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Samsung’s Galaxy S25 brings several improvements in performance, cameras, and on-device AI experiences, but are they enough to upgrade from the two-year-old Galaxy S23? Let’s find out.
Price and Availability
The baselineGalaxy S25 (128GB)costs $799.99 and is available to pre-order on the company’s official website. Units will hit stores starting July 23, 2025. While theGalaxy S23also debuted at the same price, it wasn’t available on Samsung’s official website when this article was written.
Galaxy S25 Is Slimmer and Lighter
The Galaxy S25 isn’t quite different from the two-year-old flagship. Yes, the handset features thinnerbezelson the front, a slightly more durable aluminum frame, and textured camera rings on the back, but other than that, it provides a similar in-hand feel as theGalaxy S23.
Coming to the numbers, the Galaxy S25 is 0.6mm thicker, 0.4mm narrower, and about 0.4mm thinner than the Galaxy S23. That isn’t a significant difference, but the fact that theflagship is slimmer and lighterthan its predecessor (162 grams vs. 168 grams) and features a bigger battery is commendable.
Materials on the S25 remain the same, though. You getCorning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2at the front and back and a slightly stronger second-generation Armor aluminum frame. Everything else, including the placement of the buttons, USB-C port, and the speaker grille, is the same.
Even theIP68 dust and water resistance ratingremains the same. Regarding colors, the S25 comes in four regular finishes, including Icyblue, Mint, Navy, and Silver Shadow, and three online-exclusive colors, including Pinkgold, Coralred, and Blueblack.
Galaxy S23’s Screen Isn’t Quite as Bright as Galaxy S25
Two years ago, the baseline flagship in the Galaxy S lineup had a 6.1-inch screen. However, with slimmer bezels and a few tweaks in the dimensions, Samsung increased thesize to 6.2-inch on the Galaxy S24.
The Galaxy S25 also offers the same 6.2-inchDynamic AMOLED 2Xscreen that supports variable refresh rate (1-120Hz). However, the screen is significantly brighter than the Galaxy S23 (2,600 nits vs. 1,750 nits). With higherpeak brightness, the Galaxy S25 offers higher outdoor visibility, especially under direct sunlight.
The increase in the display’s size has led to a decrease in theeffective pixel density(425 ppo to 416 ppi), but that’s nothing that should bug you. Last but not least, you get thealways-on functionalityand Adaptive color tone feature on both phones.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm) chipset on the Galaxy S23 is a massive upgrade compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm); here’s why.
In 2023, the Galaxy S23 was one of the most powerful Android phones in the market. It featured theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm) for GalaxyCPU with a 3.36GHz prime core, the Adreno 730 GPU, and 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM. With this configuration, the phone scores around 1,831/4,914 points in the single/multi-core GeekBench 6 performance test.
Fast-forward to 2025, and Samsung has equipped the Galaxy S25 with an overclocked version of theSnapdragon 8 Elite (3nm). This system-on-chip contains two 4.47GHz prime cores, a faster Adreno 830 GPU with support for the Vulkan Engine API, improved ray-tracing, and 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
The Galaxy S25 scores 2,813/9,700 points in the single/multi-core GeekBench 6 performance test (viaNanoReview).
Moreover, Samsung’s latest flagship is substantially faster than the 2023 model; the difference should be immediately noticeable. Expect remarkablyspeedier app loading times, seamless multitasking, and a virtually lag-free experience while playing games or editing videos on the smartphone.
Galaxy S25 Brings Several Improvements to Galaxy AI
With the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, the Galaxy S25 can now handlefeatures like Generative Editentirely on the device. Together with the advanced CPU and GPU, the NPU enables a multimodal agentic AI experience on the smartphone inOne UI 7. Let me explain.
TheGemini AI voice assistanton Galaxy S25 can execute multi-step tasks that involve accessing information from different apps. For instance, you can ask Gemini to access some documents onGmailand share them with another email address or a contact on WhatsApp with a simple voice command.
Then there are additions likeimproved Circle to Search(it can now pick up call-to-action details from the screen), actionable searches with intelligence suggestions, and on-screen awareness. Even though some Galaxy AI features are available on the Galaxy S23, the phone lacks the advancedagentic AI experiencesof the Galaxy S25.
The Galaxy S25 offersseven years of Android and security updates. Out of the box, it runs on One UI 7, which is based on Android 15. In contrast, the Galaxy S23 will only receive updates until 2027.
Samsung Hasn’t Changed the Camera Sensors in Two Years
First, let’s talk about the camera sensors on the smartphones. Both phones have a 50MP (f/1.8, OIS) primary sensor, a 12MP (f/2.2, 120°) ultrawide sensor, and a 10MP (f/2.4, OIS) tertiary sensor with a3x telephoto lens. For clicking selfies and attending video calls, you get a 12MP (f/2.2).
Even though the S25 sports the same camera setup, it offers some new features. The phone can record better videos in low-light conditions and supports theAudio Eraser feature for removing disturbancesor background noise from a video. Further, it also gets a Virtual Aperture button, an improved Portrait Studio, and new filters.
Lastly, both phones can record8K videos at 30 fps, 4K at 60 fps, and 30x Space Zoom.
Both Phones Should Offer Similar Battery Life
Galaxy S25 features a 4,000 mAh battery, which is merely 100 mAh bigger than the cell on the Galaxy S24. However, both the S25 and the S23 support 25Wwired charging, 15W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.
Although the Galaxy S25 has a larger battery, it provides up to 29 hours of video playback (the same as the Galaxy S23). Lastly, theGalaxy S25 is “Qi2 ready,“implying that its casing doesn’t include magnets.
Galaxy S25 Should Get the Satellite SOS Feature Soon
On the newer smartphone, you getWi-Fi 7 download/upload speedsand Bluetooth v5.4 for better connectivity with accessories. However, connectivity features like GPS, NFC, andUSB Type-C 3.2 portremain the same.
Although the company didn’t announce this at the launch, theGalaxy S25 supports satellite connectivityvia narrowband satellite networks. However, the feature isn’t functional yet. Perhaps Samsung could enable it with a One UI update? Only time will tell.
Which Phone Is Right for You?
If you own a Galaxy S23 and feel like the phone is getting too sluggish for daily use, upgrading to the Galaxy S25 will provide a significant performance boost. You’ll also get access to the advanced agentic AI features that the S23 lacks. The S25’s cameras should also give better results.
Pro tip: trade-in your Galaxy S23 for $400 and get the new Galaxy S25 for an effective price of $399.99.
On the other hand, if you’re content with your Galaxy S25 and aren’t facing any major issues with the smartphone, you can consider holding on to it, at least for another year.
Samsung Galaxy S25
The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a powerful and compact smartphone with a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 4,000mAh battery with 25W Super Fast Charging.
Samsung Galaxy S23 (256 GB)
The base model Samsung Galaxy S23 covers all the basics, with a 6.1-inch screen, three rear cameras, and the same fast Snapdragon chipset as the other models.
