Samsung Galaxy S25 Review: First Impressions

Introduction

Very few Android phone makers bother with trying to make compact, true flagship-powered phones these days.

The small ZenFone from Asus hasn’t been updated in two years, Sony didn’t refresh its Xperia 5 line last year either, and Google’s standard Pixel 9 is pretty chunky. 

Most other manufacturers tend to build big phones with near-7-inch screens on them. So in this way, Samsung stands apart with its latest Galaxy S25. It’s got the most powerful processor available in it, built into a phone that’s small, slim and lightweight. 

Does having no competition mean no real innovation though? That’s certainly an argument with some merit. I went hands-on with the new S25 to see what it’s like. 

Design

• Compact design
• Thinner and lighter than ever
• IP68 protection

On the surface, the first experience of the Galaxy S25 was how similar it is to the outgoing Galaxy S24 from last year. I’d have a hard time telling which phone was which based purely on the front view, or by picking it up. 

The only visual change, apart from the usual tweak in colours and finishes, is the camera design. Slim metal, shiny rings have been replaced by black, textured rings to match the Galaxy Z Fold 6 design from last year. As usual they’re stacked vertically and protruding individually from the glass back. No massive camera island or bar on this phone. 

This design, along with the unfussy flat edges and matte, flat glass on the back, ensures it keeps its minimalist, clean look. It’s still compact, easy to hold and use one-handed. 

It’s also among the slimmest and lightest flagship phones around. It measures virtually a full millimetre thinner, 6 millimetres shorter and almost 2 millimetres narrower than the Google Pixel 9, and weighs about 30 grams less too. That’s despite the fact its display covers a slightly larger surface area. 

That element is thanks, mostly, to the incredibly slim bezels around the display, similar to that super skinny display framing we saw on last years’ Galaxy S24. In short: it’s got a decent-sized 6.2-inch screen in a phone that is probably the smallest and lightest in its class. 

To hold and to use in the short time I got to try it, it certainly feels much more nimble and portable than anything I’ve used since the last model. Even Apple’s smaller versions of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro feel a little thicker and heavier. 

Screen, cameras and performance

• 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen
• Snapdragon 8 Elite power
• Same triple camera setup as last year

When considering hardware, display and performance specs, there’s little new of note to discuss. If only because a lot of the features have remained virtually unchanged. 

It’s still got a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the front, which – in a phone this size – is hard to beat. It can reach 2600 nits brightness and has an adaptive refresh rate to quickly and efficiently adjust depending on the content being displayed. 

On a static page it can reach as low as 1Hz to conserve battery, but then ramps up quickly up to 120Hz when it detects fast movement like swiping and tapping in the interface or playing high-framerate games. 

Camera hardware is largely the same too, which is a little bit of a disappointment. It’s still got the 10MP sensor in the 3x zoom camera, 12MP in the ultrawide and a primary 50MP sensor. 

Where camera performance could improve is down to the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor inside the phone, which ramps up all performance across the board, whether you’re speaking image processing, graphics in games, battery efficiency or general CPU performance. 

It’s claimed the shutter response is virtually instant, making it feel as though there’s zero lag between pressing the shutter and capturing the photo. 

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the big story of this year, however. Not just for Android phones in general getting a huge boost in all-round performance, but because Samsung is rolling it out to all Galaxy S25 models in the series, in every market. You won’t find different processors in different markets like last time out, meaning parity for European/UK consumers with those buying the US/Canada. 

Because it’s a small phone, there’s a relatively small battery. At 4000mAh it’s not a huge capacity at all, but should mean getting through a full day is possible, especially with the efficiencies of the display and the processor. This, of course, is an educated guess; we’ll need to get the phone in house to test it properly and see what it’s really like. 

Software & AI

• New Galaxy AI features
• OneUI 7 based on Android 15
• Seven OS upgrades promised

A huge chunk of my time being briefed on Samsung’s latest phones was taken up with talk about AI. The company is making a huge effort to put AI in all parts of the phone experience. 

Sadly, in the hands-on time, little of it was actually working. When it is enabled at launch, however, there are big claims about how it can understand and contextualise your phone usage and your voice requests. 

For instance, you can get it to change settings like font size by asking it to make your text easier to read. Or it can condense information from your calendar, the local weather and any health data like sleep and activity to offer up a Now Briefing feature to get you ready for the day ahead, or recap your day. 

Similarly, you can ask it to find information on all manner of things, including photos from a specific location in your Gallery app. This is in addition to all the other Galaxy AI features like live translating and text summarising, proofreading and tone-checking in the email and Notes apps. 

I was able to play a bit with the Draw Assist feature when I went hands-on with the phone. This particular app will come to other Galaxy phones too, and can take rough, quick doodles and turn them into colourful, fun, digital art. You can even type a text description in and have that turned into art. 

All of this is built into One UI 7 based on Android 15, and will launch with the phone when it’s available to buy. What’s more, if you do buy a Galaxy S25, you’ll get 7 future major software updates, taking you all the way up to Android 22. This is in addition to 7 years of security patches.

Full Specifications