The Samsung Galaxy S25 is here, and it brings new hardware, Qi2-compatible accessories, and a thinner and lighter frame to the table. However, it’s not a significant upgrade for owners of the Galaxy S24, and even those looking to upgrade from an older phone or join the Galaxy community may want to look elsewhere.
No Thanks, Keep Reading
The Galaxy S25 is a powerful phone, but it isn’t the phone you should buy this year. Most of the biggest changes to the Samsung Galaxy experience come with One UI 7, which will be available on older Galaxy phones including the Galaxy S24.
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Samsung has missed another chance to create a unique look
It’s hard to differentiate it from the Galaxy S24 at a glance
The first thing you’ll notice about the Samsung Galaxy S25 is that it looks like every other phone released in the last couple of years from the front. Unlike the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which swapped out squared corners for rounded ones, the Galaxy S25 is essentially the same looking phone as last year. We’ve become used to Samsung’s lack of innovation regarding its phone’s designs, but the Galaxy S25 is especially problematic. Apple’s iPhone 16 design has ensured the Galaxy S series will no longer look distinctive unless Samsung makes some drastic design changes.
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The Samsung Galaxy S25 needs a new design to stand out from the crowd
It’s been too long since the Galaxy S-series saw any meaningful change
Apple took a leaf out of Samsung’s book with its iPhone 16 camera layout by mimicking the distinctive traffic light arrangement of Galaxy phones. It’s not identical, the iPhone 16 sports two lenses compared to the three on the Galaxy S25, but it’s close enough to show that Galaxy phones have lost their unique flair. If you like owning a unique phone, you should skip the Galaxy S25. It’s worth waiting another year for Samsung to finally see the light, but if not, Google and OnePlus are your best choices to pick up a distinctive phone.
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The cameras are outdated
The Galaxy S25 is not a photographer’s phone
The Galaxy S25’s design isn’t the only thing Samsung refused to innovate with. The cameras are identical on the inside as well as the outside. If you think the Galaxy S23 and S24 take the best photos out of any Android phone, the Galaxy S25 will provide you with more of the same as the cameras are identical.
On the inside, the Galaxy S25 offers the same 50P main and 10MP telephoto cameras as the Galaxy S24. The 12 MP front camera is also identical. Samsung has promised improvements to the phone’s post-processing capabilities, but there looks to be no change to the Galaxy’s motion blur issue.
These are the full camera specs of the Galaxy S25:
50MP OIS main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto, 12MP selfie.
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Half-baked implementation of Qi2
Samsung refuses to go all the way with adopting the wireless charging standard
Since Qi2 was announced in 2023, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the first Android phone to adopt the wireless charging standard. While it was reasonable to expect that 2023 was far too soon, and there wasn’t enough time to implement it into 2024’s flagship, it seemed likely that 2025 would be the year of the first Qi2 Android phone. Unfortunately, instead of bringing Qi2 to the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung has instead made mediocre improvements to wireless charging speeds, and introduced “Qi2 Ready” accessories.
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6 reasons Qi2 wireless charging is totally worth the hype
More manufacturers should get on board with Qi2
While your Samsung S25 will now charge faster over a wireless connection, the lack of full Qi2 support is glaring. Magnetic charging did interfere with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s S Pen functions, but if Samsung is confident enough to release a first-party case, it has solved this issue. Even if S Pen interference was still a problem, there’s no reason why the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus can’t adopt Qi2. So if you want to see Qi2 support on a Samsung phone, it’s best to hold out and wait. Hopefully, this is a step towards full Qi2 integration on the Galaxy S26, and not the start of a trend.
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No improvements to battery life and wired charging speeds
25W charging feels slower and slower every year
The Samsung Galaxy S25 has the same 4,000mAh battery with 25W wired charging speed as the Galaxy S24. This isn’t a bad thing, in our review of the Galaxy S24 we got an average of nine hours of screen-on time through regular usage. However, intensive use of the One Ui 7’s AI features will severely impact this.
The big problem is that the charging speed is pathetic compared to older phones like the OnePlus 12. While 45W is enough to charge up your phone to 50 percent in 30 minutes, the 80W charging speed on the OnePlus 12 means you don’t need to think about plugging it in every night. A significant boost to charging speed could have marked the Galaxy S25 as a must-buy, but instead, it looks like we’ll have to wait at least another year for Samsung to catch up.
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The Galaxy S24 offers a similar experience for less
Why pay more for upgrades you won’t notice?
Most of the biggest features of the Galaxy S25 are on the software side. One UI 7 is packed with features that make it a substantial upgrade over One UI 6, but this update is also coming to the Galaxy S24, which will receive six more years of software updates.
While the Galaxy S25 has not increased in price, it’s easy to find the Galaxy S24 at a discount. We saw it available through Amazon and Best Buy this month at $150 off. The Galaxy S25 is not different enough to be worth the extra money. If you are looking to upgrade or switch to a Samsung Galaxy phone, we recommend saving some money and settling for last year’s flagship.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a good choice if you haven’t upgraded your phone in years
It’s hard to justify buying a Samsung Galaxy S25 if you’ve picked up a new Android phone in the last couple of years. However, if you own a Galaxy S21 or older device, the upgrade will be noticeable. That being said, Samsung has missed the mark on so many features that you may be best off waiting another year. Alternatively, The Google Pixel 9 and the OnePlus 12 are some of the best Android phones on the market.
