This year more than ever, the middle child in Samsungs flagship lineup faces an unprecedented level of scrutiny.
Thats a welcome relief given how so many recent phones have seen price hikes.
Everything else, including the triple cameras on the back, are identical.
The Galaxy S25 Plus went on sale starting on February 7, 2025.
Those later three colors are exclusive to Samsung, though.
Even though the overall design stands to get a bigger makeover, the new phone still feels solidly constructed.
Despite this, the screen still looks sharp, colorful, and modestly visible on bright, sunny days.
I pulled up the new Superman trailer onYouTubeand the colors absolutely popped off the screen.
Now, its important to know that these are essentially the same sensors in last years phones.
However, updates to Samsungs ProVisual Engine hint at improved performance overall.
For my comparison photos below, Im using the iPhone 16 Pro Max to illustrate the differences.
You essentially get the same set of cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro.
On its own, the Galaxy S25 Plus camera performance presents very little worth complaining about.
The S25 Plus selfie camera holds up really well in my selfie shot above.
Samsung’s phone just doesnt capture nearly the same amount of detail.
And finally, the S25 Plus does an amazing job at illuminating near pitch black conditions.
Upon closer inspection, though, theres more definition around the tree with the iPhone 16 Pro Maxs shot.
In the $999 price bracket, you really need at least a 5x optical zoom camera to compete.
Its still pretty quick, especially if youre just looking to top up in a short amount of time.
TheOne UI 7software running on top of Android 15 has a significant face lift.
Functionally, its more or less the same with the myriad of features that One UI is known for.
While I do like this new facelift, the bigger story here is all the newGalaxy AIfeatures.
Perhaps that will change over time.
Now that would be cool, but only two third party apps support this feature:WhatsAppandSpotify.
It works on any video, not just those captured by the Galaxy S25.
However, Id like to see it integrated more into the Modes and Routines app.
For the most part, the new Galaxy AI features make the phone more functional than ever before.
More third party apps support is needed with cross app actions to make it a much more powerful tool.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: Verdict
The Galaxy S25 Plus isnt a terrible phone.
Quite the contrary, its one of the smartest and most feature packed phones youll find.
The cameras are identical on both models, too.
Unless you really crave the larger screen, I would recommend sticking to the Galaxy S25.
