Right here’s why I would not improve

With cutting-edge specs and a price ticket to match, Samsung’s Galaxy S Extremely line represents the gold customary of Android smartphones. This 12 months’s Galaxy S25 Extremely delivers on each of these counts, as anticipated, however does it provide sufficient to entice long-time followers of the sequence to improve? In comparison with the S23 Extremely from solely two generations in the past, do you have to transfer as much as the S25 Extremely?

Whereas we’re nonetheless testing the Galaxy S25 Extremely for our full Android Authority evaluation, I’ve already made up my thoughts on whether or not upgrading this technology is smart or not. Right here’s why.

Whereas Samsung hasn’t paid a lot consideration to the common Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus fashions this 12 months, I’m glad to report that the S25 Extremely brings at the least a handful of enhancements over its predecessors.

Beginning with the design, the S25 Extremely not appears as intimidating to carry because it has utterly executed away with the road’s laborious corners and curved show. It’s straightforward to inform that the brand new cellphone gained’t dig into my palm and this can be a huge reduction coming from an older mannequin just like the S23 Extremely. The S25 Extremely’s flat show can even translate to much less glare in vibrant environments and higher sturdiness, however extra on these elements later.

Shifting on to the cellphone’s internals, the S25 Extremely packs Qualcomm’s newest and biggest Snapdragon 8 Elite. The cellphone is an honest step-up from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 within the S23 Extremely. Nonetheless, it’s solely a distinction you’ll discover in the event you routinely push your cellphone to its limits with video modifying and equally intensive duties. The S25 Extremely’s base storage mannequin does get an additional 4GB of RAM, although, which may make a giant distinction insofar as supporting future software program options like Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite. I wouldn’t base an improve primarily based on these efficiency elements alone, however they’re welcome bonuses.

Along with the tapered corners, the show has additionally managed to get barely bigger on the S25 Extremely and can seem considerably brighter coming from an older flagship just like the S23 Extremely.

Above the show, you’ll discover that the S25 Extremely has adopted Corning’s second-generation Gorilla Glass Armor safety. Samsung advised us that it processed fewer screen-related repairs on the last-gen S24 Extremely, which was the primary smartphone to undertake Gorilla Glass Armor. This second-generation model is much more sturdy. The S25 Extremely additionally carries ahead the anti-reflection coating we noticed on final 12 months’s flagship. This makes the cellphone far more usable in vibrant environments like direct daylight and offers nearly sufficient motive for me to think about shopping for into Samsung’s Extremely line.

Whereas the first digicam hasn’t seen any main modifications between generations, Samsung has modified different sensors over the previous couple of years. With final 12 months’s S24 Extremely, the corporate confusingly swapped the 10MP 10x periscope lens for a 50MP 5x shooter as a substitute — primarily buying and selling some optical zoom for decision. This labored out properly sufficient due to some intelligent software program processing, although, and has carried over to the S25 Extremely this technology.

As for what’s model new this time round, the ultrawide sensor has been upgraded from a diminutive 12MP to a whopping 50MP. In addition to delivering far more element as you’d anticipate, it additionally has a knock-on impact of considerably bettering macro pictures since they rely fully on a crop of the ultrawide sensor.

Circling again to design and sturdiness, the Galaxy S23 Extremely was the ultimate cellphone within the sequence to make use of an aluminum mid-frame. The S25 Extremely boasts a titanium building and has allowed Samsung to whittle down the load to a way more manageable 218g. This can be a vital distinction most individuals will instantly discover when selecting up the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It additionally helps that the titanium is extra sturdy.

All of this speak of sturdiness leads us into software program help, the place the S25 Extremely has a giant step up over its two-year-old predecessor. Samsung now provides seven years of software program updates on the S25 household vs. 4 years on the Galaxy S24. This places an earlier expiration date, though it doesn’t matter a lot for current homeowners who can nonetheless wait a 12 months or two earlier than upgrading.

A handful of cool {hardware} enhancements apart, I’ve to confess the Galaxy S25 Extremely hasn’t rendered the S23 Extremely out of date or unusable. Not simply that, the S23 Extremely nonetheless retains just a few benefits over the newest flagship. Take the sequence’ signature S Pen, as an example. Samsung has inexplicably executed away with Bluetooth connectivity this technology, which has been a mainstay for the reason that Galaxy Word 9 added all of it the best way again in 2019. I loved utilizing it as a distant shutter for selfies, so I’m a bit disillusioned to see the function dropped.

The periscope lens dropping to 5x optical zoom can also be technically a downgrade on the newer cellphone, however few individuals ever must zoom in all the best way to 10x anyway. Lastly, the dearth of a curved show might come throughout as a disappointment to some that truly want it provided that treasured few different telephones now embody this once-premium function.

For my part, Samsung additionally hasn’t paid sufficient consideration to sure elements of the Extremely sequence over time, which has saved the S23 sequence related for longer than we’d have anticipated. The battery measurement has remained stagnant even two years later, as an example, and quick charging hasn’t improved both. And whereas we have been as soon as hopeful that the S25 would natively help Qi2 charging, Samsung hasn’t even baked magnets into its official circumstances. A strong accent ecosystem will surely tempt me to improve as a substitute of ready for the following technology.

Barring a deep low cost or Samsung’s admittedly frequent and beneficiant trade-in provides, I personally can not justify upgrading given the fairly incremental modifications on provide. The Galaxy S23 Extremely has aged very properly, in my view, and can proceed to get software program updates for some time longer. It’s additionally price noting that the Galaxy S25 Extremely prices $100 greater than the S23 Extremely did at launch, which brings the overall to $1,299. And in the event you’re shopping for among the finest telephones in the marketplace, it’s possible you’ll want further storage, too.

With all of that in thoughts then, right here’s a rundown on who ought to take into account upgrading from the S23 Extremely to the S25 Extremely and who ought to maybe wait some time longer:

• You must solely improve to the Galaxy S25 Extremely in the event you care in regards to the lighter weight, elevated sturdiness, and higher efficiency vs the S23 Extremely.
• The S23 Extremely will proceed to obtain software program updates, so it makes monetary sense to attend one other 12 months or two earlier than upgrading.
• Nonetheless, I’d suggest maintaining a tally of trade-in values as Samsung telephones are inclined to go on sale very often. You could discover that an improve is feasible for only a few hundred {dollars}.

Have you ever made up your thoughts about upgrading to the Galaxy S25 Extremely but? Tell us within the ballot above.