The Galaxy S25 collection is nearly right here — in reality, in the event you pre-ordered early sufficient, it may be on its technique to you proper now. However not everybody’s constructed to be an early adopter. I’ve had the Galaxy S25 Extremely for a few week now, and whereas I will not be publishing my full assessment till subsequent week, I really feel able to reply loads of questions on this explicit telephone. Whereas I will not be capable to get to each single query requested in response to my immediate final week, I promise to attempt to deal with all of it inside my last assessment.
Till then, although, let’s dig deep into what makes the Galaxy S25 Extremely stand out among the many crowd — or, in some circumstances, what retains it from excelling within the first place.
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When you insert an older S Pen, will it be capable to pair and use Bluetooth? How does the brand new stylus have an effect on your expertise?
Requested by Fredrik and Aaron
By far, the 2 hottest questions requested in regards to the Galaxy S25 Extremely comes all the way down to its stylus and its digicam system. Let’s begin with the S Pen first, because it’s undoubtedly the better of the 2 to elucidate. If you’re one of many hundreds of Galaxy customers who depend on the S Pen’s Air Instructions for all kinds of on a regular basis distant duties — together with, most notably, the power to snap a photograph with the push of the S Pen’s button — you might be certain to be upset with the Galaxy S25 Extremely.
Successfully, the one reply to any S Pen query you would have is “no.” No, the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s stylus does not match into the Galaxy S25 Extremely — it will get shut, however does not really lock into the chassis. No, you’ll be able to’t pair it and use it individually, as there is no such thing as a menu throughout the telephone itself for Air Instructions. And no, I do not count on Samsung to carry a separate, non-compulsory S Pen to market, even when that will fulfill followers on either side of this debate.
Personally, I can not say the S Pen’s Bluetooth removing has affected my very own expertise, however I wasn’t an everyday person of Air Instructions to start with. I really feel for these S Pen fanatics on the market, although. Sure, the brand new stylus is noticeably lighter, as is the complete Galaxy S25 Extremely. But when it comes at the price of every part that made the S Pen distinctive to start with, what is the level?
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Is movement blur nonetheless an issue with the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s digicam?
Requested by Rick and JohnEggHead
And here is the second most-popular query. Samsung had an actual downside on its fingers with the Galaxy S24 collection. All three of our evaluations carry up shutter velocity complaints, and it is not laborious to search out comparable feedback from real-world folks on Reddit and comparable communities. That long-rumored digicam replace that promised to repair post-processing by no means arrived, and making an attempt to disable particular settings to enhance how these cameras captured movement merely did not assist.
So, is that an issue with the Galaxy S25 Extremely and its up to date “ProVisual Engine?” Perhaps — it is really slightly too early in my very own testing to search out out. Of the photographs I’ve taken with the Galaxy S25 Extremely, most have been of pretty stationary objects to this point. I received dwelling fairly late from San Jose final Friday, which implies most of my weekend was spent catching up on chores and different dwelling duties, not heading out to get digicam samples. Nonetheless, I took photographs of individuals and pets strolling, and to this point, I am not seeing the extent of movement blur that affected final 12 months’s flagships.
That is to not say I am over the moon with the S25 Extremely’s digicam, although. A few of my samples go away a lot to be desired of their shade replica, and I’ve had a few odd moments with topics being out of focus, too. I am saving last judgement for subsequent week’s assessment, in fact, and with two totally different sports activities occasions arising this weekend, I will have loads of excuses to take photographs.
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How is battery life in comparison with the Galaxy S24 Extremely?
Requested by Aaron and Nameless
Battery life on the Galaxy S25 Extremely has been completely superb. All through my first few days, I stayed on T-Cell’s 5G community nearly solely, skipping out on Wi-Fi networks till I arrived again at dwelling from San Jose. Frankly, I wasn’t significantly impressed with my first day or two’s price of efficiency, although issues leveled out over time.
Proper now, on a mixture of Wi-Fi and mobile service, I am seeing about six to seven hours of screen-on time earlier than calling it an evening. Final night time, I plugged within the telephone with simply shy of six hours recorded and a few third of the battery’s capability nonetheless remaining. That is completely serviceable, although it is a far cry from the ten-plus hours of SoT I noticed on the OnePlus 13 all through my time with it. Charging speeds do appear to be sooner, although; talking with different journalists, I can affirm the S25 Extremely appears able to delivering a full cost in round an hour with an acceptable charging brick. Not too shabby.
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How do the audio system sound? What about its haptics?
Requested by Davism0490 and Mike
The Galaxy S25 Extremely’s audio system sound nice to me, although that is been true for generations now. If there is a distinction between the audio system on the S25 Extremely and its predecessor, I have never heard it. Similar goes for haptics; I want the sharper, extra punchy haptics provided by the Pixel 9, however they’re completely stable right here.
You will discover loads of sound high quality instruments throughout the settings menu for adjusting how your audio playback sounds, however most of them are additionally obtainable on final 12 months’s telephone. Dolby Atmos, a built-in equalizer, loudness normalization — every part from the earlier technology has made its technique to this gadget, with one notable exception. “Increase dialogue” is a brand-new toggle for the Galaxy S25 Extremely, designed to “make it simpler to listen to voices in movies that produce other background sound.” It is the kind of trick we have seen on loads of TVs, and it is nice to see one thing comparable make its technique to cell.
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Does the Snapdragon 8 Elite have any critical strengths over final 12 months’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3?
Requested by Nameless
None that I can communicate of so far. As I wrote about when the Snapdragon 8 Elite was first introduced, the factor I am essentially the most enthusiastic about with that chipset is its potential, not a lot what it will probably do in pretty iterative items of {hardware}. Samsung might’ve tried a DeX overhaul with how a lot energy is constructed into this telephone, however the expertise included right here is precisely what’s been included in different earlier Galaxy flagships.
When it comes to weaknesses, anecdotally, I’ve observed the Galaxy S25 Extremely heats up extra typically than its predecessor. I have never been gaming a lot right here — simply the occasional Balatro spherical or two — and but, I’ve completely felt it get heat to the contact. No points with Samsung’s 12GB allotment of RAM, no less than, although as the corporate feels compelled so as to add extra Galaxy AI options over the approaching months and years, we’ll see simply how briskly that potential bottleneck is met.
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In a head-to-head with the OnePlus 13, which telephone is best?
Requested by Sachin
Spoilers for the eventual “Competitors” part in my assessment, however I do assume the OnePlus 13 is the higher general package deal. Samsung has lots going for it with the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It feels way more premium than the OnePlus expertise, and the software program — although crammed with loads of its personal quirks — feels slightly extra absolutely baked. Throw in a few different enhancements, together with the anti-glare end delivered by Corning’s Gorilla Armor, and the Galaxy S25 Extremely is, from a sure perspective, the apparent winner right here.
And but, in the event you requested me to choose one to be my every day driver for the remainder of 2025, it is the OnePlus 13, and I am unsure it is shut. Not solely is it the extra distinctive telephone, however I really feel like OnePlus actually did sufficient to impress with its end-user expertise in a means Samsung merely has not. IP69 water and dirt resistance, ultra-fast wi-fi charging, and a few actually significant digicam tweaks that make a big effect to your last output are sufficient to push the OnePlus 13 over the road. When you’re an S Pen die-hard, the Galaxy S25 Extremely is a no brainer, however frankly, I feel old-school Android fans will discover much more to love on the OnePlus aspect of the fence.
There’s lots extra to come back on the Galaxy S25 Extremely
That is far from my last phrase on this telephone, in fact, however the remainder of your questions — and sure, I’ve taken observe of what is not answered — should await our forthcoming full assessment. Within the meantime, what are your preliminary impressions of Samsung’s newest super-phone? Is the refreshed design sufficient to win you over, or are you ready for one thing slightly extra spectacular than a bunch of varied AI parlor methods?
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely leaves the Word-like design behind for the very first time. With flat edges, curved corners, and an enormous 6.9-inch show, it is a trendy flagship by and thru — and sure, that S Pen continues to be right here too.
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Samsung Galaxy S25+
Samsung’s Galaxy S25+ finds simply the proper center floor between its two siblings. With a 6.7-inch show, as much as 512GB of storage, and 12GB of RAM, this smartphone consists of virtually every part you would ask for within the trendy AI age, with out driving up the value.
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Samsung Galaxy S25
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 retains issues small with out sacrificing energy. With a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, and all kinds of instruments courtesy of Galaxy AI, that is every part you count on from a contemporary flagship squeezed into a comparatively svelte chassis.
