The Samsung Galaxy S25 series Hands-on: If it ain’t broke

At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked occasion in San Jose, California, the company revealed its brand-new front runner S collection gadgets: the Galaxy S 25, the Galaxy S 25 +, and the Galaxy S 25 Ultra. Prior to the event, I had the opportunity to attempt each smart device hands-on.

This is crazy, and you would certainly never ever expect it, yet the S 25’s design looks similar to its predecessors– that’s a joke, as Samsung devices have shared a number of the same layout components for numerous years straight. You can claim this is similar to various other brands, but Samsung’s adjustments are so minute each year that there’s hardly been any progression in terms of design. The South Korean phone manufacturer utilizes the “if it ain’t damaged” viewpoint, and it’s not damaged, yet it’s a bit boring.

There is some activity; nonetheless, the S 25 Ultra now sporting activities a flat framework and rounded edges, which enables it to match the S 25 and S 25 +, but its body still seems quite cumbersome. I’ve utilized the OnePlus 13 for the past month, so the Ultra feels like a beefy tool in contrast. Contrasted to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the S 25 Ultra, luckily, does not feel a lot larger. Nonetheless, there’s an unpleasant intensity where the rear of the device meets the frame, and you’ll notice it when you’re holding the phone. Specific gadgets have had this problem in the past, yet I really did not anticipate it on Samsung’s most recent flagship.

The S 25 and S 25 + don’t have this problem; both feel relatively slim and fantastic to hold.

With the level structure and rounded edges, Samsung lowered the bezels’ width and raised display size. I am a big follower of this, and I think the S 25 Ultra looks premium as it’s practically bezel-less.

Little electronic camera upgrades

On the back, the S 25 Ultra has a familiar video camera configuration to its precursors, with two telephotos, its key shooter, and an ultra-wide electronic camera. Spec-wise, Samsung has continued with its “it ain’t damaged” viewpoint and planted the same 200 -megapixel primary electronic camera, a 50 -megapixel telephoto with 5 x zoom, and 12 -megapixel with 3 x zoom as in 2014.

Nevertheless, there is a brand-new shooter as the ultrawide electronic camera has been upgraded with a 50 -megapixel sensing unit. Throughout my hands-on duration, I really did not place these electronic cameras with their speeds, but I anticipate a likewise superb experience to the S 24 Ultra. I’ll try this brand-new ultrawide video camera, as a 50 -megapixel sensing unit need to enable more light and information compared to in 2014’s 12 -megapixel ultrawide. The 50 -megapixel ultrawide likewise supports macro photography. I saw a trial of this, and it was rather outstanding; you can see the insane quantity of detail and textures in the fruit in the image listed below.

Samsung’s “Hero Colour” is Titanium Silverblue, which, in the beginning, I believed looked quite dull and simple. Nonetheless, when you hold the gadget to the light, there’s a glow, advising me of the Galaxy Note 10 Ultra’s “Mood Glow” colour variant. It’s not as impactful as that colour variation, yet it includes a little bit of character to this colour alternative. I’m currently a fan of the new colour.

The S 25 Plus’ new Hero Colour is Navy, which is most likely my favourite of all the base colours. The S 25 has Icyblue, which is also quite good. The Samsung-exclusive Black is quite; it’s matte black all over the mobile phone, contrasted to the various other tools that separate the colour by using a silver frame. I such as most of these colour options, and I desire this had not been a Samsung-exclusive colour, as I won’t get it to evaluate.

One UI 7.0 brings handy new attributes

One UI 7.0 debuts on the S 25 collection with features like the ‘Currently Quick’ and the ‘Currently Disallow.’ The Now Bar is Samsung’s take on the apple iphone’s Dynamic Island or OnePlus’s Live Alerts and works with your lock display. It’ll show essential info like just how much longer you have on a timer or how long you have actually been recording your meeting. Samsung claims that this deals with every one of Samsung’s indigenous apps and Google apps also. Seeing Google Maps on the Now Bar seems like an inventive concept and something I can utilize as it reveals you the following instructions, which is all I commonly require when taking a trip. Samsung claims third-party apps like Spotify and WhatsApp likewise work with the Now Bar; nonetheless, the business will also work with more firms to get them on it.

As component of One UI 7.0, the Now Bar gets an online section in the standing bar. As an example, if you have a timer going, it’ll show the timer in the leading right edge, which resembles the OnePlus Live Notifies. Samsung could not verify whether every application that services the Now Bar will certainly additionally appear below, but the business claimed “most” will.

Also prior to examining the gadget, I might inform that this may be an attribute I like. Surprisingly, Samsung seems rather hushed regarding this aspect of the ‘Currently Disallow’ function, however having a direct competitor to the Dynamic Island on both the lock display and when your tool is unlocked seems very useful. You can even cycle through the various Now ‘Bars’. If you had Google Maps, a timer, and Spotify all going simultaneously, you can cycle via these on either the lock screen or when they’re in the leading right corner. This likewise works with apple iphone’s Dynamic Island but can get untidy if you have a lot of things going on simultaneously (I attempted having all 3 of the above functions on Dynamic Island to compare, and the Spotify application quit appearing).

There’s also the Now Short, which takes a number of days to understand your patterns, but after that, it’ll enter a summary of your day. You’ll get to see the weather, some information that could interest you, and any type of events you have for the day. The Now Quick will likewise show up on the Now Bar throughout the day; you’ll see it when you first awaken, in the evening, and at some time in between. Now Short deal with Samsung Routines, Digital Wellbeing, Traveling, Music and Podcasts, YouTube Shorts, and even traffic updates. In the Now Quick Setups, there’s also something that says “Interaction,” which I’m curious to read more regarding. I want seeing how useful this is as I make use of the device much more. I can see just how Now Quick showing me web traffic updates on my way home from work works or revealing me the most up to date YouTube Shorts from someone I’m signed up for, yet I also suspect that this could be an attribute I hardly ever usage.

And AI, obviously

Besides the Now Bar, one of the coolest functions pertaining to the S 25 series is ‘AI Select.’ To make use of the attribute, you have to pull on the famous sidebar and at the top, you’ll see AI Select. After tapping, the AI Select interface will certainly show up, and you can touch something on your display and obtain choices like converting or making a wallpaper; it’s contextual and reacts to your screen. The very best element of this function is making GIFs. For instance, if you get on a YouTube video, a GIF option will certainly show up, and you can conveniently produce a GIF. I’m a fan of this, as I have problem with my GIF creation.

The S 25 series additionally has its own Gemini communications. Samsung calls this a seamless experience, permitting Gemini to engage with various other applications, like Messages and Samsung Schedule. Throughout my demonstration session, the Samsung item supervisor showed an instance of taking a picture of a soccer ticket. After that, Gemini included the details to the calendar, and you might send a message straight to your good friend without getting out of the Gemini interface. The one-of-a-kind Samsung-exclusive attribute is that it also deals with Samsung apps like the Samsung Calendar or Samsung Notes applications.

Various other functions include Audio Eraser and Ideal Face, which I intend to experiment with during the review duration. It deserves noting that a lot of these features will certainly drip down to older Samsung tools when they upgrade to One UI 7.0.

Samsung suches as to take child actions– making tiny updates, guaranteeing they function, and afterwards launching them. This philosophy collaborates with its design, cams, and other attributes. Much of us in the technology space are obtaining a little bit sick of this, but it makes sense and is exactly how Samsung stays on top of the Android market– the business doesn’t desire one more Galaxy Note 7 occurrence. And also, if you’re upgrading your tool every 3 or 4 years, this will certainly seem brand-new.

The Samsung Galaxy S 25 series is currently readily available for pre-order and will officially release on February 7 th. In Canada, all three handsets have seen a rate rise. The S 25 begins at $ 1, 198 CAD, the S 25 + at $ 1, 438 99, and the S 25 Ultra at the ridiculous rate of $ 1, 918 99; we can condemn this on our buck. Although the united state cost for the S 25 Ultra starts at $ 1, 299, which transforms to $ 1, 862 CAD, so it appears like there’s a little bit of a Canadian costs.

I expect a similar experience to last year’s phones, yet I really hope these AI features will shock me and upgrade the experience. I’ll put the S 25 Ultra via its rates for the next two weeks. In the comments listed below, allow us recognize what you think about the S 25 collection.