I changed my iPhone 16 Professional with the Galaxy S25 Extremely – and it is excellent news for Samsung

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely is a premium flagship meant for customers who need essentially the most out of their telephone, with a beginning worth of $1,299.
• Key enhancements embody new Galaxy AI options, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and a 50MP ultrawide lens.
• No main shifts to digicam {hardware}, battery measurement, and charging speeds.

extra shopping for decisions

Samsung’s Large Unhealthy Galaxy telephone is right here, and it is nearly all the pieces I anticipated. The Galaxy S25 Extremely, which begins on the identical daring worth as final 12 months, $1,299, stays the corporate’s do-everything handset. This premium Android telephone is now Samsung’s finest telephone general. It has a extra sturdy show, an upgraded digicam lens with some useful enhancing tips, and the newest Qualcomm processor retaining issues working. Oh, and sure, AI is all the pieces, in every single place, all of sudden.

Additionally: I’ve examined each Samsung Galaxy S25 mannequin – and my favourite is not the Extremely

Whereas final 12 months’s Galaxy S24 collection ushered in Samsung’s Galaxy AI period, this 12 months feels extra like the corporate cementing itself because the chief within the smartphone area, besting Apple and even Google (for now) on options and capabilities. After all, how ornamental that honor is finally depends upon how invested you’re in utilizing AI.

I’ve spent the final 10 days testing the S25 Extremely and wasn’t too stunned to seek out myself each fascinated and bored. In any case, that is now Samsung’s fifth iteration of the S-series Extremely mannequin, and the modifications year-over-year have been modest, to be beneficiant. However if you happen to’re at present utilizing a three- to four-year-old handset and contemplating an improve, take this first-hand testimonial to coronary heart. (And if you happen to’re an fanatic, it will matter simply as a lot to you.)

The Galaxy S Extremely has all the time been a big-phone, two-handed affair, and that holds this 12 months. After I first unboxed the S25 Extremely, it felt just like the fanciest calculator ever (and I imply that in a pleasant approach), with its spherical edges and tall stature. Coming from the OnePlus 13 I not too long ago reviewed — which, on paper, is comparatively related in measurement — the S25 Extremely had a bolder and extra placing presence.

Luckily, the gadget shouldn’t be as top-heavy as I bear in mind earlier fashions being, despite the fact that Samsung encased the 4 rear cameras with thicker rings this time round. The truth is, the S25 Extremely is lighter than its predecessor by 16 grams, incomes it the title of the thinnest Galaxy S Extremely ever. It’s best to nonetheless go for the slimmer S25 and S25 Plus if that is the shape issue you are after, and you may probably hear extra concerning the “thinnification” of telephones later this 12 months. Moreover, if small telephones are your model, seek advice from our roundup on the finest small telephones of 2025.

Additionally: Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely vs. OnePlus 13: I examined each, and the winner stunned me

The opposite notable design improve with the S25 Extremely is the Corning Gorilla Armor 2 layered over the entrance show. It would not take away from the anti-reflection floor therapy that made headlines on final 12 months’s S24 Extremely, but guarantees improved drop safety and scratch resistance. I imagine it. My S24 Extremely final 12 months had quite a few micro scratches after simply days of testing, whereas my S25 Extremely evaluate unit has remained pristine up to now.

Now if solely Samsung may deliver again the glory days of psychedelic Aura Glow finishes, as a result of these S25 Extremely colours are uninspiring. Maybe it is the character of titanium finishes or the tough actuality that buyers usually tend to go for safer colours with black, white, and silver hues than poppy and brilliant. Regardless, you will wish to slap on a case to present your S25 Extremely even a contact of character.

Underneath the hood is a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for Galaxy, which is an overclocked variant of the processor powering competing Android telephones in 2025 just like the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Professional. Essentially the most notable good thing about the chipset comes within the type of AI experiences — particularly, a 40% improve in NPU efficiency in comparison with final 12 months’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Additionally: The Galaxy S25 Extremely S Pen is dropping its Bluetooth superpowers – and Samsung will not repair it

In layman’s phrases, on-device AI options ought to take up much less bandwidth and energy to function whereas additionally functioning rapidly. I noticed the ends in individual, placebo impact or not, as my S25 Extremely can swiftly take away topics (together with their shadows) from the background of images through Generative Edit and pull up Gemini search ends in a matter of seconds. I ran a few response checks with the iPhone 16 Professional (working Siri and ChatGPT) and Google Pixel 9 Professional (working Gemini), and the Galaxy S25 Extremely was the clear front-runner.

You may also chalk up the efficiency to the improved Gemini app, which might now be fired up with an extended press of the facility button. Beforehand, Samsung telephones had been restricted to Bixby — or Google Assistant, if you happen to made some sketchy, backend modifications — so this transformation is a breath of contemporary air. It makes transitioning from every other Android telephone that makes use of Gemini because the default assistant rather more burdenless.

Talking of which, the brand new Gemini-Bixby hybrid AI agent, as Samsung confusingly places it, can deal with natural-sounding, conversational chains of actions, resembling trying up the upcoming schedule of your favourite sports activities staff and including the date(s) to your calendar. Whereas the agent-like functionality primarily works throughout Google and Samsung apps, some third-party companies like Spotify are supported, too.

Additionally: I’ll lastly ditch my Google Pixel for a Samsung Galaxy telephone in 2025. Here is why

The vital factor is realizing the right way to phrase your instructions. For instance, after I requested the AI agent to create a Spotify playlist for street journeys and ship it to my spouse, it responded that it was unable to take action. When, as an alternative, I requested it to discover songs that had been good for street journeys, it curated the checklist and drafted a modifiable textual content message. My AI recommendation: if a immediate would not work, try to attempt once more.

Contemplating final 12 months’s S24 collection launched Google’s Circle to Search characteristic, and this 12 months’s S25 collection is doing the identical for the improved Gemini-Bixby expertise, it would not be farfetched to say that Samsung, not Google, makes the very best AI telephone available on the market proper now. 

Another new Galaxy AI instruments like AI Choose and Now Transient solely reinforce that assertion, with the previous being an adaptive, context-aware display screen choice software, and the latter supplying you with each day summaries of the climate, calendar occasions, and information. 

Additionally: These helpful One UI 7 options are coming to the Galaxy S25 collection – and older fashions too

I simply want Now Transient confirmed me extra than simply political information; even with my subject preferences inside my Samsung Information app set to know-how and sports activities, the app nonetheless handled my weekend mornings with the generic “Uplifting Morning Prep” Spotify playlist and newest scoop on the US president signing government orders.

One of many key causes to purchase a Galaxy Extremely telephone continues to be the digicam, although Samsung hasn’t improved the specs a lot this 12 months — no less than on paper. The one {hardware} change is the 50-megapixel ultrawide lens (up from 12MP), which, from my preliminary pictures, yields higher element and vividness, particularly when capturing macro images. The remainder of the lenses, such because the 200MP broad, 50MP 5x telephoto, and 10MP 3x telephoto, are similar to final 12 months’s S24 Extremely.

Additionally: One of the best digicam telephones of 2025: Over 1,000 images and movies taken by consultants

There is a larger give attention to the software program aspect of issues, with Samsung introducing useful photograph and video options like 10-bit HDR video recording by default to seize a wider dynamic vary, a brand new Audio Eraser characteristic that allows you to modify the volumes of varied frequencies (categorized as audio topics like voices, wind, and noises), and the power to file in Galaxy Log mode. 

The latter characteristic lets you higher spot overexposed areas and modify the dynamic vary as you are recording movies, whereas additionally making use of LUTs in publish for higher shade and light-weight management. I will be testing the capturing mode extra within the coming days.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

My first 10 days of testing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely confirms a number of issues for me. Whereas most elements of the telephone, resembling the colourful, glare-free show and flexibility throughout the cameras and AI options, are simple to understand, the upgrades this 12 months really feel iterative and secure. 

In methods, Samsung has even taken a couple of steps again, with the S Pen stylus now not supporting Bluetooth controls and gestures, and the corporate choosing Qi2-ready instances as an alternative of embedding the precise know-how inside its telephones. Samsung might purpose the absence of magnets with added weight and bulk, nevertheless it’s inexcusable when Apple continues to make the iPhone slimmer whereas providing related performance.

Additionally: One of the best Google Pixels of 2025

It is comprehensible that early adopters and tech fanatics would possibly really feel underwhelmed by the S25 Extremely. However after I contemplate customers who’re coming from an S21 collection, Pixel 6 or 7, and even an older iPhone, Samsung’s new flagship handset checks nearly each field you may consider. And it’s possible you’ll even rating a beneficiant trade-in deal by way of your native service or retailer.