Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Mini premium phone with max power

Like the 25 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S25 model too comes with meaningful upgrade to deliver smooth performance and a full day of battery life.

Samsung's Galaxy S25 series hit stores earlier this month in India. It comes in three variants- Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra.

In India, the prices of Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra start at Rs 80,999, Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,999, respectively.

The new Galaxy S25 comes with a big upgrade including Qualcomm's powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite (custom-made for the Galaxy S series), new Galaxy AI features, improved photography tools and more.

I used the Galaxy S25 for more than a week. Here are my thoughts on Samsung's latest flagship Android phone.

Design, build quality and display

The previous generation model Galaxy S24 flaunted rounded mid-rails and corners. This time, the successor has undergone slight but noticeable changes. Both the front and back panels fit flush with a flat frame and curved corners.

On the rear side, it features three camera islands on the back with the LED flash at the top and just the Samsung branding at the base.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

The compact phone is easy to hold and operate without any hassles. Unlike the 25 Ultra, which comes with a titanium case, the standard model features aerospace-grade armour aluminium 2-based enclosue. It is sturdy and the mid-raile offers a good grip to hold onto the device. Also, the device is slimmer and lighter than the predecessor.

Further, the display and the back panel are protected by Corning's Gorilla Victus 2 shield, which is good enough to withstand scratches and daily wear and tear. But, it is not as tough as Corning's Gorilla Armor 2 shield seen in the S25 ultra, which by the way can survive 2.2 metres (approx. 7.21 feet) drop on the floor.

On the bright side, the device boasts of IP68 rating, meaning it can survive a drop in the freshwater body up to 1.5 metres (around five feet) for close to 30 minutes.

No matter how sturdy the protective gears of the Galaxy S25 series are, I still recommend that prospective buyers get a solid cover case and if possible subscribe to the Samsung Care+ plan to get the device repaired at a subsidised rate in case of god forbid accidental damage.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

On the front, the Galaxy S25 sports a 6.2-inch full HD+(2340x1080p) dynamic super AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate (1-120Hz). It is perfect for typing messages single-handedly.

Also, Again, here, it misses out on the anti-reflective coating we see in the 25 Ultra model.

Having said that, the display quality of the Galaxy S25 is top-notch, way above any of the peers in the premium segment.

The words in the messages appear clearly. Even when watching movies/TV series on OTT apps or viewing reels on Instagram, the display ensures multimedia content appears vibrant and crisp.

It also boasts of vision booster technology which ensures the display is at maximum brightness outdoors. And, with adaptive brightness, the display automatically reduces brightness and controls blue light emmission when sitting indoors or at night time.

The in-display ultrasonic optical fingerprint sensor of the Galaxy S5 works fine without any issues. Even with a wet finger, the bio-metric sensor instantly recognises my fingers and unlocks the home screen.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

Eco-friendly aspects of the Galaxy S25

Like in the Galaxy S25 Ultra review, I'd like to reiterate here that all the new Galaxy S25 series phones' battery boasts at least 50% recycled cobalt, a first for Samsung phones.

Also, it should be noted that the aforementioned repurposed material is sourced from previously used Galaxy smartphones.

Performance

One of the biggest upgrades we see in the Galaxy S25 over the S24 is the chipset. The latter came with Samsung Exynos chipset in India. It was slightly underpowered compared to the S4 Ultra, which flanked Qualcomm Snadragon 8 Gen 3 (for Galaxy) chipset.

This time, Samsung has incorporated the same Qualcomm chipset for all Galaxy S25 models.

The new Galaxy S25 (and other S25 models) comes with a custom-designed Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset. It can clock 4.47GHz peak CPU speeds, compared to the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite variant found in other Android premium phones. The latter can support a max CPU speed of 4.32GHz.

In terms of numbers, the new Snapgradong 8 Elite for Galaxy promises 37 per cent better performance, 30 per cent improved GPU performance and 40 per cent better NPU performance compared to the previous iteration (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy).

Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

It comes in two variants--12GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 512GB storage configurations.

Our review unit features 12GB RAM + 256GB storage. The Galaxy S25 did not disappoint at all.

It consistently performed smoothly. Be it day-to-day tasks such as loading apps faster, switching multiple apps or while playing graphics-heavy games or running generative Aritifical Intelligence (gen AI) apps such as Sketch to Draw or Gemini app, it never showed any noticeable lag-ness as such.

It is one of the very few phones in the market that are built to support the most powerful games on the Google Play Store. It comes with a Vulkan Engine and improved Ray Tracing, which ensures a smoother and more realistic mobile gaming experience.

Also, the Galaxy S25 features a larger vapour chamber and a new thermal interface material (TIM), to efficiently dissipate excess heat generated while performing heavy-duty tasks.

The device runs Android 15-based One UI 7. Like the predecessor other Galaxy phones come with several apps from Samsung and other third-party developers in addition to the core Google apps.

It is not a deal breaker as the device is being offered with a base storage of 256GB. There is plenty of room to install hundreds of more apps and also the owner can take thousands of photos and videos with the amazing camera of the Galaxy S25 camera.

Also, all the new Galaxy S25 series phones are guaranteed to get Android OS updates along with security patches for seven years. This way the device is protected against all emerging cyber threats up to 2031.

Also, with each passing year, Samsung will bring new features to enhance the user experience on the device. This way, users don't have to change devices regularly unless the latter suffers physical damage and is unusable.

Galaxy AI features

Some of the new generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)-based Galaxy AI features coming in the latest Galaxy S25 series is Now Brief.

Based on user behaviour, the new 'Now Brief' feature appears on the lock every morning when the user gets the hand on the phone. It offers a short summary of what's happening on the day including morning's weather, traffic updates, scheduled appointments, office meetings and more.

Also, it will offer live updates on food delivery status, cab arrival status, live sports updates and more.

Samsung is also bringing improvements such as Drawing Assist to Sketch to Images. Users will be able to do much more than draw a rough sketch and let the Sketch to Image complete the drawing.

For instance, you can draw a rough image of an animal such as a dog with a finger and then let Sketch to Image complete it.

For fine-tuning, users can text or use voice commands. Based on the request, it adds more effects to the animal.

Google Gemini-powered Galaxy AI brings upgrades to popular tools for communication, productivity and creativity such as Circle to Search, Call Transcript, Writing Assist, and Drawing Assist.

Similar to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 also supports Gemini Live. It offers a conversational experience that helps users brainstorm ideas, simplify complex topics and rehearse for important moments with real-time, spoken responses. Gemini Live is more multimodal, meaning it will be capable of understanding queries in text, video, photos and audio) and deliver personalised suggestions and answers.

Gemini Extension feature on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series can access several native apps such as Samsung Reminder, Samsung Calendar, Samsung Notes and Samsung Clock in addition to Google Google Maps, YouTube, Google Messages, WhatsApp Spotify and more.

In a single prompt, users can ask Gemini to take multiple actions across apps and services. For instance, users can ask Gemini to check for the schedule of an upcoming cricket match and put a reminder to watch on a particular date and day.

User-privacy security

The Galaxy S25 series comes with a Personal Data Engine for personalized AI features. All personalised data is kept private and secured by Knox Vault.

Galaxy S25 series also comes with post-quantum cryptography, which safeguards personal data against emerging threats that could increase as quantum computing evolves.

Battery life

The Galaxy S25 houses a 4,000mAh battery similar to its predecessor. Under normal usage, it can last a whole day (with Wi-Fi connectivity at the office and at home).

If you are fully dependent on the cellular network for the internet all day and watch TV series on OTT apps or play games for several hours, you may have to look for a charging point or power bank in the evening.

It supports a 25W charger. It can reach from zero to 50 per cent in under 30 minutes and hit 100 per cent mark in around 60 minutes. It also supports a 15W Qi2 wireless charger, but it will take more time to fully charge.

And, with the PowerShare feature, it can reverse charge another phone with up to 4.5W speed. It is best suited to charge an earphone case with wireless charging capability.

It should be noted that there won't be any charging adaptor in the retail box. It only comes with a braided Type-C-to-Type-C data cable.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Photography

It houses a triple camera module-- main 24mm 50 MP (with f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.56-inch sensor, 1.0µm pixel size, dual pixel PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) with 67mm 10 MP telephoto lens (wth f/2.4, 1/3.94-inch sensor, 1.0µm pixel size, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom) and a 13mm 120-degree ultra-wide 12 MP camera (with f/2.2, 1/2.55-inch sensor, 1.4µm pixel size) with LED flash.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

The Galaxy S25 takes brilliant photos in all light conditions. Be it in sunny afternoons or evening twilight or indoors with controlled light conditions, the device excelled in all possible scenarios.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

You just have to point the camera to the subject, the Galaxy S25 gets you the best photo.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

As you can see in the photo samples, the Galaxy S25's native camera captures the subject in bright warm colour tones. Be it a flower or a human face, they appear vibrant and lively.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Like the ultra model, the standard S25 also supports Portrait Studio. Users can create personalised avatars with more true-to-life facial expressions. Filters introduce new analogue-style filters, delivering a film-like aesthetic for their photos and videos.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Not just indoors, it takes brilliant sharp photos with less noise at night time. The device ensures the black night sky in the background looks as natural as possible. It doesn't blow up the frame with a bright background like some rival premium phones tend to do with night mode.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Samsung has introduced Best Face to the Galaxy S25 series. It is similar to Pixel 9(review)'s best take feature but better. It can come in handy while taking group photos where people sometimes close their eyes or look away from the camera. This can help in getting the perfect group photo with all the faces looking at the camera and smiling.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Ensure to turn on the Motion Photo. This way, the phone will take the best photo in all light conditions. Even when one or two persons in the group photo blink, the phone will be able to pull the photo of those particular people with eyes open and deliver the perfect group photo.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Also, the object eraser on the Galaxy S25 is a great improvement over the predecessor. It even outranks the Pixel 9 series in terms of erasing the objects off the frame with minimal trace of its existence.

It also boasts of reflection eraser and does a fine job of removing the glare and getting a natural photo.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Other notable generative AI photography tools include the audio eraser in the video. It can reduce the outside ambient noise and retain just the voice of the person.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

Unlike the S25 Ultra, which supports up to 100X zoom, the regular Galaxy S25 supports up to 30X digital zoom. The image quality is quite good up to 10X and beyond that, it begins to turn grainy. And once you hit 30X, there is a lot of blur.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

It supports super steady video of 4K video at 60 frames per second (fps) and 8K at 24/30fps.

Samsung Galaxy S25's camera sample.

On the front, the Galaxy S25 features a 26mm wide 12 MP camera (f/2.2, 1/3.2-inch sensor, 1.12µm pixel, dual pixel PDAF). It can capture amazing selfies in natural sunlight conditions. Also, it can take group selfies consisting of around four to five people with minimal effort.

It can record 4K videos at 30 or 60fps and full HD 1080p at 30fps

Final thoughts

The Galaxy S25 is the smallest among the three Galaxy S25 series launched in India. It is created to cater niche segment of consumers who like to own a compact phone. But, it is no less powerful than the other two siblings.

It supports all major graphics-rich games available on the Google Play store and delivers good stable performance. It also efficiently dissipates heat when operating heavy-duty tasks.

Also, it has the best-gen AI features compared to other rival brands in its class. The object eraser and other gen AI photography tools are the best I have seen on a phone to date.

It is available in two variants--12GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 512GB storage for Rs 80,999, and Rs 92,999, respectively

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