Samsung Galaxy S25 AI focused, should you upgrade or skip?

Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra has been launched with AI focused software upgrades and minimal design upgrades from previous year's release the Galaxy S24 series.

Here's a full breakdown of the S25 series, and should you upgrade it or skip for the next year release of S26? We have covered Pros and Cons of all three models, alongside features, performance, prices, and comparison.

Galaxy S25 Series Pros and Specs:

Samsung has made all three devices without many specs difference this year, as all Galaxy S25 models are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. With few differences like screen size, storage capacity.

• All models have 12 GB RAM.

• Same peak brightness of 2600 nits and 120Hz refresh rate, display in all three models.

• Out of box 1080 FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, which can be upgraded via settings to QHD+ on Plus model and Ultra model.

• All same AI features across the board.

The S25 Ultra has a 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, whereas S25+ has a slightly smaller 6.7-inch display.

The standard S25 comes with 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display.

• The unique feature of Galaxy S25 Ultra is its body, which is made out of Titanium, unlike the Plus and regular S25 model, which both have an aluminium body.

• A slightly better glass with extra scratch resistance and durability.

• One unique feature on the Ultra model is its anti glare display quality, which is better than the other models.

• The unique selling point of the Ultra model is by far its S-Pan.

• S25 Ultra is powered by a 5,000mAh battery supporting fast charging up to 45Whts.

• The S25 Ultra provides up to 1 TB of storage capacity.

Cons:

The biggest thing about the S25 series that we did not like and would want to get rid of is, its wobble when put on the surface like table.

The phone is prone to unpleasant movement and sounds if you put it on a flat, hard surface, which sometimes annoys the user.

The second-worst thing about this year's S25 series is that the Ultra model does not have a Bluetooth enabled S-pan, which is a worse downgrade for a phone that has a fan base centred at its S-Pan feature.

The S25 and its predecessors also lack an S-Pan by default, which is something we don't like. The fact that there was a Galaxy Note series which had an S-Pan to all its models for the same premium price.

Storage options: The S25 starts at 128 GB storage goes up to 256 GB and S25+ starts at 256 GB and goes up to 512 GB. The S25 Ultra also starts at 256 GB and provides up to 1 TB.

Galaxy S25 & S25+ are identical when it comes to camera specs, both comes with a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 200MP main sensor, an upgraded 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

Battery: The S25 series give three options when it comes to battery, the Galaxy S25 comes with a 4,000mAh battery with 25W wired charging (no charger in the box).

The S25+ includes a 4,900mAh battery with 45W wired charging (no charger in the box).

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery inside with fast charging up to 45Whts (no charger in the box).

The biggest Con for a mobile device of this price range is always not having a fast charger inside the box.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series AI features:

The Samsung has gone big into its AI powered features on the S25 series with features like circle to detect/search feature, Multimodal AI Agents, AI select, Cross App actions, Now Brief, dedicated button to initiate AI voice search etc.

The AI features are blended into the Android 15 and One UI 7 (out of the box).

AI select: The AI select feature lets you know more information of the thing currently on the screen or what you select on the screen. You can do many things after you click on the AI select feature.

Cross App actions: The features enable the user to do multitasking from a single command, like messaging, searching, etc.

Now Brief: The feature summarizes and displays multiple apps notifications and information at a single page UI. The weather, news, fitness data etc could be accessed at one place.

Real-time translation occurs through the Live Translation software, which supports more than 50 different languages.

Prices in India

2GB RAM + 256GB Storage: ₹80,999

12GB RAM + 512GB Storage: ₹92,999

12GB RAM + 256GB Storage: ₹99,999

12GB RAM + 512GB Storage: ₹1,11,999

12GB RAM + 256GB Storage: ₹1,29,999

12GB RAM + 512GB Storage: ₹1,41,999

12GB RAM + 1TB Storage: ₹1,65,999

Prices in US

128GB Storage: $799.99

256GB Storage: $859.99

256GB Storage: $999.99

512GB Storage: $1,119.99

256GB Storage: $1,299.99

512GB Storage: $1,419.99

1TB Storage: $1,659.99

The final point that we need to discuss is, should you upgrade or skip the S25 series for the next year's release?

The answer depends on your needs and what you expect from an upgrade to a smartphone. If AI packed features and a premium device meet your needs, then the Samsung S25 series is one of the best brands and product lines available in the market.

If you think you don't have a need for AI dominating device packed with AI features, which by the way are in its early days, then you can wait for the segment to mature with AI advancements.

Note the information may not be 100% accurate and use of AI models is done for research on the topic.

Chief Editor, Junaid Khan.

Guest Writer: Ifra Tayyab.

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