The Galaxy S25 Extremely is out, bringing the standard set of small upgrades over the earlier mannequin. Alongside the necessary chipset refresh and delicate design tweaks, we’re getting a brand new digital camera (only one, and extra of a sidestep than an apparent improve), plus what’s wanting like a downgrade to the S Pen. Within the subsequent few paragraphs, we’ll be analyzing if the upgrades are price it, or if the S24 Extremely is the higher Galaxy Extremely to have – or at the least the higher worth.
Desk of Contents:
For starters, you’ll be able to examine the entire specs sheets or immediately proceed with our editor’s evaluation within the following textual content.
Measurement comparability
You would not mistake the S25 Extremely for a compact telephone by any stretch of the creativeness and it is each bit as Galaxy Word-like as you’d anticipate from the lineup – as is the S24 Extremely, in fact. That mentioned, on the brand new mannequin, Samsung has managed to shave off 1.4mm from the width and 0.4mm from the thickness – it’d sound negligible, nevertheless it’s really fairly the feat.
The numbers are half the story, however there are additionally some precept adjustments too. The general flattening of every thing – the show, the rear panel, but additionally now particularly the edges – makes the S25 Extremely in some way extra manageable in hand, extra snug and safer to function. That is the overall consensus within the workplace, at the least – maybe it is price making an attempt each out in individual to get a way of which handset you favor, as a result of they do deal with a little bit otherwise.
In the case of supplies and construct, each handsets are an ensemble of Gorilla Armor and titanium. The S24 Extremely makes use of the primary model of Corning’s glass-ceramic formulation beneath this title, whereas S25 Extremely has the second-gen product. The brand new mannequin additionally replaces the grade 2 titanium with grade 5. Finally, the S25 Extremely needs to be extra sturdy than the S24 Extremely, however how a lot of a distinction that is going to make in the true world is anybody’s guess. Each fashions have IP68 rankings, for what that is price.
Identical to in earlier years, there are two varieties of colorways you will get the S25 Extremely in – there’s one set that carriers and retailers get, and one other, further set that is unique to Samsung.com. ‘Titanium’ is at all times a part of the title, and Black and Grey are shared between the 2 generations, the opposite choices differing barely from yr to yr.
Maybe right here we should always point out one of many disappointments of the yr – the S Pen’s lack of energy and connectivity. Positive, it nonetheless has the effective stress sensing and stays an unmatched proposition for scribbling issues, drawing, and whatnot. However the stylus on the S25 Extremely cannot be used for air gestures (which does not sound like too large of a deal) or for distant digital camera actuation (which is what is absolutely going to be missed). So, in that sense, the S24 Extremely is the extra feature-rich choice.
Show comparability
Among the many S25 Extremely’s few adjustments in comparison with the earlier mannequin is the show – its diagonal now stands at 6.9 inches versus the 6.8 inches on the S24 Extremely and it is a negligible distinction in measurement.
Each panels have a 1,440×3,120px decision in a 19.5:9 facet ratio, and a 120Hz most refresh price. There isn’t any Dolby Imaginative and prescient video help on both (simply the Samsung-backed competing HDR10+ commonplace) and Samsung solely guarantees 16M colours on each (8-bit panels; different makers provide 10-bit and even 12-bit colour). These are fairly good screens and there is not a whole lot of important obvious variations – in some way it is different manufacturers which have superior specced shows.
In our brightness testing, we obtained roughly the identical outcomes from each Ultras – over 1,400nits in adaptive brightness mode and within the 750-800nits ballpark when setting brightness manually (with Further brightness enabled; in any other case – within the mid-400s).
In fact, each shows characteristic Gorilla Armor safety and whereas the newer mannequin has gen 2 of Corning’s super-special concoction (gen 1 on the S24 Extremely), each have anti-reflective properties that set them aside from the remainder of the group. Once more although – largely the identical viewing expertise on these two.
Battery life
The S25 Extremely would not use the brand new silicon carbon kind of battery and it comes with the identical 5,000mAh capability because the earlier era, so there would not seem like any upgrades within the battery {hardware}.
In the case of changing these 5,000mAh into energetic use time, the brand new mannequin confirmed modest enhancements in our gaming take a look at (11%) and in video playback (14%), and simply barely inched forward in voice calls and net shopping. Total, we would say the S25 Extremely’s benefit is as giant as to be immaterial.
Charging pace
Each telephones are rated for 45W charging. Neither is {that a} significantly excessive worth, nor do Samsungs have a historical past of constructing the very best of it, and certainly each fashions put up unremarkable numbers for charging pace. The S25 Extremely does have a minor benefit on this race, however we do not assume that it is important sufficient to be a deciding issue.
Maybe barely extra vital is the S25 Extremely’s Qi 2.1 wi-fi charging help, which lets you have circumstances with magnets for coil alignment, and probably automated coil alignment with some in-car wi-fi chargers – fairly area of interest, at this level.
Speaker take a look at
The 2 telephones have similar speaker configurations in precept – one driver on the underside, and one other one up prime that additionally serves as an earpiece. They recorded the very same numerical consequence for loudness in our testing, and whereas numbers do not lie, the S25 Extremely did provide us fuller, nicer-sounding output in a few of our take a look at tracks. One other minor benefit so as to add to the record of minor benefits.
Efficiency
The Galaxy S25 Extremely is powered by the most recent top-tier Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Equally, final yr’s mannequin had the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, probably the most highly effective one on the time.
Each chipsets are in a “for Galaxy” spec, that means marginally larger frequencies on this or that core in comparison with common variations of the SoC present in different manufacturers’ telephones – no large deal in observe, and largely irrelevant when taking a look at two generations of Galaxies in isolation.
There’s an elusive 16GB/1TB reminiscence model of the S25 Extremely in China, however apart from that, each fashions include 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage – not a lot to set them aside there.
Benchmark efficiency
The S25 Extremely does rating meaningfully larger in all benchmarks and can be considerably extra highly effective at AI duties, so if final efficiency is what you are after, the reply is evident. That mentioned, the S24 Extremely isn’t any slouch itself and can stay related for a superb few years. The 7 years of software program help on each fashions roughly put them on a stage taking part in discipline when it comes to futureproofing.
Digital camera comparability
There’s little distinction between the digital camera {hardware} that these two have – the one new bit, out of a complete of 5 cameras, is the ultrawide digital camera. The S25 Extremely swaps out the 12MP unit for a 50MP sensor, in nearly the identical measurement.
Talking of, the 200MP primary digital camera on the S25 Extremely is certainly the identical as on the S24 Extremely and, properly, the identical as on the S23 Extremely earlier than it. The telephotos have been carried over too.
Over on the entrance, there aren’t any adjustments both – the selfie digital camera is identical as earlier than.
Picture high quality
The {hardware} stands out as the identical, however the processing has some minor tweaks and primary digital camera pictures on the brand new mannequin exhibit much less sharpening and a considerably extra pure element rendition. That is about as small a distinction as one may spot although, and we’re not seeing any others.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 1x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 1x
At 2x zoom, even that minor distinction tends to vanish.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 2x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 2x
The shorter teles on each telephones seize primarily the identical photos.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 3x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 3x
Taking a look at photos from the 5x zoom cameras aspect by aspect, you would be scratching your head making an attempt to determine if they’re, certainly, shot on two completely different telephones.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 5x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 5x
At 10x zoom, the S25 Extremely does seem like preserving a little bit bit finer element – it is nonetheless wanting fairly synthetic, however there may be higher definition in its pictures when in comparison with the S24 Extremely’s.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 10x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 10x
Apparently sufficient, the S24 Extremely’s outcomes from its ‘outdated’ ultrawide digital camera are that little bit sharper than the S25 Extremely’s ‘new’ one. Not an enormous distinction, in fact, besides – what sort of an improve is that?
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight picture samples, 0.5x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight picture samples, 0.5x
There are some nuances between the outcomes from the selfie cameras on the 2 telephones, however usually, issues are wanting nice on each. This is not going to be a deciding issue both, we reckon.
Selfie samples: Galaxy S25 Extremely • Galaxy S24 Extremely
At nighttime, there is a bit extra of a generational divide on the principle digital camera. Neither telephone’s outcomes are leaving us ecstatic, however in some way the S24 Extremely’s noisier, but sharper pictures are extra to our liking. The S25 Extremely’s images have a extra smoothened look and never essentially in a great way.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 1x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 1x
At 2x, issues are more durable to name, with every telephone getting one scene or one other higher than the opposite.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 2x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 2x
The 3x outcomes are primarily a toss-up, although in case you stare lengthy sufficient, it is virtually as if the S24 Extremely has a minor edge.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 3x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 3x
Comparisons at 5x present comparable ranges of element between the 2 telephones however some extra noticeable white steadiness discrepancies, the place we would say the S25 Extremely is staying nearer to being correct.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 5x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 5x
At 10x zoom, there’s little to separate the 2 telephones when it comes to element, although as soon as once more, the S25 Extremely is probably that little bit extra correct in its white steadiness.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 10x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 10x
Equally, the S25 Extremely’s ultrawide digital camera does marginally higher with colours than its S24 Extremely counterpart. In flip, the older mannequin’s photos are sharper total, if a bit grainier.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light picture samples, 0.5x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light picture samples, 0.5x
For a big selection of head-to-head images from the 2 telephones, captured exterior of our standard picture samples areas, you’ll be able to try our early take a look at the S25 Extremely’s cameras.
Video high quality
Under we’ve got a number of framegrabs from the movies taken by the 2 telephones at every focal size so it is simpler to check to 1 one other.
Each telephones have wide-ranging video recording capabilities, with 4K60 and 4K24 accessible on all cameras (4K30 too, to state the apparent). The S25 Extremely provides 8K and 4K120 on the ultrawide (the S24 Extremely’s ultrawide maxes out at 4K60). Aside from these ‘benefits’, the 2 telephones are roughly the identical when it comes to accessible modes and choices. Nicely, the S25 Extremely has a brand new Log video mode and captures 10-bit HDR video as a substitute of 8-bit, however we take into account these options area of interest sufficient to not weigh a lot in our basic comparability right now.
Video high quality in the course of the day is comparable between the 2 telephones (large shock, we all know), with delicate variations right here or there. For instance, the S24 Extremely’s ultrawide has a slight edge in sharpness – identical to it did in images. At 1x and 2x, the S25 Extremely reveals nicer, extra vibrant colours and ever so barely much less sharpening. Zooming in additional, the S24 Extremely’s 3x digital camera reveals a little bit nicer element rendition, and at 5x it is also the older mannequin that does higher effective element processing. At 10x, the brand new mannequin’s larger distinction and stronger sharpening do are inclined to make its footage seem a little bit higher.
Galaxy S25 Extremely daylight video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x
Galaxy S24 Extremely daylight video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x
At nighttime, the S25 Extremely begins off with marginally higher ultrawide seize, issues are roughly tied at 1x, whereas the S25 Extremely has a extra pronounced benefit at 2x. Zooming in additional, the S25 Extremely maintains the higher hand all through.
Galaxy S25 Extremely low-light video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x
Galaxy S24 Extremely low-light video samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x • 3x • 5x • 10x
Verdict
We’re usually not ones to actively select final yr’s telephone – it is solely the most recent and the best, in case you ask this lot. You possibly can see how this makes a comparability of this type significantly exhausting for us – we would be selecting the S25 Extremely any day of the week, just because it is the newer one and thus, it needs to be the superior one. Nevertheless it simply is not that apparent this time.
In fact, there are methods by which the S25 Extremely is healthier than the S24 Extremely. We’re getting a nudge in battery life, nicer-sounding audio system, wi-fi charging improve (sort of), extra superior supplies. However we may have been getting even higher battery life, or some extra modern digital camera {hardware}, if Samsung actually wished to seize our hearts. And axing the S Pen performance simply would not really feel proper.
With that in thoughts, the S24 Extremely is sort of nearly as good because the S25 Extremely in most methods, and is notably higher in that one specific, standout manner. Plus, it needs to be considerably cheaper. Possibly get the outdated one, this time?
Get the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely for:
The most recent AI smarts.
The brand new, extra highly effective chipset.
Tiny enhancements, mixed – endurance, audio system, Qi2.1.
The flatter construct (could possibly be subjective), which can be harder (perhaps).
Get the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely for:
The extra feature-rich S Pen (greatest built-in digital camera distant).
The higher ultrawide digital camera, oddly.
The largely comparable consumer expertise.
The cheaper price.
