It’s been over eight years since the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery disaster, yet we’re still dealing with the aftereffects on the new Galaxy S25 series. For whatever reason, Samsung is reluctant to push the envelope with battery capacities and charging speeds. I don’t know if it’s the haunting memory of recalling millions of phones or if Samsung doesn’t want to spend the money necessary.
No Thanks, Keep Reading
Still, something is holding the company back from treading on the ground already traveled by numerous other phone manufacturers. I’m not asking Samsung to be the first phone maker to offer 300W wired charging, but I don’t think it’s out of line to expect Samsung to match the 80W charging of the OnePlus 13, especially not for the prices Samsung charges. Enough is enough. Samsung employs many brilliant engineers and has the money to improve. We’re not going to settle for less anymore.
I don’t care about improved chipset efficiency
Other technologies exist
I chuckled when Samsung boasted about the battery performance of the Galaxy S25 series during Galaxy Unpacked. Sure, I have no doubt the new phones will have improved battery life from the same capacity battery cells as last year — but that’s not thanks to Samsung. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is undoubtedly a more efficient chipset than the outgoing Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but we’ve seen similar battery performance bumps on other devices. However, it’s not just the lack of a battery size increase that bothers me about the Galaxy S25; it’s the battery technology used (or not used).
OnePlus switched to silicon-carbon battery technology for its OnePlus 13, which allows the company to pack the phone with a larger, higher energy-density battery with a footprint similar to that of a lithium-ion cell. It’s impressive technology and the kind of innovation I’d expect Samsung to implement in its flagship phones.
Read our review
Review: The OnePlus 13 is good enough to make you say goodbye to Samsung
A true daily driver candidate
Charging speeds are also a concern
We’ve been stuck at 45W for too long
Samsung introduced 45W charging with the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020. Unfortunately, the company’s implementation wasn’t the best, and the S20 Ultra struggled to maintain those speeds. As a result, Samsung dialed back to 25W charging for the S21 Ultra. In 2022, Samsung tried again with 45W charging on the S22 Ultra, with various changes and improvements, and we’ve been stuck at that number ever since. Samsung’s charging speeds haven’t lagged as much as Apple’s and Google’s, but that doesn’t win the company any awards. There’s a reason why Samsung is losing ground in sales worldwide, especially in Europe and Asia, where there’s more aggressive competition. The company simply doesn’t push boundaries anymore.
Battery technology and size are symptoms of a more significant ailment for Samsung.
Meanwhile, thanks to several OnePlus releases, faster charging speeds have come to the US. The OnePlus 13 even supports 50W wireless charging, faster than the wired charging on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. OnePlus has also done a lot to comfort people who are concerned that faster charging could damage battery health in the long term. The new silicon-carbon battery in the OnePlus 13 is dual-cell, helping the phone charge faster while maintaining battery health. The bottom line is that Samsung has solutions to implement, and I expect the new Galaxy S25 Edge will have a silicon-carbon battery. Unfortunately, the company’s pace of change is frustrating at best and non-existent at worst.
Samsung isn’t competing against itself
People have choices
Battery technology and size are symptoms of a more significant ailment for Samsung. I don’t get the impression Samsung thinks it’s competing against other smartphone manufacturers. We no longer hear what Samsung is doing better than others at Galaxy Unpacked events. Instead, we listen to what Samsung is doing better than itself from three years ago. I’m glad that Samsung feels S22 Ultra users will notice a ton of improvements in the S25 Ultra, and I understand the importance of keeping track of upgrade cycles — not everyone updates their phone every year, and Samsung knows that.
However, the idea that people would only upgrade from an S22 Ultra to another Samsung is, at best, a misinterpretation. I promise you that other attractive choices exist in the marketplace. Google’s Pixel 9 series doesn’t improve battery life much, but it offers an attractive AI experience for slightly less money. OnePlus devices have much of the power and performance of phones like the S25 Ultra for significantly less, so I fail to see where Samsung still holds a competitive advantage.
It’s only a matter of time
I don’t have a crystal ball, and as much as I love what Google and OnePlus have done with their most recent flagships, they still face distribution and other challenges. However, it will not be long before someone puts all the pieces together, and consumers will take a much harder look at Samsung than we have in the past. The price a company charges for phones sets the bar against which those phones are judged. When Samsung asks top-dollar for its Galaxy S25 series devices, don’t be surprised when we expect the best — and not just better than what Samsung had before.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra leaves the Note-like design behind for the very first time. With flat edges, curved corners, and a massive 6.9-inch display, this is a modern flagship through and through — and yes, that S Pen is still here too.
