My activity comes to trying out more than one sides of client tech, together with the newest smartphones. I picked up Samsung’s newest flagship – the Galaxy S25 Extremely – previous this month. The Galaxy S25 Extremely, whilst being some of the polished smartphones from Samsung, has the least collection of important year-on-year upgrades in comparison to closing 12 months’s S24 Extremely. I used to be conscious about this earlier than buying the telephone and was hoping the smaller refinements would pay massive dividends.
On the other hand, I packed up my Galaxy S25 Extremely per week later and shipped it to Samsung for money back. Should you suppose this implies the Galaxy S25 Extremely is a foul telephone, it isn’t. Some sides of the tool are superb, and nearly satisfied me to stay the tool. Nonetheless, the collection of alternatives I’ve in India for flagship telephones made positive I returned the telephone. What are the parameters the Galaxy S25 Extremely could not ship on, and which telephone did I am getting as a substitute? Let’s unravel it.
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Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely now not lives as much as its identify
A straight-B scholar
The similar outdated cameras
Device does the entire heavy lifting
I am a images fanatic. You’ll be able to regularly in finding me engrossed in side road images or capturing portraits of folks. So, cameras are on the best of my precedence checklist for a smartphone. That is the place the Galaxy S25 Extremely was once a letdown in comparison to different smartphones I have used not too long ago. The Galaxy S25 Extremely has a flexible set of cameras that the general public would possibly not whinge about. However in case you are fascinated with images, you’ll be able to in finding faults within the digicam output.
It essentially stems from the now-dated {hardware} utilized by Samsung in its flagships. The 200MP number one digicam is extra for bragging rights than precise effects because the sensor will depend on flexing its tool algorithms to provide synthetic main points. Additionally, the 10MP 3X telephoto digicam hasn’t been upgraded in ages and is appearing its age. Photographs seem comfortable, and the sensor struggles to assemble gentle at the hours of darkness.
The opposite zoom digicam – the 5X periscope lens – suffers from the similar factor, because of a small sensor and slim aperture. Samsung tries to make up for the {hardware} boundaries the usage of computational algorithms, however there is little that excellent tool can succeed in when the {hardware} is not succesful sufficient.
In comparison to the Galaxy S25 Extremely, the cameras at the Vivo X200 Professional, Oppo In finding X8 Professional, and Xiaomi 15 Extremely are miles forward relating to shooting main points and correct colours. The entirety from the usual 1X shooter to the devoted periscope cameras on those units is healthier than the optics used at the S25 Extremely.
Xiaomi makes use of an enormous 1-inch sensor, leading to creamy bokeh and an implausible quantity of sunshine captured at the hours of darkness with out the usage of evening mode. Vivo and Oppo use a reasonably smaller 1/1.28-inch sensor that could be a notch underneath Xiaomi, however a lot better than Samsung’s 1/1.3-inch implementation. Vivo and Xiaomi have awesome 200MP periscope cameras with a big 1/1.4-inch sensor dimension. The S25 Extremely’s 3X digicam has a 1/3.52-inch sensor, and the 5X digicam has a 1/2.52-inch sensor. That is a marked distinction.
Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo beat Samsung palms down within the digicam division because of a transparent {hardware} benefit, one thing I’m hoping Samsung borrows for subsequent 12 months’s Galaxy S26 Extremely.
The similar outdated battery
Transfer to silicon-carbon already
Clicking footage for lengthy intervals calls for excellent staying power, and the Galaxy S25 Extremely fails to check the contest. The Vivo X200 Professional, with its huge 6,000mAh battery, outperforms the S25 Extremely conveniently. I persistently get a minimum of 1.5-2 hours of extra utilization at the Vivo, which is a vital distinction. In a similar way, the Oppo In finding X8 Professional additionally has a big 5,910mAh battery. That is because of the brand new silicon-carbon battery tech making its method to telephones.
Regardless of the era now changing into mainstream, Samsung caught to a 5,000mAh Li-Ion cellular. The capability is not low, however my S25 Extremely regularly had not up to 10% of juice left by way of 11 PM. My Vivo X200 Professional persistently has 30% to 35% battery closing by way of the tip of on a daily basis. To make issues worse for Samsung, the X200 Professional fees from 10% to 100% in about 40 mins, whilst the S25 Extremely takes with regards to 1.5 hours.
The similar outdated downgraded S Pen
Give me my Bluetooth again
That is one house the place I want Samsung retained the similar outdated pattern. I do not signal paperwork regularly, so the main use case for the S Pen on my S24 Extremely was once to take footage. Now, Samsung removed that characteristic, rendering the S-Pen unnecessary for me and hundreds of alternative customers. Making an allowance for how helpful the characteristic was once, I want Samsung had retained it.
One UI 7 is the one saving grace
The most efficient Android pores and skin recently
All issues thought to be, Samsung’s One UI 7 is my favourite Android pores and skin. It seems blank, has a host of options, and is snappy to make use of. From the facility to head berserk with home-screen animations to the generative AI within the gallery app, Samsung nailed the tool revel in at the Galaxy S25 Extremely.
All through my time with the smartphone, the tool was once a few of the handiest two causes that might persuade me no longer to go back the telephone. The anti-reflective show was once the opposite. The whole consumer revel in of those two components is sufficient to persuade the general public to persist with the telephone. They’re that excellent. On the other hand, the digicam output and battery lifestyles did not reside as much as my expectancies.
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Outdated wine in a brand new bottle
It is time to get again to the planning stage, Samsung
I want I may stay the Galaxy S25 Extremely. However there are higher telephones in a identical worth vary. They will not be higher in all respects, however they are sufficient to edge the S25 Extremely out of the image. For years, Samsung’s ‘S’ sequence of smartphones has been the benchmark for a forged Android flagship. On the other hand, that is the case handiest in areas like North The us, the place manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are non-existent.
The loss of those manufacturers in nations like the USA and Canada has made Samsung complacent. It has little to no pageant, so it may well escape with minor, iterative upgrades once a year. I’m hoping this adjustments quickly and that Samsung returns to being a marketplace chief in innovation love it was once. Till that occurs, I am switching to the Vivo X200 Professional. It is only a higher telephone.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely leaves the Notice-like design in the back of for the first actual time. With flat edges, curved corners, and an enormous 6.9-inch show, it is a fashionable flagship via and thru — and sure, that S Pen continues to be right here too.
