Samsung Galaxy S25+ pros and cons
Vibrant OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate.
Excellent performance and improvements to battery life
Seven years of OS updates.
Few aesthetic tweaks over last year's model.
Charging speeds improved, but still lag behind competition.
Ultrawide lacking, as well as digital 30x zoom offering mixed results.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25+ might look familiar at first glance, yet it represents one of the most polished Android flagships on the market.
This device ties together Samsung's clear strategy of incremental innovation - refining the display quality, enhancing AI-assisted smarts, and delivering tangible improvements to everyday usability with improvements to battery life.
When you combine that with an understated aesthetic tweak over last year's model and a price point that places it squarely between the entry-level S25 and the all-singing Ultra, the S25+ succeeds in carving out an attractive niche that gives consumers the best of both worlds.
Design and specifications
The Galaxy S25+ maintains the clean, symmetrical design language introduced by Samsung last year - flat aluminium sides, a polished glass rear protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and minimal yet distinct individual camera protrusions, creating an entirely contemporary style.
Weighing 190g and measuring 7.7mm in thickness, the phone strikes a comfortable balance between ample screen space and one-handed usability.
An IP68 rating (common to the trio) ensures protection against water, whilst the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor continues to provide rapid and reliable security.
Powering the device is the 'Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy' - a bit of a mouthful, but it speaks volumes to the Korean manufacturer's tweaking and tailoring of the latest processor to deliver impressive performance.
Hardware specs are rounded out with a healthy 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, with no expandable options.
Samsung also remains the king of colourways, with no less than seven variants - with three (Blue/Black, Coral Red and Pink/Gold) exclusive to consumers purchasing directly from the Samsung website.
Our review model was the unassuming 'Icyblue' (sic), a bit of a fingerprint magnet but the pastel hue only added to the modern looks of the S25+.
Screen display and audio
The 6.7-inch AMOLED screen is an immediate area of improvement, boasting a QHD+ resolution (3120 x 1440), HDR10+ support, and an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz.
It feels fluid, responsive, and vivid across various types of content, and its peak brightness of 2,600 nits ensures clear visibility even under direct sunlight.
Samsung’s 'Vision Booster' technology dynamically adjusts tone mapping and contrast, enhancing outdoor legibility, while Eye Comfort Shield effectively reduces eye strain during prolonged usage.
Stereo speakers provide markedly crisp and balanced audio output, enhanced by Dolby Atmos support that gives additional roominess in compatible apps.
The Galaxy S25+ shapes up excellently for media consumption, with audio chops extending to voice clarity during calls, which remained consistently impressive.
Camera
The Galaxy S25+ incorporates Samsung’s updated ProVisual Engine, combining improved sensors, AI-driven scene optimisation, and multi-frame processing to consistently deliver high-quality images across various conditions.
The triple-lens setup consists of a 50MP main sensor (f/1.8 aperture with autofocus and optical image stabilisation), a 12MP ultrawide sensor (f/2.2 and a 120° field of view), and a 10MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 3× optical zoom and also enjoys OIS).
Samsung’s stellar imaging pipeline has yet to be refined to prioritise natural colours, balanced contrast, and enhanced clarity. Daylight shots from the primary sensor appear sharp, well-exposed, and rich with realistic textures. The ProVisual Engine dynamically adapts exposure and saturation, avoiding the overly processed appearance of previous Galaxy models.
Low-light performance has significantly improved from last year, with Night mode activating faster and using fewer exposures. This results in brighter, cleaner images with minimal noise. Skin tones in low-light conditions appear more lifelike, and the camera handles mixed indoor lighting especially well.
The 10MP telephoto lens provides clear 3× optical zoom, which digitally extends to 30×. Quality is strong up to around 10× and remains usable for casual photography up to about 15×, assisted by built-in stabilisation and AI sharpening. Beyond that, it starts to become fairly grainy with good - but not great - image quality when images are lifted from the device and viewed on the big screen.
The ultrawide lens delivers fair dynamic range and colour consistency with minimal distortion around image edges...but the delta between this and the Ultra's amazing 50MP effort does become acutely apparent when looking at images side-by-side.
Portrait mode has improved with smarter edge detection and accurate depth simulation. The 12MP front-facing camera supports 4K video with impressive dynamic range, suitable for selfies and video calls alike.
Video recording is available up to 8k at 30fps and 4k at 60fps across all lenses, with excellent stabilisation, quick autofocus, and consistent colour reproduction between photos and videos alike.
Processor and performance
Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy, the Galaxy S25+ offers blistering speed, responsiveness, and thermal management making for a battery life that's best-in-class.
Using this as a daily driver saw it become an essential commuting option - streaming movies on the Sky app was a joy.
Samsung has upgraded its vapour chamber cooling system to ensure sustained smoothness under heavy workloads.
Testing mainstay games such as Genshin Impact and Infiniti Nikki ran without noticeable stutters, and battery drain remains impressively controlled.
The S25+ notably excels in its on-device AI capabilities, which are part of Samsung’s Galaxy AI ecosystem integrated into One UI 7.
AI features include real-time call translation, intelligent summarisation of notes and web pages, and AI-powered image editing such as background removal and generative fill.
These functions also run directly on the device, providing both speed and peace of mind, thanks to that layer of enhanced privacy.
Battery life
The hefty 4,900mAh battery provides more than enough juice for a full day of heavy use—the same as found in the S24+—but there's no doubt the Snapdragon Elite chip is doing the work to drive far better efficiency here.
Even with brightness ramped up and the adaptive refresh rate enabled, the S25+ comfortably gets through 16-18 hours of regular activity with room to spare.
Charging types also remain largely unchanged from the previous incarnation, offering 45W wired, 15W wireless charging (Qi2.1 compatible), and 4.5W reverse wireless charging for accessories such as earbuds or smartwatches.
While these charging speeds aren't class-leading, performance remains steady, safe, and predictable. A full charge is achievable in just under an hour using a compatible charger—albeit not something that comes with the device.
Samsung Galaxy S25+ deals
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Samsung Galaxy S25+ UK pricing and availability
At the time of writing, the Galaxy S25+ is available across the UK for £999 for the 256GB version and £1,099 for the 512GB model.
The full suite of variants is Icyblue, Mint, Navy, and Silver Shadow, with those additional exclusive colours remaining exclusive to Samsung's official website—also the home of some attractive incentives, from free earbuds to moving up a storage tier at no additional cost.
Be sure to keep an eye on the site for the latest offers, as they tend to be both frequent and attractive, not to mention now also offering contract deals in addition to SIM-free offers.
Samsung also continues to offer one of the market’s strongest trade-in programmes - giving hundreds of pounds off for sending in earlier phones, as well as an industry-leading pledge of seven years of operating system and security updates, significantly extending the phone’s staying power - music to our ears.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25+ is a capable smartphone that provides thoughtful - and meaningful - upgrades in areas that matter most.
Imaging, display technology, and longevity - in terms of both battery life and software support - are all front and centre on the list of upgrades that the Galaxy S25 delivers, in a reassuringly recognisable Samsung package.
For anyone seeking a premium Android experience without the added cost - or heft - of the Ultra variant, the Galaxy S25+ is Samsung at its most composed, delivering a compelling balance of price and power.
