi ascolta generi come EDM, hip-hop o rock.

Voce enfatizzata – perfetto per podcast, audiolibri e videochiamate.

Alti migliorati – consigliato per generi musicali con strumenti ad alta frequenza, come jazz o musica classica.

Un aspetto molto apprezzato è il supporto al dual device pairing, che permette di collegare due dispositivi contemporaneamente. Questa funzione è particolarmente utile per chi lavora con un laptop e uno smartphone, evitando la necessità di riconnessioni manuali. Ad esempio, si può ascoltare musica dal computer e passare automaticamente alle chiamate in arrivo sul telefono.

L’app offre inoltre strumenti pratici come il test di tenuta delle punte auricolari, che aiuta a verificare la corretta aderenza degli auricolari al condotto uditivo per migliorare isolamento e comfort. Infine, consente di aggiornare il firmware, garantendo che gli auricolari siano sempre ottimizzati con le ultime migliorie software.

Redmi Buds 6

(Image credit: Redmi Buds 6)

Redmi Buds 6: Isolamento passivo

Grazie al design in-ear, i Redmi Buds 6 offrono un buon isolamento passivo già senza la necessità di attivare l’ANC. La forma ergonomica e il peso ridotto (5 g per auricolare) permettono una tenuta salda e confortevole, riducendo naturalmente il rumore esterno. Questo aspetto è particolarmente utile in ambienti rumorosi, come uffici, trasporti pubblici o palestre, dove un buon isolamento passivo migliora l’esperienza d’ascolto senza dover sempre ricorrere alla cancellazione attiva del rumore.

Un ulteriore supporto all’isolamento è dato dalle punte in silicone intercambiabili, che consentono di adattare gli auricolari alle diverse conformazioni dell’orecchio. L’app Xiaomi Earbuds include inoltre un test di vestibilità, che verifica la corretta aderenza degli auricolari al condotto uditivo e aiuta a scegliere la misura di gommini più adatta. Questo non solo ottimizza l’isolamento acustico, ma migliora anche la resa sonora complessiva, evitando dispersioni di bassi e assicurando un audio più definito.

La leggerezza e la forma compatta delle Buds 6 le rendono ideali anche per l’attività fisica, garantendo stabilità anche durante movimenti intensi, come corsa o allenamenti in palestra.

Redmi Buds 6

(Image credit: Redmi Buds 6)

Redmi Buds 6: Riduzione del suono ANC

I Redmi Buds 6 offrono una cancellazione attiva del rumore (ANC) fino a 49 dB, un valore notevole per questa fascia di prezzo. Grazie ai quattro microfoni integrati, gli auricolari analizzano i suoni ambientali e li eliminano in tempo reale, migliorando sensibilmente l’esperienza d’ascolto, specialmente in ambienti rumorosi.

Nei test effettuati su voli, trasporti pubblici e uffici affollati, le Buds 6 si sono dimostrate molto efficaci nel ridurre rumori di fondo costanti, come il ronzio dei motori, il brusio delle persone o il ticchettio delle tastiere. Anche se non raggiungono il livello di cancellazione di modelli premium, la loro performance è più che adeguata per la maggior parte degli utenti.

L’app Xiaomi Earbuds consente di regolare l’intensità dell’ANC in base alle necessità, permettendo di scegliere tra più livelli di cancellazione. Questo è utile per trovare il giusto equilibrio tra isolamento e comfort, evitando quella sensazione di pressione auricolare che alcuni utenti avvertono con ANC troppo aggressivi.

Un’altra funzione apprezzata è la modalità trasparenza, che permette di amplificare i suoni ambientali, rendendo più facile ascoltare annunci nei trasporti pubblici o interagire con le persone senza dover rimuovere gli auricolari. La modalità voce migliorata è particolarmente utile per chiamate o conversazioni rapide, enfatizzando il parlato e filtrando il rumore di sottofondo.

Grazie alla combinazione di ANC efficace e modalità trasparenza ben implementata, le Buds 6 risultano ideali sia per chi vuole immergersi completamente nella musica o nel lavoro, sia per chi ha bisogno di rimanere consapevole dell’ambiente circostante.

Redmi Buds 6: Qualità musica

I Redmi Buds 6 offrono una qualità audio sorprendente per la loro fascia di prezzo, grazie all’architettura a doppio driver. Ogni auricolare è dotato di un driver dinamico in titanio da 12,4 mm, responsabile dei bassi potenti e della resa delle frequenze medio-basse, e di un driver piezoelettrico in ceramica da 5,5 mm, che migliora la riproduzione degli alti e la separazione dei dettagli sonori. Questa combinazione, solitamente riservata a modelli più costosi, garantisce un suono ricco e bilanciato, con un’ottima definizione degli strumenti e delle voci.

La mancanza di un equalizzatore personalizzabile può risultare una limitazione per gli utenti più esigenti, che preferiscono regolare manualmente le frequenze in base ai propri gusti. Tuttavia, la qualità audio offerta dal doppio driver compensa questa assenza, garantendo una riproduzione fedele e ben equilibrata.

Nel complesso, le Buds 6 si distinguono per una resa sonora dettagliata e dinamica, rendendole una scelta eccellente per chi cerca auricolari economici senza rinunciare a una buona esperienza musicale.

Redmi Buds 6

(Image credit: Redmi Buds 6)

Redmi Buds 6: Qualità audio in chiamata

I Redmi Buds 6 sono progettate per garantire una qualità audio in chiamata chiara e affidabile, grazie a un sistema a quattro microfoni con riduzione del rumore AI. Questa tecnologia analizza e filtra i suoni di sottofondo, migliorando la nitidezza della voce e riducendo le interferenze ambientali.

Nei test effettuati in ambienti chiusi, come uffici o stanze silenziose, le Buds 6 garantiscono una trasmissione vocale pulita e naturale, senza distorsioni o eccessiva compressione del suono. All’aperto, in contesti più rumorosi come strade trafficate o luoghi affollati, la riduzione del rumore AI si dimostra efficace nel minimizzare il vento e i rumori di fondo, permettendo all’interlocutore di sentire chiaramente la conversazione.

Un ulteriore vantaggio è la possibilità di utilizzare un solo auricolare per le chiamate, utile per chi preferisce mantenere un orecchio libero per ascoltare l’ambiente circostante.

Queste caratteristiche rendono i Redmi Buds 6 particolarmente adatte a chi utilizza spesso gli auricolari per riunioni di lavoro, chiamate su piattaforme come Zoom o Teams, o semplicemente per conversazioni telefoniche in mobilità, senza preoccuparsi della qualità del microfono.

Redmi Buds 6: Batteria

I Redmi Buds 6 si distinguono per un’autonomia eccellente, superando molti concorrenti nella stessa fascia di prezzo. Gli auricolari offrono fino a 10 ore di utilizzo continuo senza ANC e circa 5 ore con la cancellazione del rumore attiva. Questo permette di coprire un’intera giornata lavorativa o lunghe sessioni di ascolto senza doverli ricaricare frequentemente.

La custodia di ricarica amplia ulteriormente l’autonomia, portandola a un totale di 42 ore, garantendo così diversi giorni di utilizzo senza necessità di collegare il dispositivo alla corrente. Un punto di forza è il supporto alla ricarica rapida, che permette di ottenere fino a 2 ore di riproduzione con pochi minuti di ricarica, una funzionalità particolarmente utile in situazioni di emergenza.

Un aspetto da considerare è la mancanza della ricarica wireless, che avrebbe migliorato ulteriormente l’usabilità, specialmente per chi utilizza caricabatterie wireless con il proprio smartphone o altri accessori. Inoltre, il cavo incluso nella confezione è USB-A a USB-C, una scelta che può risultare meno pratica per chi utilizza principalmente caricabatterie USB-C a USB-C, ormai standard nei dispositivi più recenti.

Nonostante questi piccoli compromessi, i Redmi Buds 6 si confermano tra le migliori opzioni in termini di durata della batteria e velocità di ricarica, offrendo un’ottima esperienza d’uso per chi cerca auricolari affidabili e con una lunga autonomia.

Redmi Buds 6: Confronto con altre varianti

La gamma Redmi Buds 6 include diverse varianti, pensate per soddisfare esigenze e budget differenti. Il modello Redmi Buds 6 Lite è la versione più economica, ma mantiene un buon livello di cancellazione del rumore fino a 40 dB e un driver dinamico da 12,4 mm. La sua autonomia arriva a 7 ore di utilizzo continuo e 38 ore con la custodia.

I Redmi Buds 6 Play sono invece prive di ANC, ma offrono un driver da 10 mm e cinque modalità EQ per personalizzare l’audio. Hanno un’autonomia leggermente superiore, con 7,5 ore di utilizzo e un totale di 36 ore con la custodia.

I Redmi Buds 6 Active presentano un design semi-in-ear, che privilegia il comfort rispetto all’isolamento passivo. Sono dotate di un driver più ampio da 14,2 mm, ma l’autonomia è inferiore rispetto agli altri modelli, con 6 ore di riproduzione continua e 30 ore complessive.

Infine, i Redmi Buds 6 Pro rappresentano la versione più avanzata, con un sistema a triplo driver (11 mm + 2 piezoelettrici), supporto all’audio Hi-Res LDAC e una cancellazione del rumore fino a 55 dB. Questo modello è pensato per chi cerca la massima qualità audio e una cancellazione del rumore superiore.

Redmi Buds 6, ne vale la pena?

I Redmi Buds 6 offrono un equilibrio ideale tra funzionalità avanzate e prezzo accessibile, posizionandosi come una delle migliori opzioni nella loro fascia di mercato. Con un costo di circa 43 euro, questi auricolari garantiscono un’eccellente qualità audio grazie al sistema a doppio driver, una cancellazione attiva del rumore efficace fino a 49 dB e un’autonomia prolungata che permette di affrontare giornate intere senza preoccupazioni.

Alcune mancanze, come l’assenza della ricarica wireless e il cavo USB-A a USB-C anziché un più moderno USB-C a USB-C, avrebbero potuto migliorare ulteriormente l’esperienza d’uso. Tuttavia, considerando la qualità complessiva, queste limitazioni risultano secondarie rispetto ai numerosi vantaggi offerti.

I Redmi Buds 6 sono una scelta consigliata per chi cerca auricolari versatili, performanti e dal prezzo competitivo, senza rinunciare a funzionalità avanzate come l’ANC, la personalizzazione tramite app e il dual device pairing. Un prodotto solido, capace di soddisfare sia chi desidera un’esperienza musicale immersiva sia chi necessita di auricolari affidabili per chiamate e utilizzo quotidiano.

Ragioni per comprare

Audio di qualità con doppio driver

Il sistema a doppio driver (12,4 mm + 5,5 mm piezoelettrico) offre bassi profondi, alti cristallini e ottima separazione sonora.

ANC efficace fino a 49 dB

La cancellazione attiva del rumore riduce significativamente i rumori esterni, migliorando l’esperienza d’ascolto su voli, trasporti pubblici o ambienti affollati.

Autonomia eccellente e ricarica rapida

Le 10 ore di utilizzo continuo e le 42 ore totali garantiscono un’intera giornata di ascolto senza interruzioni.

Ragioni per NON comprare

Manca la ricarica wireless

L’assenza di ricarica wireless può essere un limite per chi possiede uno smartphone compatibile e vuole maggiore comodità.

No supporto a codec avanzati

Manca la compatibilità con aptX o LHDC, limitando la qualità audio per chi cerca un suono ad alta risoluzione su dispositivi compatibili.

No equalizzatore personalizzato

L’app Xiaomi Earbuds offre solo quattro preset EQ, ma manca la possibilità di regolare manualmente le frequenze audio preferite.

Alternative

Se i Redmi Buds 6 non ti convincono del tutto, esistono diverse opzioni valide nella stessa fascia di prezzo o leggermente superiore. Ecco tre alternative da considerare, ognuna con caratteristiche specifiche che potrebbero meglio adattarsi alle tue esigenze.

Huawei FreeBuds SE 2

Questi auricolari semi-in-ear offrono un’ottima ergonomia e una qualità audio equilibrata, con autonomia fino a 40 ore grazie alla custodia di ricarica. Pur non avendo ANC, la loro vestibilità garantisce un discreto isolamento passivo. Sono ideali per chi cerca auricolari leggeri e comodi per un utilizzo quotidiano.

Sony WF-C510

Sony è sinonimo di qualità audio, e i WF-C510 offrono un suono ricco e dettagliato con supporto DSEE, che migliora la resa delle tracce audio compresse. L’autonomia è eccellente, con 10 ore per carica e fino a 30 ore con la custodia. Non hanno ANC, ma compensano con una resa sonora superiore.

SoundPEATS Air3 Deluxe HS

Questi auricolari Hi-Res certificati sono tra i migliori nella loro fascia di prezzo per qualità audio. Supportano il codec LDAC, offrendo una maggiore fedeltà sonora rispetto ai normali SBC/AAC. Sono semi-in-ear, quindi non offrono ANC, ma la loro qualità audio e connettività stabile li rendono un’ottima alternativa.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 review: nearly RTX 4090 performance for a whole lot less
5:00 pm | January 29, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Computing Components Gadgets | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Two-minute review

At first glance, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 doesn't seem like that much of an upgrade from the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 it is replacing, but that's only part of the story with this graphics card.

Its performance, to be clear, is unquestioningly solid, positioning it as the third-best graphics card on the market right now, by my testing, and its new PCIe 5.0 interface and GDDR7 VRAM further distances it from the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super from the last generation. It also outpaces the best AMD graphics card, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, by a healthy margin, pretty much locking up the premium, enthusiast-grade GPUs in Nvidia's corner for at least another generation.

Most impressively, it does this all for the same price as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super and RX 7900 XTX: $999 / £939 / AU$2,019. This is also a rare instance where a graphics card launch price actually recedes from the high watermark set by its predecessor, as the RTX 5080 climbs down from the inflated price of the RTX 4080 when it launched back in 2022 for $1,199 / £1,189 / AU$2,219.

Then, of course, there's the new design of the card, which features a slimmer dual-slot profile, making it easier to fit into your case (even if the card's length remains unchanged). The dual flow-through fan cooling solution does wonders for managing the extra heat generated by the extra 40W TDP, and while the 12VHPWR cable connector is still present, the 3-to-1 8-pin adapter is at least somewhat less ridiculous the RTX 5090's 4-to-1 dongle.

The new card design also repositions the power connector itself to make it less cumbersome to plug a cable into the card, though it does pretty much negate any of the 90-degree angle cables that gained popularity with the high-end RTX 40 series cards.

Finally, everything is built off of TSMC's 4nm N4 process node, making it one of the most cutting-edge GPUs on the market in terms of its architecture. While AMD and Intel will follow suit with their own 4nm GPUs soon (AMD RDNA 4 also uses TSMC's 4nm process node and is due to launch in March), right now, Nvidia is the only game in town for this latest hardware.

None of that would matter though if the card didn't perform, however, but gamers and enthusiasts can rest assured that even without DLSS 4, you're getting a respectable upgrade. It might not have the wow factor of the beefier RTX 5090, but for gaming, creating, and even AI workloads, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is a spectacular balance of performance, price, and innovation that you won't find anywhere else at this level.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Price & availability

An RTX 5080 sitting on its retail packaging

(Image credit: Future)
  • How much is it? MSRP is $999 / £939 / AU$2,019
  • When can you get it? The RTX 5080 goes on sale January 30, 2025
  • Where is it available? The RTX 5080 will be available in the US, UK, and Australia at launch
Where to buy the RTX 5080

Looking to pick up the RTX 5080? Check out our Where to buy RTX 5080 live blog for updates to find stock in the US and UK

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 goes on sale on January 30, 2025, starting at $999 / £939 / AU$2,019 for the Founders Edition and select AIB partner cards, while overclocked (OC) and more feature-rich third-party cards will be priced higher.

This puts the Nvidia RTX 5080 about $200 / £200 / AU$200 cheaper than the launch price of the last-gen RTX 4080, while also matching the price of the RTX 4080 Super.

Both of those RTX 40 series GPUs should see some downward price pressure as a result of the RTX 5080 release, which might complicate the value proposition of the RTX 5080 over the other,

The RTX 5080 is also launching at the same MSRP as the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is AMD's top GPU right now. And with AMD confirming that it does not intend to launch an enthusiast-grade RDNA 4 GPU this generation, the RTX 5080's only real competition is from other Nvidia graphics cards like the RTX 4080 Super or RTX 5090.

This makes the RTX 5080 a great value proposition for those looking to buy a premium 4K graphics card, as its price-to-performance ratio is very strong.

  • Value: 4 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Specs & features

A masculine hand holding an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 showing off the power connector

(Image credit: Future)
  • GDDR7 VRAM and PCIe 5.0
  • Still just 16GB VRAM
  • Slightly higher 360W TDP

While the Nvidia RTX 5080 doesn't push the spec envelope quite as far as the RTX 5090 does, its spec sheet is still impressive.

For starters, like the RTX 5090, the RTX 5080 uses the faster, next-gen PCIe 5.0 interface that allows for faster data processing and coordination with the CPU, which translates directly into higher performance.

You also have new GDDR7 VRAM in the RTX 5080, only the second card to have it after the RTX 5090, and it dramatically increases the memory bandwidth and speed of the RTX 5080 compared to the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super. Those latter two cards both use slower GDDR6X memory, so even though all three cards have the same amount of memory (16GB) and memory bus-width (256-bit), the RTX 5080 has a >25% faster effective memory speed of 30Gbps, compared to the 23Gbps of the RTX 4080 Super and the 22.4Gbps on the base RTX 4080.

This is all on top of the Blackwell GPU inside the card, which is built on TSMC's 4nm process, compared to the Lovelace GPUs in the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super, which use TSMC's 5nm process. So even though the transistor count on the RTX 5080 is slightly lower than its predecessor's, the smaller transistors are faster and more efficient.

The RTX 5080 also has a higher SM count, 84, compared to the RTX 4080's 76 and the RTX 4080 Super's 80, meaning the RTX 5080 has the commensurate increase in shader cores, ray tracing cores, and Tensor cores. It also has a slightly faster boost clock (2,617MHz) than its predecessor and the 4080 Super variant.

Finally, there is a slight increase in the card's TDP, 360W compared to the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super's 320W.

  • Specs & features: 4.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Design

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 leaning against its retail packaging with the RTX 5080 logo visible

(Image credit: Future)
  • Slimmer dual-slot form factor
  • Dual flow-through cooling system

The redesign of the Nvidia RTX 5080 is identical to that of the RTX 5090, featuring the same slimmed-down dual slot profile as Nvidia's flagship card.

If I were to guess, the redesign of the RTX 5080 isn't as essential as it is for the RTX 5090, which needed a way to bring better cooling for the much hotter 575W TDP, and the RTX 5080 (and eventually the RTX 5070) just slotted into this new design by default.

That said, it's still a fantastic change, especially as it makes the RTX 5080 thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

The dual flow through cooling system on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080

(Image credit: Future)

The core of the redesign is the new dual flow-through cooling solution, which uses an innovative three-part PCB inside to open up a gap at the front of the card, allowing a second fan to blow cooler air over the heat sink fins drawing heat away from the GPU.

A view of the comparative slot width of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 4080

(Image credit: Future)

This means that you don't need as thick of a heat sink to pull away heat, which allows the card itself to get the same thermal performance from a thinner form factor, moving from the triple-slot RTX 4080 design down to a dual-slot RTX 5080. In practice, this also allows for a slight increase in the card's TDP, giving the card a bit of a performance boost as well, just from implementing a dual flow-through design.

Given that fact, I would not be surprised if other card makers follow suit, and we start getting much slimmer graphics cards as a result.

A masculine hand holding an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 showing off the power connector

(Image credit: Future)

The only other design choice of note is the 90-degree turn of the 16-pin power port, which should make it easier to plug the 12VHPWR connector into the card. The RTX 4080 didn't suffer nearly the same kinds of issues with its power connectors as the RTX 4090 did, so this design choice really flows down from engineers trying to fix potential problems with the much more power hungry 5090. But, if you're going to implement it for your flagship card, you might as well put it on all of the Founders Edition cards.

Unfortunately, this redesign means that if you invested in a 90-degree-angled 12VHPWR cable, it won't work on the RTX 5080 Founders Edition, though third-party partner cards will have a lot of different designs, so you should be able to find one that fits your cable situation..

  • Design: 4.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: Performance

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 slotted and running on a test bench

(Image credit: Future)
  • Excellent all-around performance
  • Moderately more powerful than the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super, but nearly as fast as the RTX 4090 in gaming
  • You'll need DLSS 4 to get the best results
A note on my data

The charts shown below are the most recent test data I have for the cards tested for this review and may change over time as more card results are added and cards are retested. The 'average of all cards tested' includes cards not shown in these charts for readability purposes.

A note on the RTX 4080 Super

In my testing for this review, the RTX 4080 Super scored consistently lower than it has in the past, which I believe is an issue with my card specifically that isn't reflective of its actual performance. I'm including the data from the RTX 4080 Super for transparency's sake, but I wouldn't take these numbers as-is. I'll be retesting the RTX 4080 Super soon, and will update my data with new scores once I've troubleshot the issue.

Performance is king, though, and so naturally all the redesign and spec bumps won't amount to much if the RTX 5080 doesn't deliver better performance as a result, and fortunately it does—though maybe not as much as some enthusiasts would like.

Overall, the RTX 5080 manages to score about 13% better than the RTX 4080 and about 19% better than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, a result that will disappoint some (especially after seeing the 20-25% uplift on the RTX 5090) who were hoping for something closer to 20% or better.

If we were just to go off those numbers, some might call them disappointing, regardless of all the other improvements to the RTX 5080 in terms of design and specs. All this needs to be put in a broader context though, because my perspective changed once I compared the RTX 5080 to the RTX 4090.

Overall, the RTX 5080 is within 12% of the overall performance of the RTX 4090, and within 9% of the RTX 4090's gaming performance, which is a hell of a thing and simply can't be ignored, even by enthusiasts.

Starting with the card's synthetic benchmarks, the card scores about 13% better than the RTX 4080 and RX 7900 XTX, with the RTX 5080 consistently beating out the RTX 4080 and substantially beating the RX 7900 XTX in ray-traced workloads (though the RX 7900 XTX does pull down a slightly better average 1080p rasterization score, to its credit.

Compared to the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 comes in at about 15% slower on average, with its worst performance coming at lower resolutions. At 4K, though, the RTX 5080 comes in just 7% slower than the last-gen flagship.

In terms of compute performance, the RTX 5080 trounces the RX 7900 XTX, as expected, by about 38%, with a more modest 9% improvement over the RTX 4080. Against the RTX 4090, however, the RTX 5080 comes within just 5% of the RTX 4090's Geekbench compute scores. If you're looking for a cheap AI card, the RTX 5080 is definitely going to be your jam.

On the creative side, PugetBench for Creators Adobe Photoshop benchmark still isn't working for the RTX 5080 Super, so I can't tell you much about its creative raster performance yet (though I will update these charts once that issue is fixed), but going off the 3D modeling and video editing scores, the RTX 5080 is an impressive GPU, as expected.

The entire 3D modeling industry is effectively built on Nvidia's CUDA, so against the RTX 5080, the RX 7900 XTX doesn't stand a chance as the 5080 more than doubles the RX 7900 XTX's Blender Benchmark performance. Gen-on-gen though, the RTX 5080 comes in with about 8% better performance.

Against the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 comes within 15% on its performance, and for good measure, if you're rocking an RTX 3090 and you're curious about the RTX 5080, the RTX 5080 outperforms the RTX 3090 by about 75% in Blender Benchmark. If you're on an RTX 3090 and want to upgrade, you'll probably still be better off with an RTX 4090, but if you can't find one, the RTX 5080 is a great alternative.

In terms of video editing performance, the RTX 5080 doesn't do as well as its predecessor in PugetBench for Creators Adobe Premiere and effectively ties in my Handbrake 4K to 1080p encoding test. I expect that once the RTX 5080 launches, Puget Systems will be able to update its tools for the new RTX 50 series, so these scores will likely change, but for now, it is what it is, and you're not going to see much difference in your video editing workflows with this card over its predecessor.

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 slotted into a motherboard

(Image credit: Future)

The RTX 5080 is Nvidia's premium "gaming" card, though, so its gaming performance is what's going to matter to the vast majority of buyers out there. For that, you won't be disappointed. Working just off DLSS 3 with no frame generation, the RTX 5080 will get you noticeably improved framerates gen-on-gen at 1440p and 4K, with substantially better minimum/1% framerates as well for smoother gameplay. Turn on DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation and the RTX 5080 does even better, blowing well past the RTX 4090 in some titles.

DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation is game developer-dependent, however, so even though this is the flagship gaming feature for this generation of Nvidia GPUs, not every game will feature it. For testing purposes, then, I stick to DLSS 3 without Frame Generation (and the AMD and Intel equivalents, where appropriate), since this allows for a more apples-to-apples comparison between cards.

At 1440p, the RTX 5080 gets about 13% better average fps and minimum/1% fps overall, with up to 18% better ray tracing performance. Turn on DLSS 3 to balanced and ray tracing to its highest settings and the RTX 5080 gets you about 9% better average fps than its predecessor, but a massive 58% higher minimum/1% fps, on average.

Compared to the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080's average 1440p fps comes within 7% of the RTX 4090's, and within 2% of its minimum/1% fps, on average. In native ray-tracing performance, the RTX 5080 slips to within 14% of the RTX 4090's average fps and within 11% of its minimum/1% performance. Turn on balanced upscaling, however, and everything changes, with the RTX 5080 comes within just 6% of the RTX 4090's ray-traced upscaled average fps, and beats the RTX 4090's minimum/1% fps average by almost 40%.

Cranking things up to 4K, and the RTX 5080's lead over the RTX 4080 grows a good bit. With no ray tracing or upscaling, the RTX 5080 gets about 20% faster average fps and minimum/1% fps than the RTX 4080, overall. Its native ray tracing performance is about the same, however, and it's minimum/1% fps average actually falls behind the RTX 4080's, both with and without DLSS 3.

Against the RTX 4090, the RTX 5080 comes within 12% of its average fps and within 8% of its minimum/1% performance without ray tracing or upscaling. It falls behind considerably in native 4K ray tracing performance (which is to be expected, given the substantially higher RT core count for the RTX 4090), but when using DLSS 3, that ray tracing advantage is cut substantially and the RTX 5080 manages to come within 14% of the RTX 4090's average fps, and within 12% of its minimum/1% fps overall.

Taken together, the RTX 5080 makes some major strides in reaching RTX 4090 performance across the board, getting a little more than halfway across their respective performance gap between the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090.

The RTX 5080 beats its predecessor by just over 13% overall, and comes within 12% of the RTX 4090's overal performance, all while costing less than both RTX 40 series card's launch MSRP, making it an incredible value for a premium card to boot.

  • Performance: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080?

A masculine hand holding up an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 against a green background

(Image credit: Future)

Buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 if...

You want fantastic performance for the price
You're getting close to RTX 4090 performance for under a grand (or just over two, if you're in Australia) at MSRP.

You want to game at 4K
This card's 4K gaming performance is fantastic, coming within 12-14% of the RTX 4090's in a lot of games.

You're not willing to make the jump to an RTX 5090
The RTX 5090 is an absolute beast of a GPU, but even at its MSRP, it's double the price of the RTX 5080, so you're right to wonder if it's worth making the jump to the next tier up.

Don't buy it if...

You want the absolute best performance possible
The RTX 5080 comes within striking distance of the RTX 4090 in terms of performance, but it doesn't actually get there, much less reaching the vaunted heights of the RTX 5090.

You're looking for something more affordable
At this price, it's an approachable premium graphics card, but it's still a premium GPU, and the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 are just around the corner.

You only plan on playing at 1440p
While this card is great for 1440p gaming, it's frankly overkill for that resolution. You'll be better off with the RTX 5070 Ti if all you want is 1440p.

Also consider

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
With the release of the RTX 5090, the RTX 4090 should see it's price come down quite a bit, and if scalpers drive up the price of the RTX 5080, the RTX 4090 might be a better bet.

Read the full Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
Yes, it's double the price of the RTX 5080, and that's going to be a hard leap for a lot of folks, but if you want the best performance out there, this is it.

Read the full Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review

How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080

  • I spent about a week and a half with the RTX 5080
  • I used my complete GPU testing suite to analyze the card's performance
  • I tested the card in everyday, gaming, creative, and AI workload usage
Test System Specs

Here are the specs on the system I used for testing:

Motherboard: ASRock Z790i Lightning WiFi
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
CPU Cooler:
Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
SSD:
Crucial T705
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
Case: Praxis Wetbench

I spent about a week testing the RTX 5080, using my updated suite of benchmarks like Black Myth Wukong, 3DMark Steel Nomad, and more.

I also used this card as my primary work GPU where I relied on it for photo editing and design work, while also testing out a number of games on it like Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth Wukong, and others.

I've been testing graphics cards for TechRadar for a couple of years now, with more than two dozen GPU reviews under my belt. I've extensively tested and retested all of the graphics cards discussed in this review, so I'm intimately familiar with their performance. This gives me the best possible position to judge the merits of the RTX 5080, and whether it's the best graphics card for your needs and budget.

  • Originally reviewed January 2024
Honor keeps teasing Galaxy S25 about its slow charging, AI features
12:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

Last week, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 series, and Honor was quick to mock its rival for all the ways its own recently launched flagship has it beat. The campaign was extended to social media, where Honor claimed the Magic7 Pro covers all user needs. In contrast, the Chinese company believes, Samsung users may require several additional accessories to compete with Honor's flagship for portrait photography, zoom capabilities, and battery charging. Honor posted those on various social media pages The social media campaign showcased images highlighting the Magic7 Pro's...

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: one of the best-value cheap phones you can buy right now
1:00 am | January 27, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Xiaomi Phones | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro two-minute review

For some reason, Chinese phone maker Xiaomi doesn’t make as much of a song-and-dance about devices from its budget sub-brand Poco as it does about those from its other budget sub-brand, Redmi. However, the Poco X7 Pro is a great example of why it should.

Released at the start of 2025 alongside a non-Pro sibling (and some Redmi phones), the Poco X7 Pro has a price that firmly puts it in the cheap phone category, costing less than half the price of a new iPhone. However, it offers enough useful features that you might consider putting down your Apple mobile or Samsung Galaxy S device for this budget blower. The Poco X7 Pro does a great job at pretending to be a premium handset in all departments except the price.

Like many other Pocophone handsets, the X7 Pro is designed with power in mind — it has the same amount of processing power as many 2024 flagships, as well as oodles of RAM and loads of storage space. In my experience, gaming was just as quick and smooth here as on some of the best Android phones.

The display is fantastic-looking too, squeezing extra pixels compared to most Android phones and offering more nits (the measurement of brightness). It’s bright and colorful enough to make iPhone users green (and you’ll be able to tell which shade of green too!).

You can rely on cheap phones to offer huge batteries but again, Poco has gone above and beyond with the X7 Pro, packing in a 6,000mAh battery. That’s one of the biggest power packs you’ll find on a phone that’s not designed for building sites or wilderness survival, and it’ll make sure the average user can text for days on end without needing a recharge.

The version of the Poco X7 Pro I tested also had a faux leather textured cladding which just adds points to the premium tally, however not all versions of the phone are like this. The green and black versions are just plastic.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows here and, as usual, Poco drops the ball — or, more likely, opts not to carry it in the first place — in the camera department. Photos aren’t awful but they often look denatured and there aren’t many features you can use to super-charge your photography.

Plus, as phone fans will have been able to guess from the word ‘Xiaomi’ in the headline, the phone’s user interface is chock-full of bloatware when you boot it up.

These are little annoyances but I still feel comfortable recommending the Poco X7 Pro as one of the best budget mobiles you can buy right now.

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: price and availability

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Starts at $299 / £309 (roughly AU$480)
  • Several variants on offer depending on region
  • Only costs a little more than Poco X7

The Poco X7 Pro was announced alongside its non-Pro sibling right at the beginning of January 2025, and went on sale immediately afterwards.

There are a few versions of the Poco X7 Pro. The cheapest has 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and costs $299 / £309 (roughly AU$480). If you want more RAM, the 12GB/256GB model sells for $239 (around £320 / AU$450). The more powerful version that I tested goes for $369 / £349 (around AU$600) and in the US there’s also an Iron Man Edition of the powerful one for $30 more.

As you can tell from the prices I’ve shared, different options are available in different regions. It's rare to see a Xiaomi phone in the US but the company lists itself on Amazon in the States.

I tested the Poco X7 Pro for a week without knowing the price, and was very surprised at how little it cost when I finally found out. It’s a great-value phone which gives buyers on a budget a really solid option.

For context, the Poco X7 costs $314 / £249 for its cheapest option, and it has a few spec downgrades across the board including a weaker processor and a smaller battery. It’s still pretty good value for money, though.

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: specs

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: design

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Three color options
  • Mid-sized phone that'll be big for some users
  • IP68 protection

Depending on which version of the Poco X7 Pro you pick up, you might deem it a generic-looking Android phone, or one that looks oddly like a race car.

The phone comes in black or green versions – which clad the mobile in a plastic frame – or, as you can see from the review images, a more unique yellow-and-black one. This version, which uses silicone polymer to create a textured faux leather feel, reminds me of racing-themed mobiles like the Realme GT, and it certainly is a distinctive look. It also feels more premium, and a touch more grip-able in the hand. If you think it’s a bit too ‘extra’, though, you should probably opt for the standard models.

These variants have the almost same dimensions: they’re 160.75 x 75.24 x 8.29 (add 0.14mm to that latter version for the yellow option) and weigh 195g (add 3g for yellow). A difference of under a millimeter, and only 3 grams, is a pretty negligible size and weight difference.

The phone has flat edges, so I could stand mine upright without a support, but they’re not as comfortable to hold in the hand as a curved-edge mobile. The power button and volume rocker are on the right edge while the USB-C port is on the bottom edge.

If you’ve got big hands, you’ll be alright with the Poco X7 Pro, but people with smaller ones should know that you probably won’t be able to reach the volume rocker — I couldn’t and I have pretty average-length digits.

All versions of the phone have IP68 certification, protecting you from submersion in water (for a limited time) and dust ingress. The Poco X7 Pro felt pretty hardy to me.

  • Design score: 3.5 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: display

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • 6.67 inches, 1220 x 2712 resolution
  • High max brightness and 120Hz refresh
  • Well-protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i

The Poco X7 Pro’s display clocks in at 6.67 inches, which is basically the average size for a Xiaomi mobile — it’s nice and big without being too unwieldy.

That’s one of the only areas in which the Poco phone aims for ‘average’, though, because many other of its display specs exceed others at its price tag.

You get a few more pixels than on most of its FHD rivals with a 1220 x 2712 resolution, and the maximum brightness reaches up to 3200 nits (that’s in lab conditions, at least, but from my testing, it got really bright).

That latter spec, combined with the use of an AMOLED panel, means that you can get some pretty vibrant colors out of the Poco X7 Pro.

Two other important specs are the 120Hz refresh rate — this feature is par for the course on most Android phones — and the use of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which probably explains how the X7 Pro survived so many drops during my testing.

  • Display score: 4 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: software

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Android 15 with Xiaomi's HyperOS 2 over the top
  • Three years of OS updates and four of security updates
  • Bloatware-riddled software

When you boot up the Poco X7 Pro, you’ll find it running Android 15 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS running over the top. The company has promised three years of updates for the phone, and an extra one of security updates.

A common gripe I have with Xiaomi software is that it comes chock-full of pre-installed third-party apps. These include a huge number of ‘normal’ ones like calculators, compasses and a calendar but for me there were also six games, a Poco app and nine third-party apps including some that I studiously avoid.

If, like me, you’re never going to use AliExpress or WPS Office (or whatever the pre-installed apps are in your region), then you’ll have to start with an app-deletion blitz when you first start using your phone.

Beyond that, HyperOS functions much the same as other Android user interfaces, in that you’re given lots of customization freedom. You can choose the font, always-on display, how icons look, how notifications appear, whether new apps get added to an app drawer or straight to your homepage, and more.

A few AI features are new here; the Notes app can translate, proofread, or summarize your notes; Recorder can create transcriptions; and videos can get AI subtitles. However, these aren’t available in all regions and none were enabled on my test phone.

  • Software score: 3.5 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: cameras

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • 50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras, 20MP for selfies
  • Photos look a little dull
  • Some AI features coming to the phone after release

Camera capabilities have never been the focal point of Poco devices and that stays true here. The phone packs 50MP f/1.5 main and 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide cameras on the back as well as a 20MP f/2.2 selfie camera on the front, and both are totally fit for purpose without being wildly impressive.

Pictures taken on the main camera are clear and bright but lack a bit of flair and color, leading to lifeless shots. It’s apparent in some pictures more than others but greenery lost some zest.

The phone is really quick to try and edit your pictures afterwards though. By default, all are taken in Live Photo mode, in case you press the shutter button at the wrong time and want to see a frame just before or after you pressed. The gallery also employs very obvious processing when you zoom into a photo, noticeably changing its color profile, which sometimes results in worse pictures.

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)

A warning to buyers: the rear camera is exactly where you rest your fingers when you’re holding the phone landscape to take a photo. Remember to move your fingers out of the way — about half the snaps I took during my main photo session have my finger poking into the frame.

Jump over to the ultra-wide camera and you’re getting pictures that don’t look great. They’re desaturated and lose lots of detail in darker areas, leading to a lifeless photo.

Video recording goes up to 4K and 60fps and there’s also Director mode, which lets you adjust things like the white balance, ISO, and aperture for video recording. Not all budget phones have this so it’s a nice addition, although I wouldn’t recommend the X7 Pro for prospective Oscar-winners.

‘Fine’ is also an accurate description of pictures taken on the front-facing camera. Generally, selfies were clear and bright, although again the colors weren’t always sparkling. Portrait mode sometimes had trouble working out where my hair began and ended but it was good at applying correct depth to objects in the mid- and background.

Other than the ones already mentioned, the Poco X7 Pro ticks off the usual camera modes: document scanning, night photography, high-res to shoot at 50MP instead of using pixel binning, slow motion filming, and Pro mode.

Some of the headline camera features of the Poco X7 Pro are AI-based ones: AI Erase Pro works like Magic Eraser to delete unwanted elements of photos, while AI Image Expansion reframes and expands snaps to change their composition. At the time of testing, though, these aren’t available on the phone — Xiaomi says they’ll arrive around March 2025 — so I didn’t test them.

  • Camera score: 3 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)
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Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro camera samples

(Image credit: Future)

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro: performance and audio

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Packs a Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset
  • Really powerful for gaming
  • Stereo audio but no 3.5mm jack

The Poco X7 Pro is powered by the Dimensity 8400 Ultra, a top-end chipset from Mediatek. It’s paired with RAM and storage that depends on whichever variant you picked up: 8/256GB or 16/512GB.

I had the latter and the phone was fast – it didn’t feel much different to use than a flagship which would cost you $/£1,000 more. Gaming was quick and easy, with the phone handling online titles and intensive single-player ones better than any other mobile I’ve tested at the price. It was seriously impressive.

Moreover, when I was using the mobile intensively, I never suffered any stuttering, and the phone didn’t overheat at all either. If you’re a mobile gamer, I’m going to have to give this device two thumbs up.

In a Geekbench 6 multi-core test, the average score was in the 6,100s, which cements this as a really solid performance phone. It puts it in league with 2024’s top-end phones, and possibly 2025’s too.

For audio, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, so if you like wired music you’ll have to get an adaptor for the USB-C jack, and if not rely on the BlueTooth 5.4. There are also stereo speakers and these are fine for unfussy gamers but audiophiles won’t be rocked out of their socks.

  • Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: battery life

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)
  • Huge 6,000mAh battery
  • Lasts for about two days of use
  • 90W fast charging

Phone batteries are constantly creeping up in size, as the Poco X7 Pro reminded me: it has a 6,000mAh power pack, which is bigger than that of the standard Poco X7 or the Poco X6 Pro. In fact, it’s rare to see mobiles with power packs quite this big.

People with battery anxiety, then, will find the X7 Pro a breath of fresh air — it can keep your phone ticking through intensive gaming blasts or long days out.

From my testing, the phone waltzed through a day of use and marched steadily into the second day before needing a recharge. And I used it pretty intensively too — if you don’t pick up your mobile much during the day, I can see it lasting through two full days of use.

On the topic of charging, it’s 90W, which is nice and fast. There’s no wireless or reverse charging, but with speeds like that, I can forgive it.

Poco predicts that this will see your X7 Pro go from empty to full in just over 40 minutes — in my testing period I usually powered the phone from about 10-20% to full and it took about half an hour. It’s a nice fast speed that ensures you can keep the X7 Pro going with brief charging windows, instead of having to tether your mobile to the wall for ages.

  • Battery score: 4 / 5

Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: value

The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.

(Image credit: Future)

For certain kinds of users, the Poco X7 Pro offers incredible value for money. It’s relatively cheap but has an impressively fast chipset and great-looking screen.

If you’re into your entertainment, be it gaming or streaming TV shows on the go, you’ll be getting a steal with the X7 Pro.

The Poco still makes a great value proposition for other kinds of users, and it’ll go toe-to-toe with much more expensive rivals, though if you want a camera phone, it won’t cut the mustard.

  • Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro?

Buy it if...

You're a mobile gamer
Offering blazing-fast performance, the Poco X7 Pro is a great get for mobile gamers, even ones who aren't budget-conscious.

You're on a limited budget
If you don't want to spend too much on your new phone, the Poco X7 Pro offers great value for money.

You need a long-lasting phone
A 6,000mAh battery is huge, so if you want a smartphone that'll easily last through long use periods, this Poco is a sure bet.

Don't buy it if...

You're a photographer
It's many things, but the Poco X7 Pro isn't a camera phone. Don't buy it if you want to take amazing photographs.

You're cynical about AI features
Lots of the Poco's main features are AI-related, like its camera or Notes tools. If you're not a fan of generative AI features (an understandable stance), you won't like being bombarded with said features here.

Poco X7 Pro review: Also consider

If you want to know what else is out there at this price, beyond the Poco X7 Pro, here are some other phones you should consider:

Poco X7
Naturally, the first phone to compare the Pro to is its non-Pro alternative. It's not as powerful and its battery is smaller but the display is the same, and the cameras basically are too (with the addition of a 2MP macro one). We haven't reviewed the Poco X7 yet, mind.

Moto G85
This similarly-priced phone may not be as powerful as the Poco, but on paper, it makes up for it with a chic design and clean software. We were impressed with this phone's predecessor in our Motorola Moto G84 review.

Samsung Galaxy A35
Costing the same as the higher-end Poco X7 Pros, this mobile gets you into Samsung's product range with its camera skills and extra apps.

Read our full
Samsung Galaxy A35 review

How I tested the Poco X7 Pro

  • Review test period = 2 weeks
  • Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
  • Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

I tested the Poco X7 Pro for just over two weeks for this review.

To test it, I put it through the paces of my normal phone: I texted, streamed music and TV, took photos, navigated my way around the city, and woke up from its alarms. Significantly, I also played lots of games on it.

As well as real-world use, the phone saw me perform some more 'scientific' tests including performance benchmarking and charging speed tests.

I've been testing smartphones for TechRadar for six years now, and in that time have tested plenty of low-budget mobiles including loads of Poco and Xiaomi devices.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed January 2025

OpenAI introduces Operator – an AI agent that does the research for you
12:46 pm | January 24, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, just announced Operator. It is a generative AI service that acts like an agent and performs tasks on your behalf. Using its own browser, Operator looks at a webpage and interacts with it by typing, clicking and scrolling on its own – no need for any input. The rollout will be gradual, and the first to get it are ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States. Operator can handle various repetitive browser tasks, and OpenAI claims it can fill out forms, order groceries, and even create memes. It can use the same interfaces and tools that humans...

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: the supercar of graphics cards
5:00 pm | January 23, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Computing Components Gadgets | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: Two-minute review

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is a difficult GPU to approach as a professional reviewer because it is the rare consumer product that is so powerful, and so good at what it does, you have to really examine if it is actually a useful product for people to buy.

Right out the gate, let me just lay it out for you: depending on the workload, this GPU can get you up to 50% better performance versus the GeForce RTX 4090, and that's not even factoring in multi-frame generation when it comes to gaming, though on average the performance is still a respectable improvement of roughly 21% overall.

Simply put, whatever it is you're looking to use it for, whether gaming, creative work, or AI research and development, this is the best graphics card for the job if all you care about is pure performance.

Things get a bit more complicated if you want to bring energy efficiency into the equation. But if we're being honest, if you're considering buying the Nvidia RTX 5090, you don't care about energy efficiency. This simply isn't that kind of card, and so as much as I want to make energy efficiency an issue in this review, I really can't. It's not intended to be efficient, and those who want this card do not care about how much energy this thing is pulling down—in fact, for many, the enormous TDP on this card is part of its appeal.

Likewise, I can't really argue too much with the card's price, which comes in at $1,999 / £1,939 / AU$4,039 for the Founders Edition, and which will likely be much higher for AIB partner cards (and that's before the inevitable scalping begins). I could rage, rage against the inflation of the price of premium GPUs all I want, but honestly, Nvidia wouldn't charge this much for this card if there wasn't a line out the door and around the block full of enthusiasts who are more than willing to pay that kind of money for this thing on day one.

Do they get their money's worth? For the most part, yes, especially if they're not a gamer but a creative professional or AI researcher. If you're in the latter camp, you're going to be very excited about this card.

If you're a gamer, you'll still get impressive gen-on-gen performance improvements over the celebrated RTX 4090, and the Nvidia RTX 5090 is really the first consumer graphics card I've tested that can get you consistent, high-framerate 8K gameplay even before factoring in Multi-Frame Generation. That marks the RTX 5090 as something of an inflection point of things to come, much like the Nvidia RTX 2080 did back in 2018 with its first-of-its-kind hardware ray tracing.

Is it worth it though?

That, ultimately, is up to the enthusiast buyer who is looking to invest in this card. At this point, you probably already know whether or not you want it, and many will likely be reading this review to validate those decisions that have already been made.

In that, rest easy. Even without the bells and whistles of DLSS 4, this card is a hearty upgrade to the RTX 4090, and considering that the actual price of the RTX 4090 has hovered around $2,000 for the better part of two years despite its $1,599 MSRP, if the RTX 5090 sticks close to its launch price, it's well worth the investment. If it gets scalped to hell and sells for much more above that, you'll need to consider your purchase much more carefully to make sure you're getting the most for your money. Make sure to check out our where to buy an RTX 5090 guide to help you find stock when it goes on sale.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: Price & availability

  • How much is it? MSRP is $1,999 / £1,939 / AU$4,039
  • When can you get it? The RTX 5090 goes on sale January 30, 2025
  • Where is it available? The RTX 5090 will be available in the US, UK, and Australia at launch
Where to buy the RTX 5090

Looking to pick up the RTX 5090? Check out our Where to buy RTX 5090 live blog for updates to find stock in the US and UK

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 goes on sale on January 30, 2025, starting at $1,999 / £1,939 / AU$4,039 for the Nvidia Founders Edition and select AIB partner cards. Overclocked (OC) and other similarly tweaked cards and designs will obviously run higher.

It's worth noting that the RTX 5090 is 25% more expensive than the $1,599 launch price of the RTX 4090, but in reality, we can expect the RTX 5090 to sell for much higher than its MSRP in the months ahead, so we're really looking at an asking price closer to the $2,499.99 MSRP of the Turing-era Nvidia Titan RTX (if you're lucky).

Of course, if you're in the market for the Nvidia RTX 5090, you're probably not squabbling too much about the price of the card. You're already expecting to pay the premium, especially the first adopter premium, that comes with this release.

That said, this is still a ridiculously expensive graphics card for anyone other than an AI startup with VC backing, so it's worth asking yourself before you confirm that purchase if this card is truly the right card for your system and setup.

  • Value: 3 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: Specs & features

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090's power connection port

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • First GPU with GDDR7 VRAM and PCIe 5.0
  • Slightly slower clocks
  • Obscene 575W TDP

There are a lot of new architectural changes in the Nvidia RTX 50 series GPUs that are worth diving into, especially the move to a transformer AI model for its upscaling, but let's start with the new specs for the RTX 5090.

First and foremost, the flagship Blackwell GPU is the first consumer graphics card to feature next-gen GDDR7 video memory, and it is substantially faster than GDDR6 and GDDR6X (a roughly 33% increase in Gbps over the RTX 4090). Add in the much wider 512-bit memory interface and you have a total memory bandwidth of 1,790GB/s.

This, more than even the increases VRAM pool of 32GB vs 24GB for the RTX 4090, makes this GPU the first really capable 8K graphics card on the market. 8K textures have an enormous footprint in memory, so moving them through the rendering pipelines to generate playable framerates isn't really possible with anything less than this card has.

Yes, you can, maybe, get playable 8K gaming with some RTX 40 or AMD Radeon RX 7000 series cards if you use aggressive upscaling, but you won't really be getting 8K visuals that'll be worth the effort. In reality, the RTX 5090 is what you want if you want to play 8K, but good luck finding an 8K monitor at this point. Those are still years away from really going mainstream (though there are a growing number of 8K TVs).

If you're settling in at 4K though, you're in for a treat, since all that bandwidth means faster 4K texture processing, so you can get very fast native 4K gaming with this card without having to fall back on upscaling tech to get you to 60fps or higher.

The GeForce RTX logo on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The clock speeds on the RTX 5090 are slightly slower, which is good, because the other major top-line specs for the RTX 5090 are its gargantuan TDP of 575W and its PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. For the TDP, this thermal challenge, according to Nvidia, required major reengineering of the PCB inside the card, which I'll get to in a bit.

The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, meanwhile, is the first of its kind in a consumer GPU, though you can expect AMD and Intel to quickly follow suit. Why this matters is because a number of newer motherboards have PCIe 5.0 lanes ready to go, but most people have been using those for PCIe 5.0 m.2 SSDs.

If your motherboard has 20 PCIe 5.0 lanes, the RTX 5090 will take up 16 of those, leaving just four for your SSD. If you have one PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD, you should be fine, but I've seen motherboard configurations that have two or three PCIe 5.0 x4 m.2 slots, so if you've got one of those and you've loaded them up with PCIe 5.0 SSDs, you're likely to see those SSDs drop down to the slower PCIe 4.0 speeds. I don't think it'll be that big of a deal, but it's worth considering if you've invested a lot into your SSD storage.

As for the other specs, they're more or less similar to what you'd find in the RTX 4090, just more of it. The new Blackwell GB202 GPU in the RTX 5090 is built on a TSMC 4nm process, compared to the RTX 4090's TSMC 5nm AD102 GPU. The SM design is the same, so 128 CUDA cores, one ray tracing core, and four tensor cores per SM. At 170 SMs, you've got 21,760 CUDA cores, 170 RT cores, and 680 Tensor cores for the RTX 5090, compared to the RTX 4090's 128 SMs (so 16,384 CUDA, 128 RT, and 512 Tensor cores).

  • Specs & features: 4.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: Design

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 sitting on its packaging

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • Slim, dual-slot form factor
  • Better cooling

So there's a significant change to this generation of Nvidia Founders Edition RTX flagship cards in terms of design, and it's not insubstantial.

Holding the RTX 5090 Founders Edition in your hand, you'll immediately notice two things: first, you can comfortably hold it in one hand thanks to it being a dual-slot card rather than a triple-slot, and second, it's significantly lighter than the RTX 4090.

A big part of this is how Nvidia designed the PCB inside the card. Traditionally, graphics cards have been built with a single PCB that extends from the inner edge of the PC case, down through the PCIe slot, and far enough back to accommodate all of the modules needed for the card. On top of this PCB, you'll have a heatsink with piping from the GPU die itself through a couple of dozen aluminum fins to dissipate heat, with some kind of fan or blower system to push or pull cooler air through the heated fins to carry away the heat from the GPU.

The problem with this setup is that if you have a monolithic PCB, you can only really extend the heatsinks and fans off of the PCB to help cool it since a fan blowing air directly into a plastic wall doesn't do much to help move hot air out of the graphics card.

A split view of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090's dual fan passthrough design

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Nvidia has a genuinely novel innovation on this account, and that's ditching the monolithic PCB that's been a mainstay of graphics cards for 30 years. Instead, the RTX 5090 (and presumably subsequent RTX 50-series GPUs to come), splits the PCB into three parts: the video output interface at the 'front' of the card facing out from the case, the PCIe interface segment of the card, and the main body of the PCB that houses the GPU itself as well as the VRAM modules and other necessary electronics.

This segmented design allows a gap in the front of the card below the fan, so rather than a fan blowing air into an obstruction, it can fully pass over the fins of the GPU's heatsink, substantially improving the thermals.

As a result, Nvidia is able to shrink the width of the card down considerably, moving from a 2.4-inch width to a 1.9-inch width, or a roughly 20% reduction on paper. That said, it feels substantially smaller than its predecessor, and it's definitely a card that won't completely overwhelm your PC case the way the RTX 4090 does.

The 4 8-pin to 16-pin 12VHPWR adapter included with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

That said, the obscene power consumption required by this card means that the 8-pin adapter included in the RTX 5090 package is a comical 4-to-1 dongle that pretty much no PSU in anyone's PC case can really accommodate.

Most modular PSUs give you three PCIe 8-pin power connectors at most, so let's just be honest about this setup. You're going to need to get a new ATX 3.0 PSU with at least 1000W to run this card at a minimum (it's officially recommended PSU is 950W, but just round up, you're going to need it), so make sure you factor that into your budget if you pick this card up

Otherwise, the look and feel of the card isn't that different than previous generations, except the front plate of the GPU where the RTX 5090 branding would have gone is now missing, replaced by a finned shroud to allow air to pass through. The RTX 5090 stamp is instead printed on the center panel, similar to how it was done on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition.

As a final touch, the white back-lit GeForce RTX logo and the X strips on the front of the card, when powered, add a nice RGB-lite touch that doesn't look too guady, but for RGB fans out there, you might think it looks rather plain.

  • Design: 4.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090: Performance

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 slotted into a test bench

(Image credit: Future)
  • Most powerful GPU on the consumer market
  • Substantially faster than RTX 4090
  • Playable 8K gaming
A note on my data

The charts shown below are the most recent test data I have for the cards tested for this review and may change over time as more card results are added and cards are retested. The 'average of all cards tested' includes cards not shown in these charts for readability purposes.

So how does the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 stack up against its predecessor, as well as the best 4K graphics cards on the market more broadly?

Very damn well, it turns out, managing to improve performance over the RTX 4090 in some workloads by 50% or more, while leaving everything else pretty much in the dust.

Though when looked at from 30,000 feet, the overall performance gains are respectable gen-on-gen but aren't the kind of earth-shattering gains the RTX 4090 made over the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090.

Starting with synthetic workloads, the RTX 5090 scores anywhere from 48.6% faster to about 6.7% slower than the RTX 4090 in various 3DMark tests, depending on the workload. The only poor performance for the RTX 5090 was in 3DMark Night Raid, a test where both cards so completely overwhelm the test that the difference here could be down to CPU bottlenecking or other issues that aren't easily identifiable. On every other 3DMark test, though, the RTX 5090 scores 5.6% better or higher, more often than not by 20-35%. In the most recent;y released test, Steel Nomad, the RTX 5090 is nearly 50% faster than the RTX 4090.

On the compute side of things, the RTX 5090 is up to 34.3% faster in Geekbench 6 OpenGL compute test and 53.9% faster in Vulcan, making it an absolute monster for AI researchers to leverage.

On the creative side, the RTX 5090 is substantially faster in 3D rendering, scoring between 35% and 49.3% faster in my Blender Benchmark 4.30 tests. There's very little difference between the two cards when it comes to video editing though, as they essentially tie in PugetBench for Creators' Adobe Premiere test and in Handbrake 1.7 4K to 1080p encoding.

The latter two results might be down to CPU bottlenecking, as even the RTX 4090 pushes right up against the performance ceiling set by the CPU in a lot of cases.

When it comes to gaming, the RTX 5090 is substantially faster than the RTX 4090, especially at 4K. In non-upscaled 1440p gaming, you're looking at a roughly 18% better average frame rate and a 22.6% better minimum/1% framerate for the RTX 5090. With DLSS 3 upscaling (but no frame generation), you're looking at 23.3% better average and 23% better minimum/1% framerates overall with the RTX 5090 vs the RTX 4090.

With ray tracing turn on without upscaling, you're getting 26.3% better average framerates and about 23% better minimum/1% framerates, and with upscaling turned on to balanced (again, no frame generation), you're looking at about 14% better average fps and about 13% better minimum/1% fps for the RTX 5090 against the RTX 4090.

At 4K, however, the faster memory and wider memory bus really make a difference. Without upscaling and ray tracing turned off, you're getting upwards of 200 fps at 4K for the RTX 5090 on average, compared to the RTX 4090's 154 average fps, a nearly 30% increase. The average minimum/1% fps for the RTX 5090 is about 28% faster than the RTX 4090, as well. With DLSS 3 set to balanced, you're looking at a roughly 22% better average framerate overall compared to the RTX 4090, with an 18% better minimum/1% framerate on average as well.

With ray tracing and no upscaling, the difference is even more pronounced with the RTX 5090 getting just over 34% faster average framerates compared to the RTX 4090 (with a more modest 7% faster average minimum/1% fps). Turn on balanced DLSS 3 with full ray tracing and you're looking at about 22% faster average fps overall for the RTX 5090, but an incredible 66.2% jump in average minimum/1% fps compared to the RTX 4090 at 4K.

Again, none of this even factors in single frame generation, which can already substantially increase framerates in some games (though with the introduction of some input latency). Once Multi-Frame Generation rolls out at launch, you can expect to see these framerates for the RTX 5090 run substantially higher. Pair that with Nvidia Reflex 2 to help mitigate the input latency issues frame generation can introduce, and the playable performance of the RTX 5090 will only get better with time, and it's starting from a substantial lead right out of the gate.

In the end, the overall baseline performance of the RTX 5090 comes in about 21% better than the RTX 4090, which is what you're really looking for when it comes to a gen-on-gen improvement.

That said, you have to ask whether the performance improvement you do get is worth the enormous increase in power consumption. That 575W TDP isn't a joke. I maxed out at 556W of power at 100% utilization, and I hit 100% fairly often in my testing and while gaming.

The dual flow-through fan design also does a great job of cooling the GPU, but at the expense of turning the card into a space heater. That 575W of heat needs to go somewhere, and that somewhere is inside your PC case. Make sure you have adequate airflow to vent all that hot air, otherwise everything in your case is going to slowly cook.

As far as performance-per-price, this card does slightly better than the RTX 4090 on value for the money, but that's never been a buying factor for this kind of card anyway. You want this card for its performance, plain and simple, and in that regard, it's the best there is.

  • Performance: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090?

A masculine hand holding an RTX 5090

(Image credit: Future)

Buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 if...

You want the best performance possible
From gaming to 3D modeling to AI compute, the RTX 5090 serves up best-in-class performance.

You want to game at 8K
Of all the graphics cards I've tested, the RTX 5090 is so far the only GPU that can realistically game at 8K without compromising on graphics settings.

You really want to flex
This card comes with a lot of bragging rights if you're into the PC gaming scene.

Don't buy it if...

You care about efficiency
At 575W, this card might as well come with a smokestack and a warning from your utility provider about the additional cost of running it.

You're in any way budget-conscious
This card starts off more expensive than most gaming PCs and will only become more so once scalpers get their hands on them. And that's not even factoring in AIB partner cards with extra features that add to the cost.

You have a small form-factor PC
There's been some talk about the new Nvidia GPUs being SSF-friendly, but even though this card is thinner than the RTX 4090, it's just as long, so it'll be hard to fit it into a lot of smaller cases.

Also consider

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
I mean, honestly, this is the only other card you can compare the RTX 5090 to in terms of performance, so if you're looking for an alternative to the RTX 5090, the RTX 4090 is pretty much it.

Read the full Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 review

How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

  • I spent about a week and a half with the RTX 5090
  • I used my complete GPU testing suite to analyze the card's performance
  • I tested the card in everyday, gaming, creative, and AI workload usage
Test System Specs

Here are the specs on the system I used for testing:

Motherboard: ASRock Z790i Lightning WiFi
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
CPU Cooler:
Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
SSD:
Crucial T705
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
Case: Praxis Wetbench

I spent about a week and a half testing the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, both running synthetic tests as well as using it in my day-to-day PC for both work and gaming.

I used my updated testing suite, which uses industry standard benchmark tools like 3DMark, Geekbench, Pugetbench for Creators, and various built-in gaming benchmarks. I used the same testbench setup listed to the right for the purposes of testing this card, as well as all of the other cards I tested for comparison purposes.

I've tested and retested dozens of graphics cards for the 20+ graphics card reviews I've written for TechRadar over the last few years, and so I know the ins and outs of these PC components. That's why you can trust my review process to help you make the right buying decision for your next GPU, whether it's the RTX 5090 or any of the other graphics cards I review.

  • Originally reviewed January 2024
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: I used it for two weeks, and it’s so good I don’t understand why anyone would buy the Galaxy S25 UItra
9:00 pm | January 22, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones | Tags: | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Two-minute review

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing TechRadar.com Galaxy S25 Ultra review

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue next to Galaxy S25 both showing always on displays

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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing TechRadar.com with Galaxy S25 Ultra review

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue behind Galaxy S25 in silver, both from back showing cameras

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing more setting options

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing back of phone and bottom USB-C port

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue held in hand from side showing volume and power button

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing home screen with AI generated lighthouse, standinng in between two adorable Android figurines

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue with two windows open and a pop-up video call all at once

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing settings Quick Settings drop down, standing in between two adorable Android figurines

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue held in hand showing the back

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing a TechRadar Google Meet video call, standing in between four adorable Android figurines

(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

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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera samples from the Galaxy S25 Plus

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue with Star Wars Hunters title screen showing

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing always on display with photograph in color

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in Navy Blue showing USB-C port on bottom

(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.

Read our full OnePlus 13 review

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.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

  • I tested the phone for two weeks
  • I took dozens of photos
  • I played games and watched movies
  • I checked email and worked in Slack
  • I used AI features extensively
  • 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.

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I’ve used the Galaxy S25 for a week and it’s the fastest small phone I’ve tested, but I’d trade some speed for newer cameras
9:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Two-minute review

Samsung Galaxy S25 held in hand at an angle to reflect the Samsung logo

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 from angle in hand showing bottom part of screen and USB-C port with SIM tray

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing the Now Brief screen, with a finger covering some corporate information

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 in blue, silver, light blue, and mint green

(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

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Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 on a stand showing the lock screen

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 from the back showing the cameras and Samsung logo

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing my thumb on the screen and the fingerprint reader fails to match

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing the Now Brief screen saying it will be a Windy morning

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing the side bar with AI Assist tool

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing the folder of Samsung apps preinstalled on the devices

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing camera app taking a photo of the Galaxy S25 Plus

(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.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 showing a photo of me in front of a helicopter with some random people in the background

A photo of me in front of a helicopter with some random people in the background (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 showing photo edited using AI

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

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Samsung Galaxy S25 image samples from the different cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 image samples from the different cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 image samples from the different cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 image samples from the different cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 image samples from the different cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy S25 showing the Galaxy Store for apps

(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.

Samsung Galaxy S25 in hand from side showing volume and side buttons

(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

Samsung Galaxy S25 from the bottom showing USB-C port

(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.

Read our full Apple iPhone 16 review

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.

Read our full Google Pixel 9 Pro review

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25

  • I tested the phone for more than one week
  • I took dozens of photos
  • I played games and watched movies
  • I checked email and worked in Slack
  • I used AI features extensively
  • 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

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MSI VenturePro 16 AI hands on: the perfect laptop for creatives
12:10 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Laptops | Tags: | Comments: Off

MSI VenturePro 16 AI laptop with its lid closed on display at CES 2025

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)

While MSI is typically known for its gaming gear, that hasn’t stopped them from venturing into the productivity space in the form of the VenturePro (yes, the pun was intended). Premiered at CES 2025, the MSI VenturePro 16 AI is proof that MSI is just as good at making productivity laptops as they are gaming laptops.

Equipped with a powerful CPU as well as graphics card, a component which is typically missing from productivity laptops, this laptop provides you with exceptional performance for both professional and creative endeavors.

You also get to take advantage of MSI’s brand new battery boost feature, which can provide you with up to 4 to 5 hours of extra battery life. This is excellent for those who are always on the go and need their laptop to keep performing.

Price and availability

MSI VenturePro 16 AI laptop on display at CES 2025

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)

While we don’t have a confirmed price or release date for this line of laptops yet, it’s likely that they’ll cost a pretty penny for the top end specifications which include Nvidia’s 40 series GPUs.

Other productivity laptops rarely feature dedicated GPUs, meaning having one included will likely come at a premium cost. Be prepared to shell out for this extra chunk of power baked in.

Design

MSI VenturePro 16 AI's keyboard and trackpad closeup at its display at CES 2025

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)

Upon first looking at the MSI VenturePro 16 AI, nothing about it particularly stands out design wise. It’s a very simple looking laptop with a silver chassis. While it doesn’t particularly stand out, it remains sleek and attractive.

The MSI VenturePro 16 AI weighs 4.19 lbs (1.9kg) and is 22mm in thickness. While this isn’t the bulkiest of laptops, it’s not slimline by any means. If you’re planning to use it on the go often, or you need to get it between multiple locations like home and work, this laptop may not be the best option. Of course, it wont break your back, but there are definitely lighter options out there.

In terms of ports you get one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one RJ45 and one Kensington Lock. Everything you need and more.

Opening the VenturePro 16 AI, you’ll find a 16 inch, 2K display. It has a 120hz refresh rate and is an OLED panel making for some truly stunning visuals. Regardless of if you use this notebook for content creation, creativity purposes or just watching movies and videos, you’ll have an extremely pleasant experience thanks to this OLED screen.

Specs and Performance

You’re able to take advantage of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with up to an Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card, allowing you to get top end performance, particularly in creative applications which you wouldn’t be able to get from alternatives that lack dedicated GPUs.

Of course, for the "AI" in VenturePro 16 AI, you can also take advantage of CoPilot+ which provides you with assistance in a range of daily tasks, allowing you to save heaps of time and boost your productivity.

The 55Wh battery isn’t the largest of batteries available in productivity laptops. The amount of usage you get from your notebook will be down to what specifications you have. MSI have yet to release true figures and my hands-on session didn’t allow me to spend long enough with the laptop to track the battery usage.

MSI VenturePro 16 AI laptop with its lid closed on display at CES 2025

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)

The MSI VenturePro 16 AI is also equipped with a superior cooling design allowing them to deliver higher and more stable performance without getting too hot or noisy. Perfect for a device you’re using on the go or in busy environments.

However, if the battery isn’t enough for you, you can also enable the battery boost feature which gives you an extra 4 to 5 hours of battery life according to MSI. While it’s not clear how this feature works for the moment, it’s a great option for professionals who are on the go and simply don’t have the time to charge their laptops very frequently.

Early Verdict

Overall the MSI VenturePro 16 AI is a fantastic laptop with great specifications, but it’s hard to judge whether or not its worth picking up without a price point.

Due to the graphics card in this machine, I’d expect this laptop to be on the pricey side. It has a simple design but some outstanding features like battery boost and a stunning screen.

Samsung brings AI and Android to its Interactive Displays
3:37 pm | January 21, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

Samsung introduced Galaxy AI to its smartphones, and now generative AI is making its way to interactive displays. The company revealed its WAFX-P models will now support key features that we have seen in smartphones – Circle to Search, AI Summary, and Live Transcript. The service is called Samsung AI Assistant and is available on education-focused displays that aim to replace classroom blackboard. Hoon Chung, Executive VP of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, boldly claimed this isn't a feature to enhance learning – it is "revolutionizing" it. Circle to Search...

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