When heading as much as NYC to take a look at the Galaxy S25 collection forward of its launch, I went in with none expectations. As evidenced by the three,000+ phrases from my Galaxy S25 Extremely hands-on, I clearly got here out on the opposite facet with quite a lot of ideas. Quick ahead to now, and I have been utilizing the Galaxy S25 Extremely for a few week, however for some purpose, I am form of at an deadlock.
I am unable to assist however really feel as if I used to be wanting on the Galaxy S25 Extremely via Samsung’s rose-tinted (or blue) glasses. All the things that was introduced and demoed sounded fantastic, and in that preliminary two-ish hours, it was. I used to be excited concerning the probability to check out the apparent front-runner for one of the best Android telephone of the 12 months. And I used to be much more excited concerning the varied Gemini and Galaxy AI-powered enhancements that have been promised.
Over the previous week, there have been fairly just a few issues that I’ve observed and some issues that I might have forgotten about if it weren’t for my RSS feeds and social media.
The great
Perhaps it is simply because I am used to the iPhone’s design, however I really somewhat like what Samsung has carried out with the S25 Extremely. I do not know if I prefer it greater than the S24 Extremely, however on the very least, it is form of refreshing to see Samsung largely use the identical design language throughout all of its flagship telephones. That features the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.
I’ve all the time been a sucker for a very good metallic and glass sandwich, and the S25 Extremely simply checks the field. Utilizing a telephone that matches the value tag is not all the time a foregone conclusion, however I nonetheless have to offer credit score the place it is due.
One thing else that I’ve totally loved is re-entering the Samsung ecosystem. Earlier than the S25 Extremely landed on my doorstep, I managed to snag the Galaxy Watch Extremely for round $200 due to a random trade-in promotion. And seeing as I used to be already getting the itch for some new earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 3 Professional have been rapidly added to my cart.
Just a few years in the past, I in all probability would’ve been one of many first to mock Samsung’s makes an attempt at imitating Apple. Now, I am really simply grateful that the ecosystem just about simply works. There are just a few hiccups that are not associated to the S25 Extremely particularly, however I am going to have ideas on that in an upcoming article. If something, it proved simply how vital having an ecosystem of merchandise that seamlessly work collectively will be.
For those who learn my preliminary impressions, then you definately in all probability observed that I could not shut up about AI. I will save most of my opinions for the ultimate evaluation, however I’ve to level out how a lot I’ve really loved having the Now Transient widget on my dwelling display screen. It is develop into a part of my day by day routine, as I faucet the widget, and it updates all through the day simply to see what is going to present up.
Having sure bits of data introduced to me is very nice, particularly for somebody who barely obsesses over how a lot sleep they get. Amplifying this “concern” is the Vitality Rating from the Watch Extremely, however that is not really a nasty factor. It simply feeds into my obsession as I sit up for seeing what sort of recommendations for enhancements are made.
The annoying
For as rapidly as Now Transient has rapidly develop into a part of my day by day routine, it additionally did not take lengthy to appreciate one in all its pitfalls. Close to the underside of the web page, you are often introduced with information that “you could be occupied with.” Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter what I’ve tried to do, it solely ever recommends information that I could not care much less about.
I believed that it could be one thing to do with the Samsung Information app regardless of by no means really utilizing it. So I went via and tried to prune the subjects, however that does not appear to have carried out something. As an alternative, my Now Transient dashboard nonetheless manages to point out me the “flawed” information.
Earlier than you ask, sure, I double-checked the Now Transient settings, as there is a “Content material to incorporate” part. Sadly, you possibly can’t change any of the subjects from right here and may solely allow or disable the “Information” from exhibiting up.
So far as design goes, I respect the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s redesign, however there’s one nagging concern. See, for the primary couple of days after getting the S25 Extremely, I did not have a case for it. I am not a lot of a case man anyway, excluding utilizing both a Fiberborne (previously Thinborne) case or a Dbrand pores and skin.
Nevertheless, the Galaxy S25 Extremely is so slippery that I used to be continually nervous that the telephone was going to slide out of my palms. Between that and seeing that just a few of Samsung’s first-party instances are 50% off at Greatest Purchase, I ended up grabbing a few them. Sadly, none of my native Greatest Purchase shops had the “Extremely Clear Magnet Case,” so I opted for the Silicone, Kindsuit, and Standing Grip instances.
This leads me to a different annoyance, as I actually want Samsung would have adopted the magnetic portion of the Qi2 protocol. It is cool and all that the S25 collection is the primary to assist the Qi 2.1 commonplace, however I do not really care concerning the charging speeds side. What I do care about is with the ability to use one of many myriad of MagSafe equipment that I’ve accrued over time, and never with the ability to is simply disappointing.
Consequently, I opted to slap a MagSafe adapter ring to the again of the Silicone case, simply so I might use a PopSocket. Perhaps that is what Samsung is hoping for as a result of if the S25 Extremely had the suitable magnets, I in all probability would not have bothered to purchase a case. I imply, why would I take into account that utilizing a PopSocket would have given me some peace of thoughts to make use of the telephone with out a case?
Lastly, I have been a bit annoyed on the subject of making an attempt to make use of emulators on the S25 Extremely. Samsung is not responsible for a part of my frustration, because the Snapdragon 8 Elite simply hasn’t been out lengthy sufficient for higher-end emulators to be correctly optimized. For probably the most half, Change and Winlator emulation is on the mercy of the inventory drivers, that are frankly lackluster.
I am engaged on one thing a bit extra in-depth surrounding emulation on Android, however once more, that is not Samsung’s drawback.
One thing that has been gnawing away at me is that Samsung went on stage and talked about how the S25 Extremely has a “40% bigger” vapor chamber for cooling. That is really fantastic for cell gaming basically, however the entire time I am simply occupied with the Apple-like storage constraints.
Having 256GB as the bottom configuration is nice and all, however the one solution to get extra is by shelling out extra cash to Samsung. It is also nice that Samsung is mainly providing you with a storage improve without cost throughout the pre-order section. However that does not do something for individuals who missed the window or simply cannot improve proper now.
So, for somebody who has an ever-growing library of ROMs and DRM-free video games for Winlator, 256GB simply is not sufficient. For instance, at this second, I’ve lower than 40GB of area left on the S25 Extremely. Which may appear to be rather a lot, however in actuality, that can be gone very quickly as I take extra photos with my son’s first birthday across the nook.
I assume what I need to see is for Samsung to launch an “Extremely” that spares no expense. The Galaxy S25 Extremely will get about 95% of the way in which there, however what’s holding it again from releasing a “Particular Version” mannequin that brings again the BLE S Pen and features a microSD card slot?
The ugly
With no shadow of a doubt, the S Pen “debacle” has made me simply need to keep away from social media and my RSS feeds greater than anything. It has been per week and there is already a lot “outrage” that it is merely pathetic. Samsung eliminated BLE from the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s S Pen, and based mostly on the response, you may’ve thought Samsung took away the headphone jack once more.
Do not get me flawed, I perceive the potential arguments. Samsung should not be eradicating any options from a telephone that begins at $1,200. And for those who have been one of many few that did use Air Instructions, then it in all probability appears like some kind of betrayal.
Samsung did not do itself any favors both. Whereas the explanations have been defined in my hands-on session, there was no point out of it throughout Galaxy Unpacked. Then, we watched as conflicting reviews urged the S25 Extremely would work with some unannounced BLE-enabled S Pen, just for others to recommend they would not.
I spent greater than an hour messing round with the multitude of S Pens that I might discover, making an attempt to determine a solution. Solely to return to a somewhat bizarre, but semi-helpful, conclusion — technically you need to use different S Pens with the S25 Extremely, however you cannot use Air Actions, they usually first should be paired with one other Galaxy machine that’s signed into the identical Samsung account as your S25 Extremely.
Including extra gasoline to the fireplace is that it took Samsung a number of days to even present some official steerage. In that point, there have been quite a few articles, and apparently, there’s even a petition going round to deliver BLE again to the S Pen. It is simply been mind-numbing and I worry that it’s going to solely choose up as soon as the S25 Extremely is within the palms of extra individuals than simply reviewers and influencers.
The place do I at the moment stand with the Galaxy S25 Extremely?
After seeing how I felt following my hands-on session, I really thought that the S25 Extremely may be capable to substitute my iPhone 16 Professional Max. And since coming into my possession, it is really been ready to try this for every thing in addition to telephone calls and textual content messages.
The design is unbelievable and simply seems to be beautiful, even with how slippery it’s. Emulation woes apart, efficiency has been precisely what I hoped it could be, and I will make it via a complete day (after which some) earlier than even occupied with battery life. I am additionally excited to see what sort of adjustments and enhancements Samsung will deliver to the on-device AI and Now Transient options.
Maybe extra stunning than something is that I am considering leaping in on the pre-order bonanza and snagging a 1TB mannequin. Primarily as a result of I need to see what it is like to return to the “one telephone” way of life, which might imply transferring my SIM card out of the iPhone and into the S25 Extremely. And that is the primary non-foldable telephone that has managed to essentially transfer that needle in any respect for me.
Stand up to $900 of immediate trade-in credit score, plus $300 voucher while you preorder
There’s nonetheless time to save lots of a boatload of cash on the Galaxy S25 Extremely, as pre-order offers have not come to an in depth. Samsung continues to be providing one of the best deal that we have seen, as you possibly can knock $900 off immediately when buying and selling in a telephone, whereas additionally having fun with a free storage improve, AND as much as $150 in credit score for equipment.
