Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Review: Great Cameras And Pervasive AI

Galaxy S25 Series 1

Galaxy S25 Series - Starting at $799.99
Samsung's latest flagship devices don't break new ground, but they're among the fastest, prettiest, and most well-made Android phones you can buy. 
 

hot flat
  • Gorgeous OLED displays
  • Speedy performance
  • Durable titanium frame on S25 Ultra
  • Tons of AI
  • Great cameras
not flat
  • No Bluetooth in S Pen
  • AI features are hit and miss
  • High price for Ultrahothardware recommended small


Samsung has kicked off 2025 with three new high-end phones, the Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra. The lineup is more similar than it's ever been since Samsung switched to a triple-phone family lineup. Not only do they have almost identical designs, all three are running on Qualcomm's enhanced Snapdragon 8 Elite, specially engineered and binned for Samsung. These phones are very fast, with premium materials and generous support but, depending on your perspective versus the previous generation Galaxy S24 series, they may be somewhat unremarkable.

Make no mistake—these are some of the fastest Android smartphones you can buy currently, and they're overflowing with AI features, if that's your thing. However, the S25 Ultra has lost a few things that made it distinctive, and several key features have seen little to no upgrade this year. And yet, you can spend up to $1,300 on a new Samsung flagship phone. Though it's not exactly a riveting upgrade this year, Samsung fans will still be happy with the phones, which are still faster and more chock-full of AI than the S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Specs, Features And Design

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
Display S25: 6.2-inch 1080 x 2340 LTPO OLED (120 Hz)
S25+: 6.7-inch 1440 x 3120 LTPO OLED (120 Hz)
S25 Ultra: 6.9-inch 1440 x 3120 LTPO OLED (120Hz)
Memory 12GB
Storage S25: 128GB, 256GB
S25+: 256GB, 512GB
S25 Ultra: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Rear-Facing Cameras S25: 50MP f/1.8 primary w/ OIS, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto w/ OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide
S25+: 50MP f/1.8 primary w/ OIS, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto w/ OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide
S25 Ultra: 200MP f/1.7 primary w/ OIS, 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto w/ OIS, 50MP f/3.4 5x telephoto w/ OIS, 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide
Front-Facing Cameras 12MP f/2.2 wide angle
Video Recording Up to 8K @ 30 fps, 1080p slow-mo @240fps
Battery S25: 4000mAh; 25W wired, 15W wireless charging
S25+: 4900mAh; 45W wired, 15W wireless charging
S25 Ultra: 5000mAh; 45W wired, 15W wireless charging
OS Android 15 with One UI 7
Dimensions S25: 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm
S25+: 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm
S25 Ultra: 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm
Weight S25: 162g
S25+: 190g
S25 Ultra: 218g
Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, USB-C, LTE, 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), UWB in Ultra only
Colors S25 and S25+: Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold, Coral Red, Blue Black
S25 Ultra: Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium Black, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Gray, Titanium Jade Green, Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Pink Gold
Pricing Starting At $799.99 for S25, $999.99 for S25+, and $1,299.99 for S25 Ultra. 


The Galaxy S25 family doesn't make any dramatic departures from last year's phones, but particularly the Ultra feels a little pedestrian this time around. The Galaxy S24 Ultra was Samsung's titanium smartphone, but it was also a bit awkward to hold due to its pointy corners and gargantuan size. The S25 Ultra isn't any smaller, but it does have smoother lines.

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Galaxy S25 Ultra

The S25 Ultra has the same flat edges as the smaller phones; just slightly less rounded corners. The metal frame is still titanium, and we like the finish, which appears to repel fingerprints and skin oils quite well. The phone is also a bit thinner and lighter than the S24 Ultra. Every little bit helps, but it's still one of the biggest, heaviest phones out there.

The S25 Ultra is a bit more comfortable in the hand than the S24 Ultra, but it also looks somewhat basic, adopting the same body style as the other members of the S25 lineup. Samsung's two smaller phones have the same flat edges and screens; the only physical differences are the S Pen silo, the camera lenses, and size. The aluminum frame of the S25 and S25+ feel slightly smoother than the titanium Ultra, and they're rounder where the frame meets the glass front and back. The non-Ultra phones are lighter and more comfortable to hold, particularly the S25, which should prove comfortable even for those with small hands.

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Left to right: S25, S25+, S25 Ultra

Galaxy S25 Ultra Brings Refinement But Removes Pen Features

On the right edge, you'll find the customary power and volume buttons. These controls are sturdy, wobble-free, and very tactile. The smooth, flat case also makes them easy to find by feel. The USB-C port is on the bottom, and next to that is the S Pen. There's also a speaker down there, with the other pulling double duty as the earpiece. This is a common arrangement on phones, but Samsung's speakers are a cut above, producing rich, full sound (for a phone) even at higher volume levels.

With the S25 Ultra, Samsung appears to have made trade-offs on stylus input. For the last several years, Samsung has included a Bluetooth S Pen that charged automatically whenever it was stowed inside the phone. The new S Pen doesn't do that—it's just an inductive stylus. That means some useful features, like using the pen as a camera remote, are no longer available. You still get pressure-sensitive input and on-hover actions, but this is a step down compared to the S24 Ultra.

There is very nearly no wasted space around the screen—the titanium case and ultra-thin bezel make the phone almost all display. This allowed Samsung to slightly increase the display to 6.9 inches, up from 6.8 inches last year. The OLED is, once again, best in class. It has a very high peak brightness of 2,600 nits, and the sharpness at low brightness is unparalleled. The panel is also clad in the latest Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass, which is allegedly more durable and has a more effective anti-reflective coating. The back panel is made from the same advanced Corning glass as the display cover, but this panel has a smooth matte texture; it hides fingerprints well.

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Galaxy S25+ And Galaxy S25 Displays And Material Changes

The S25 and S25+ both have impressive OLED screens, too, featuring the same super-slim bezel all the way around. The S25+ clocks in at 1440 x 3120 and the S25 is 1080 x 2340. They share the same 120Hz refresh rate and 2600 nits of peak brightness as the Ultra. No matter the lighting conditions, all three screens will look phenomenal. However, the two cheaper S25s don't have the latest Corning glass—they have to make do with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back. The difference in reflectiveness is substantial outdoors, where the Ultra is much more easy to read.

All three models have the same ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen as last year. No improvements were needed, though. This biometric sensor is fast, accurate, and it doesn't light up a dark room like optical sensors do. Some screen protectors can interfere with the functionality of the sensor, though.

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The S25 Ultra (top) doesn't retain the distinctive but pointy shape of the S24 Ultra.

The new Galaxy S25 Ultra design is very understated. The only real embellishment is the camera setup. The three large lenses are slightly elevated, giving them a floating appearance. You get the same minimalist vibe with the S25 and S25+, although they only have three lenses lined up to one side.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Series One UI 7 Software And AI Features

Samsung's new Galaxy S25 family runs One UI 7, which is based on Android 15. The Bixby assistant that has been standard on Samsung phones over the last few years is largely banished from this phone, replaced by Google's Gemini AI. Samsung has added its own layer of AI to the phone with an expanded set of Galaxy AI features.

Gemini on the S25 series is more plugged into your data than ever before. You can issue complex commands that connect multiple apps, like adding content from an email to your calendar. When these features work, it can feel kind of magical. However, they don't work often enough. Gemini is still a generative AI chatbot at its core, and it makes mistakes. As often as these integrations work, they fail with the robot saying something frustrating like "I'm just a language model." 

S25 One UI

The Galaxy AI feature set runs the gamut from genuinely useful to forgettable. If you use Samsung Notes, Galaxy AI can be great for organizing and cleaning up your scribblings, and the call transcription can save you from taking notes during important phone calls. Samsung's AI-powered image generation is well-suited to the Ultra's S Pen, too. You can also have Galaxy AI reformat or reword your messages, a feature that is almost universal on AI smartphones at this point. The AI object eraser in the Gallery works well, but this is not an exclusive or particularly new feature. 

Samsung's Now Bar A Current Miss But The Galaxy AI Menu Brings True Privacy

Perhaps the most prominent new AI aspect of the S25 series is the Now Bar, which appears on your lock screen throughout the day, providing access to the Now Brief. This is supposed to parse all the data on your phone with the new Personal Data Engine to create a customized rundown of things you need to know. Samsung also has a Now Brief shortcut in the sidebar and there's a widget on the home screen. Unfortunately, the Now Brief just isn't very good.

Nine times out of ten, opening Now Brief is a waste of time. It shows weather, upcoming calendar appointments, and a news story. This feature is supposed to include content from your gallery, health tracking, messages, digital wellbeing, and more—we have all that enabled, but this feature persisted in offering nothing of value when we tested it. Smartphones are a wellspring of personal data, and Samsung went to the trouble of building on-device processing into its OS to leverage user data in a private manner. So, after all that, it's bewildering that Now Brief just doesn't execute on that goal, at least currently.

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The S Pen is nice if you want to do some AI doodling.

There is one undeniably great feature of One UI that other OEMs need to incorporate, like yesterday. In the Galaxy AI menu, there's a handy toggle to run AI processing only on your device. This keeps all your data (sensitive and otherwise) secure on your phone rather than uploading it to the cloud for processing. This does limit some AI features in the browser, Notes, and other apps, and text suggestions won't be as good. But if you're concerned about privacy, this is a great feature.

One UI 7 Refinements And Samsung's Best Of Class Update Commitment

One UI 7 also continues evolving Samsung's design, including some changes that mark a greater departure from Google's version of Android. For example, Samsung takes a page from Apple's playbook by separating the quick settings from the notification shade. There's also very little in the way of support for Material You theming, but Samsung's own theme store gets top billing. Although, we do like that Samsung's widgets are more visually consistent with other UI elements in One UI 7. Samsung has also adopted a vertically scrolling app drawer, which is also a welcomed change.

Samsung's update commitment continues to lead the industry. The Galaxy S25 family is entitled to seven years of security and full OS updates. Google offers the same on its Pixel phones. However, there are plenty of slightly cheaper phones that are likely to fall behind after a couple of years.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Camera Performance

Samsung made precious few changes to its camera setup this year. Still, the S25 Ultra continues to have one of the most technically impressive camera arrays on a smartphone. There's a 200MP primary, a 10MP 3x telephoto, a 50MP 5x telephoto, and new 50MP ultrawide sensor. Both the S25 and S25+ have the same setup as last year's phones: a 50MP primary, 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide. Samsung also uses optical stabilization on all the lenses aside from the ultra-wides.

Galaxy S25 Series 3

We appreciate that all of Samsung's cameras use lenses of varying focal lengths—no cop-outs like macro or monochrome sensors. Naturally, the Ultra offers the most flexibility in shooting with its higher resolution sensors and longer periscope-style telephoto camera. And with some tweaking and use of the robust manual mode, you can take some incredible photos. That said, Samsung's default auto mode still has a few minor shortcomings.

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30mph dog, S25 Ultra primary camera

The 200MP resolution of the S25 Ultra's main camera does not mean you'll get 200MP images. There is a full-resolution mode, but the images look worse than the binned 12MP shots you get with the default processing. The same is true of the 50MP capacity of the S25 and S25+, which also produce binned 12MP images.

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S25 Ultra primary camera

The Ultra does shoot slightly brighter, sharper photos compared to the other S25s. If you pixel-peep, the Ultra's larger sensor retains more accurate details. The S25 and S25+ look a bit over-sharpened, which can make busy photos look harsh.

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S25 Ultra 10x hybrid zoom

The main advantage of the Ultra is the plethora of lenses. This phone gives you the chance to frame your subject just right with a minimum of digital zoom. Photos shot with the primary in good light are sharp and vibrant—sometimes a bit unrealistically so. Samsung's image processing is more capable than what you'd see on OnePlus or Motorola phones, but it pales in comparison to Google's great HDR+ processing on Pixel phones. Still, we think the 10x hybrid zoom photos look solid (above), and the Galaxy S25 series is a respectable competitor to Google's latest Pixels. 

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Galaxy S25+ primary

With dim lighting, Samsung's phones tend to lengthen exposure but keep the ISO relatively low. This minimizes graininess, but it's hard to get good indoor photos of a wiggly pet or hyperactive kid even with Samsung's Ultra phone. This tends to make images look too soft, even when Samsung's processing can limit the blur. Samsung's night mode does a great job of reproducing subjects that don't move. But again, Pixel 9 currently does this better. Samsung's version can fuzz some fine details.

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Galaxy S25+ 3x telephoto

The Ultra's new 50MP ultrawide doesn't have optical stabilization, but you don't really need it. The ultrawide takes great landscape shots, pulling in lots of light with short exposures, and there's very little edge distortion. It also has autofocus for macro shots, which look better than what you get from the dedicated macro sensors on cheaper phones. It's a big step up from the 12MP ultrawide in the S25 and S25+.

The price jump from the Plus to the Ultra is substantial, but the camera helps justify it a little. The Ultra's zoom setup makes it much more capable than the cheaper phones. Here's a series of zoom shots to illustrate the range of the S25 Ultra. 

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S25 Ultra ultrawide

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S25 Ultra primary

s25Ultra series 3x
S25 Ultra 3x telephoto

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S25 Ultra 5x telephoto

Some older Samsung Ultra phones had a longer 10x zoom lens, but the resolution of the sensor was lower. The 50MP 5x lens is solid, producing excellent detail even if you need to push beyond 5x. The 3x zoom is a bit weak at just 10MP, but it's fine as long as you don't get stuck in between 3x and 5x zoom. When possible, stepping back and switching the the periscope zoom will get you a better image. 

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