Samsung Galaxy S25 review: Small, powerful, and familiar

The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a compact flagship that doesn’t break new ground but refines what Samsung already does well. It feels fantastic in the hand - small, premium, and easy to use with one hand, a rarity in 2025. But with minor hardware updates and a focus on AI software, is it enough to justify the ₹80,999 price tag? Let’s dive in.

Design & Display: Small but Mighty

After years of using big-screen phones, I love the S25’s smaller size. The 6.2-inch 2X AMOLED display is bright, crisp, and smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,600 nits peak brightness - though it’s the same panel as last year’s S24.

Samsung has made the S25 slightly thinner, but you won’t notice unless you compare it side by side with its predecessor. The Silver Shadow variant I tested looks great with its frosted finish, though I personally prefer the Navy blue option.

Samsung also added Qi2 wireless charging, but there’s a catch - you’ll need a Qi2-compatible case to take advantage of it.

Performance & Battery: A Big Win

The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy makes the S25 incredibly fast. Whether gaming, multitasking, or running AI-powered features, it never slows down. Samsung also improved battery efficiency, delivering 28+ hours of video playback - one of the best battery performances in any small flagship.

Daily usage? Two full days on a single charge with moderate use. That’s seriously impressive for a phone this size.

Cameras: Still Good, But No Major Upgrade

The camera hardware is unchanged - a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide, and 10MP 3x telephoto - but software processing has improved. The Snapdragon 8 Elite helps with better low-light noise reduction and sharper digital zoom, and 10x zoom shots are more usable than before.

However, Samsung’s AI-driven camera features still trail behind Apple’s and Google’s latest tricks. Night shots sometimes lean too warm, and Samsung’s new Virtual Aperture mode feels more like a slight tweak to Portrait Mode than a true game-changer.

For video, HDR recording is now on by default, and Galaxy Log mode lets professionals tweak footage more easily. Audio Eraser, Samsung’s AI-powered noise reduction, works well but can sometimes make voices sound artificial.

AI Features: More Useful, but Not a Game-Changer

Samsung is betting big on AI, with deeper Google Gemini integration and new Galaxy AI tricks. Some are genuinely helpful:

    •    Now Bar & Now Brief attempt to make notifications and updates smarter, though they feel limited at launch.
    •    AI Select makes it easier to copy and translate text or add events to your calendar.
    •    Voice commands with Gemini AI are now more context-aware, making it easier to set reminders, plan routes, or send messages.

The potential is there, but these AI features don’t yet feel essential - especially since Samsung might put them behind a paywall in the future.

Verdict: A Great Phone, But a Small Upgrade

The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a fantastic small flagship and one of my current favourites in its form factor. At ₹80,999, the S25 is a solid but incremental update. If you’re upgrading from an S22 or older, it’s a fantastic choice. But if you already have last year’s flagship, waiting for discounts might be the smarter move.