Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus review: incredibly iterative
Deja vu.Samsungas Galaxy S-series is in its software era. Maybe the whole smartphone industry is, too, save for a few phones with hinges (Samsungas included). But overall, we have exited the hardware-driven innovation cycle and are firmly in the midst of a software-based one. If you want proof, the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus are a good place to start.
These are great phones, which is no surprise. They look, feel, and operate like devices worthy of their $799 and $999 price tags. Theyare slated to get seven years of OS upgrades, which amounts to a damn good return on that investment. I used both to take nice photos, play my little games, and generally go about my day without a hitch.
This was all true of the S24 and S24 Plus and the S23 and S23 Plus. I couldnat give you a good reason why the S25 stands out compared to Samsungas last three generations of S-series phones. I donat think Samsung can, either, because its entire sales pitch for the S25 revolves around software and AI capabilities a much of which will almost certainly be ported to previous S-series phones in short order.
Hereas the kicker: the software improvements arenat all that great, either. AI can do a few …