Samsung Galaxy S25+ Review: Is It Worth the Upgrade?

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus offers a stunning display, powerful AI features, fast performance, and great battery life in a sleek design.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus stands out as a bigger and more advanced version of the Galaxy S25, but it doesn’t get all the top features of the Ultra model, like the 200MP camera or titanium frame. Still, it’s a solid choice.

The Galaxy S25 Plus uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for faster performance and has a higher-resolution screen than the regular S25, with nearly-4K quality, improved by Samsung’s ProScaler AI.

The larger size means a bigger 4,900mAh battery, promising better battery life especially with the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s power-saving abilities. Phone also has improved AI features for photo editing, video tools and better interaction with other Samsung devices.

One exciting addition is Samsung’s Personal Data Engine, a secure space where the AI collects your data to make personalized suggestions. It will analyze your messages, photos, and habits, but all this data is securely stored on the phone with Samsung Knox protection, not in the cloud.

While the phone feels like an upgrade with new features, it’s clear that the real potential of the Galaxy S25 Plus lies in how the AI will evolve over time. Samsung promises seven years of updates, so it’s built to improve with you. Whether it’s worth buying now depends on how much you’re looking to invest in AI-driven features.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Specifications

Feature	Details
📅 Release Date	2025, February 03
⚖️ Weight	190g (6.70 oz)
📏 Dimensions	158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm (6.24 x 2.98 x 0.29 in)
🖥️ Operating System	Android 15, One UI 7, up to 7 major upgrades
💾 Storage Options	256GB/512GB, no card slot
📱 Screen Size	6.7 inches
🖼️ Display Resolution	1440 x 3120 pixels (~513 ppi density)
🌈 Display Type	Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak brightness)
🔋 Chipset	Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm)
⚡ CPU	Octa-core (2×4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6×3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M)
🎮 GPU	Adreno 830
🧠 RAM	12GB
📷 Main Camera	Triple (50 MP wide, 10 MP telephoto, 12 MP ultrawide)
🤳 Selfie Camera	12 MP
🎥 Video Recording	8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, HDR10+
🔋 Battery	Li-Ion 4900 mAh
⚡ Charging	45W wired (65% in 30 min), 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless
🔊 Audio	Stereo speakers, no 3.5mm jack, 32-bit/384kHz audio tuned by AKG
🌐 Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, NFC, USB Type-C 3.2, Ultra Wideband support
📱 SIM	Dual Nano-SIM + eSIM (up to 2 at a time)
💧 Water Resistance	IP68 dust tight and water-resistant
🧭 Sensors	Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Samsung DeX
🌈 Colors	Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold, Coral Red, Blue Black
💸 Price	$1,019.99
🆔 Models	SM-S936B, SM-S936U, SM-S936W, SM-S936N, SM-S9360
⚖️ SAR	1.16 W/kg (head), 0.81 W/kg (body)
🏆 Performance Scores	AnTuTu: 2193701, GeekBench: 10050, 3DMark: 6755 (Wild Life Extreme)
🔋 Battery Life	Active use: 12:21 hours

The Galaxy S25 Plus offers great value, though the Galaxy S25 Ultra has even better specs. All Galaxy S25 models come with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is slightly overclocked but the exact improvement isn’t clear.

A standout feature in the S25 Plus is Samsung’s ProScaler, which uses AI to enhance video resolution, borrowing tech from their TV division. It won’t boost frame rates, just resolution and is likely exclusive to the S25 Plus and Ultra models with QHD+ displays.

The S25 Plus also has advantages over the standard S25, including support for Samsung SmartTags through ultra-wideband (UWB) and faster charging with a compatible Samsung charger. We’ll test the charging speeds soon.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus was officially revealed at Galaxy Unpacked on January 22, and it’s now available for pre-order. You can choose between two storage options: 256GB and 512GB, and each version comes with 12GB of RAM for smooth performance.

The phone will start shipping on February 7 and the prices are as follows:

256GB: $999 (US), £999 (UK), AU$1,699 (Australia)
512GB: $1,119.99 (US), £1,099 (UK), AU$1,899 (Australia)

If you’re planning to get one, you can place a pre-order now and expect your device to ship soon.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus design and display

The Galaxy S25 Plus offers more than just a bigger screen—it gives a better viewing experience, with a bigger difference between the S25 and Plus this year.

The S25 Plus has a nearly 4K QHD+ display, the same as the S25 Ultra. It also includes the new ProScaler technology, which uses AI to upscale video content to 4K. This upscaling doesn’t change the frame rate, just the resolution, making videos sharper without making them look unnatural.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus cameras

If you were hoping for better cameras in the Galaxy S25 Plus, you might be disappointed. The camera specs are the same as last year, with a 50MP main camera, 10MP zoom (3x), and 12MP ultra-wide. The sensors haven’t improved either, even though the S25 Ultra got a better 50MP ultra-wide camera.

Samsung’s Ultra model has been at the top of the camera phone rankings, so it’s strange that only it gets the best camera specs. This makes the S25 and S25 Plus feel more like mid-range models, even though they’re top-performing phones in other areas.

Better cameras are now available in more affordable, smaller devices from other companies like Apple and Google. While Samsung’s AI Assist features, like as photo enhancement and video editing, are useful, they cannot take the place of superior hardware. Overall, the cameras on the S25 and S25 Plus feel like a missed opportunity this year.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus performance and battery

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset in the Galaxy S25 Plus is a top-tier processor, continuing Samsung’s trend of using a slightly improved version of Qualcomm’s best chip. This year’s boost is small, mainly affecting benchmark scores, but it still gives Samsung an edge.

The phone also features some interesting hardware, like the Personal Data Engine. This system stores your data securely on the device, protected by Samsung Knox security, which is used by many US federal agencies. Your data can only be transferred to a new Galaxy phone using Samsung Smart Switch, and losing your phone means losing the data stored in it. The phone will learn about your habits over time, making it more personal and adaptive as the years go by.

Galaxy S25 Plus has 45W wired charging, which is a little quicker than the Galaxy S25 but still less rapid than competitors like OnePlus, which has 80W charging. To be competitive, Samsung will have to increase its charging speeds.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus software

The Galaxy S25 Plus uses AI to learn your habits over time, gathering data from your phone, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Ring, and SmartThings devices. It can make personalized suggestions, like improving your sleep setup or turning off the TV when you doze off.

It runs on both Samsung Bixby and Google Gemini, but Samsung prioritizes smooth performance over branding. Some AI features were missing in demo units, so it’s unclear what will be available at launch—I’ll need to test the final version to know for sure.

Pros and Cons of Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

🟢Pros	🔴Cons
⚡ Fast performance	✘ Lacks S Pen
🤖 Advanced AI features	📉 Missing 5x optical zoom from Ultra
📸 Great camera quality	🔄 Design feels a bit outdated
🔋 Longer battery life compared to Ultra	🔴
🛡️ Extended software support	🔴

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy S25+ brings almost everything the Ultra offers in a smaller, more affordable package. Its design may feel a bit old, but it still has a great display, excellent performance, good battery life, and strong Galaxy AI features. While the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the top choice for flagship Android phones, the S25+ gives you most of the same experience for a few hundred dollars less, minus the S Pen and some camera zoom.