Review: The Galaxy S25+ Is The Same, But The Vibes Are Much Different

The Galaxy S25+ looks almost exactly like the phone that came before it, and everything on the inside is almost exactly the same, too, minus a couple of small improvements. But for some reason, the Galaxy S25+ feels dramatically different and finds itself in my favorites list with relative ease.

Hardware

Samsung is done improving, but that’s not a bad thing

There are many ways to describe the Galaxy S25+’s look. You could say it was uninspired, echoing our thoughts on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. You could also call it reductive, as it takes design cues from Apple.

Here’s my thinking, though: Samsung doesn’t need to keep trying because they’ve done it. They’ve reached the design that’s the least offensive to anyone and looks the most modern. Think of why the iPhone looks the same year after year. It’s because the company found a design that’s easy to manufacture and looks the best overall. There are no curved glass edges, rounded aluminum rails, or eye-catching features not found on any other device. It’s simply inoffensive.

The Galaxy S25+ falls right into that bucket. It looks remarkably similar to the device that came before it because that design was fine. Good, even. Samsung isn’t taking risks with its design because it doesn’t need to. The design of the S25+ and S25 is sound, easy to use, and looks really good, even if it isn’t exciting. The only actual changes are in the new stuck-on metal rims around the camera lenses and a different antenna location for mobile networking.

Beyond that, the design is stagnant in every aspect.

We could suggest that Samsung’s color options this year are a change, but they don’t offer much more in the way of excitement. The best color, in my opinion, is the Navy variant. It’s saturated and simple, not as bland as the rest of the bunch. Mint, Icy Blue, and Silver Shadow just don’t do it, and Samsung needs to work on offering better model options in the future. Maybe Coralred eeks out half of a win, but that doesn’t really count because it’s an online exclusive that most people, the ones buying this phone in a carrier store, won’t be given as an option.

Again, this is all to say that the Galaxy S25+ design is good. Yes, it’s exactly the same as the Galaxy S24+, but that’s completely fine in my eyes. Generational development doesn’t need to fix the good design choices of the past. We’re in the endgame now, and Samsung is settling in.

Software

You’re buying access to the fastest version of One UI 7

Since Samsung’s hardware hasn’t done much in the way of change, One UI 7 had to pick up the slack. That effort has proven to be effective, and the Galaxy S25+ is a joy to use because Samsung’s software on this phone is simply great – and much improved – when it comes to basic user engagement.

Samsung’s Quick Setting and notifications page has proven to be a hurdle to get used to, but I’ve found myself enjoying it far more than iterations on any other phone. It works well, and the Quick Settings page is laid out so nicely. Everything I’d need to take care of at a glance is right there, including a larger window of Quick Settings options and separated device controls and modes. Of course, swiping right will get you into the notifications shade, which now comes as a separate entity. It can be combined with Quick Settings, but I found myself enjoying the default option.

Samsung also incorporated a new Now Bar, which acts as a live notifications interface. It’s a take on Apple’s Live Activities in its own somewhat limited way. Right now it works with certain apps like Samsung Health, Maps, Clock, Voice Recorder, and even sports scores from Google. Some of those apps will show up in the top-left corner of the screen during use, as notification icons would. Unlike Dynamic Island, this small pill shows up a little more to the left. Samsung didn’t differentiate the Now Bar and Live Notifications enough, but the latter is essentially an extension of the former. Now Bar is an umbrella term.

As a whole, One UI 7 feels more snappy and cleaner. I can find everything I need in a matter of seconds thanks to Galaxy AI’s models at work almost everywhere. Samsung is envisioning a world where I’ll audibly ask the phone about my settings or to initate certain things like the camera. In theory, that sounds great, but I really don’t see a lot of what Samsung markets as viable scenarios. Where it does make sense is in writing, as the Settings menu now allows for contextual queries. Keywords aren’t as important as describing the setting you’re looking for. That, in itself, is such a big help. Considering Samsung loves to hide a lot of the Android features that I find myself using more often than not, I appreciate the addition of AI in settings.

In effect, this is what makes the Galaxy S25+. Having access to One UI 7 with what is the best processor available for Android devices means that the Galaxy S25+ runs One UI 7 the best. That even stands true against the Ultra, considering they have the same processor and RAM amount. The Snapdragon 8 Elite does its job, and there are no hitches to mention in performance. I have thoroughly enjoyed that aspect.

Galaxy AI is the main event, and I’m here for it

Generally speaking, I’m weary of AI. From a marketing standpoint, there’s a lot of promise and little action on the part of companies trying to push models and new apps. What I appreciate about Samsung is that they’re really just trying to position Galaxy AI as a productivity assistant more than a chatbot or generative model. It does its job well, whether that means I need it to translate a call or drop info from my screen into a different app.

Gemini is still very much present on the Galaxy S25+, and Samsung is touting it as the primary assistant by default. It can be accessed via the power button by holding it down. Nothing has really changed there other than the continued improvements to Gemini as a whole. Google is using the Galaxy S25 series to help debut a better Gemini that’s more useful than previous versions. It’s great to see the comradery between the two, even if it means there’s more than one way to “AI” on the phone.

Sasmung’s Galaxy AI Assist is still present, and it makes that side panel actually useful now. It can be used to do what Circle to Search does with a little more intent towards Galaxy AI apps. It’s purely a matter of preference, much in the same way Bixby is. Still, I don’t hate having the option. Either option works well to share captured images or find the source of something. Samsung’s AI Assist is helpful if I want to generate images from something on the screen. I don’t know when I’d need to do that other than to show someone what my phone can do, but it’s there.

One of the most advertised features that Galaxy AI brings is the Now Brief, which parcels out information that the phone thinks you’ll find valuable throughout the day. There’s one in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Like a meal, but much less satisfying.

Now, Brief will tell you the weather and news recaps, among other things. As time goes on, more apps will likely be compatible, and things like notifications can be incorporated. Right now, it’s a little barren, but it has loads of potential. It can absolutely act as a way to summarize emails, messages, and social media for one instant digest. With how many notifications appear anyway, having one way to divulge information would be more than welcome. The end product of now Brief may not be as exciting, and Samsung may end up keeping it walled off to proprietary apps anyway, but the potential is there. Right now, it’s about as exciting as the phone’s design.

Battery Life

Squeezing out a bit more power

The Galaxy S25+ doesn’t have a better battery than the Galaxy S phone that came before it. Samsung, for whatever reason, has decided to hold onto the same battery capacity, coming in at 4,900mAh. By today’s standards, that isn’t high, but it isn’t low. The phone has a heavy enough cell for the phone to last around a day, with a little left over on a good day.

What’s interesting is that the Galaxy S25+ actually carries a slightly better battery life than the S24+. I can get a full day in with around 25% left over by the end of the evening. That’s factoring in social media browsing and light video streaming, which is normal for me. The S24+ seemed to end at around 20%.

Results vary widely from user to user, but the baseline is that the Galaxy S25+ offers a decent battery life with nothing to write home about. Samsung is rumored to start using a better battery next year, so if you’re looking into an upgrade for battery performance, maybe hold off.

The phone did disappoint a bit in wireless charging. The company brought the phone into Qi2 territory but didn’t fully get across the finish line. The phone is technically “Qi2 Ready,” which means it can handle 15W charging, but the phone does not equip a built-in magnet for accessories. This is a huge disappointment, as the phone is pretty comfortable to hold without a case. If I want to use my MagSafe wallet or car mounts, I need to slap a case on. Samsung’s proprietary cases do have a magnetic ring built-in, but it isn’t the same.

Camera

The spirit of stagnation, with pictures

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the camera phone of the three models. It comes with a hefty 200MP main shooter and heavier telephoto capabilities, but that doesn’t mean the Galaxy S25+ is stuck left in the dust.

My experience has been pretty okay overall. I’ve never loved Galaxy post-processing, but it seems like Samsung has heard some cries for better image production after hitting the shutter button. The photos I take come out clear and detailed without that grainy textured look to them. They also carry some nice colors, which seem to be pretty true to real-world hues.

Samsung has also sort of impressed me this year with the camera app. I can’t tell if anything actually changed, but I might be coming around to the messy but organized nature of the app’s features. Things like motion photos and quality are at the top, where you need them, and color grading and exposure settings are tucked into a small expandable button. It feels a little more intuitive than it has in the past.

The act of taking pictures has also been snappy, which is always welcome. I never felt bogged down by processing or other background events.

Of course, a lot of this echoes my experience with the S24+. It’s a good phone, but I wish the processing was still a little bit better. We’re seeing brands like OnePlus kill it, threatening Google with an exceptional camera. Samsung needs to shoot its hat into that ring with a cannon.

Final thoughts

It was expected that the Galaxy S25+ would end up being a pretty underwhelming phone, but it’s turned out to be the opposite. Maybe that’s just One UI 7 working on a slightly snappier infrastructure, but it feels like Samsung is finally getting to the pinnacle of things.

The design of the phone is all too familiar, but is that a bad thing? I happen to think the Galaxy S24 was a beautiful shift to a modern look without the fluff that other OEMs try to imbue. The phone looks good year after year, and it now packs the best hardware it possibly can, other than a lower RAM amount for some unknown reason.

The point is that One UI 7 makes this phone. Of course, that also means the Galaxy S24 series will get most of what the OS offers on this device in a couple of months — hopefully.

The Galaxy S25+ comes in at $999, which isn’t changed from last year. I don’t think that’s a bad deal, but it definitely isn’t advice to upgrade from the Galaxy S24 right away. If you’re on an older phone, like the S22 or S23, you’ll likely feel a huge difference.

This is just a good phone with really good software, which is not something I often get to say about Samsung. The emojis are still terrible, though.

• Buy the Galaxy S25/S25+

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