Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Review – Sleek and Refined Flagship with Galaxy AI and Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy tested

The middle child of the triumvirate of flagship phones in the Galaxy S25 series, the Galaxy S25 Plus is a blend of features from the smaller Galaxy S25 and the larger Galaxy S25 Ultra infused with their latest Galaxy AI enhancements.

We recently shared our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus in our prior feature here. After putting it through its paces, here’s our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review where we share if the middle child of the series is worth your money.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Review – Performance and Benchmarks

To recap, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is broadly similar to its predecessor the Galaxy S24 Plus. Not only does it share a similarly sized and vibrant 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz display with QHD+ resolution, it also retains the same front and rear camera setup along with a similarly sized 4,900mAh battery with 45W wired charging, wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. 

The chassis itself is built of Samsung’s own second-generation Armor Aluminium which has enhanced resistance to nicks and drops while the display itself retains the use of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, both of which were used in the Galaxy S24 Plus.

Where the new Galaxy S25 Plus gets beefed up is its CPU with the new phone packing the custom-made Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset which has a faster CPU and GPU over stock models in competing phones.

Paired with the processor is a 15% larger vapour chamber for better sustained performance. You also get 12GB LPDDR5X RAM with either 256GB or 512GB storage. Our Galaxy S25 Plus review sample has the former storage capacity.

Closer inspection also reveals that the chassis has been refined, and while our Galaxy S25 Plus review sample has a broadly similar design to the Galaxy S24 Plus, it’s 6g lighter while being 0.4mm slimmer with the benefit of a solid IP68 dust and water resistance rating. 

Under the hood, the phone runs the latest Android 15 with One UI 7 which has an array of AI updates including their new Now Brief feature, Google Gemini as the primary assistant and a new Audio Eraser mode to edit audio in a video track. Of note with One UI 7 is the ability to assign up to 8GB RAM Plus of virtual RAM off the onboard storage.

Price	RM4,999 (256GB), RM5,599 (512GB)
Display	6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 1,440 x 3,120 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 2,600 nits peak brightness
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
OS	Android 15 w/ One UI 7
Memory	12GB LPDDR5X RAM, 256GB or 512GB storage
Cameras	50MP F/1.8 w/ OIS + 10MP F/2.4 w/ 3x optical zoom and OIS + 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera [rear] / 12MP F/2.2 [front]
Battery	4,900mAh w/ 45W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless charging
Size/Weight	158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3mm / 190g

When subjected to synthetic benchmarks with the full 8GB of virtual RAM Plus, we got the following results:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	2,140
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	1,922
3D Mark Solar Bay	9,822
3D Mark Solar Bay Unlimited	9,746
3D Mark WildLife Extreme	6,782
3D Mark WildLife Extreme Unlimited	6,455
Geekbench 6 Single Core	2,767
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	9,723
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	17,768
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	24,655
Geekbench AI (CPU quanticised)	4,413
Geekbench AI (GPU quanticised)	2,004
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	20,412
PCMark Battery Life	16 hours 19 mins

Packing the same chipset as the higher end Galaxy S25 Ultra, our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review sample features similarly impressive performance in single, multicore and graphics performance for single benchmarks though results differ slightly in stress tests.

When compared to its predecessor the Galaxy S24 Plus from last year with its Exynos 2400 chipset, the Galaxy S25 Plus eclipses it in terms of benchmarks and endurance across the board.

In the 3D Mark Steel Nomad Light stress test which runs back-to-back benchmarks, our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review sample scored 55.8% stability while getting a best loop score of 2,536 and a lowest sloop score of 1,416. Temperatures under load got a wider envelope from 29°C to 45°C, likely due to the smaller vapour chamber compared to the Ultra.

In regards to day to day performance, our Galaxy S25 Plus review sample did not disappoint, offering sterling results. The phone is every bit as capable as its fellow Galaxy S25 series siblings with silky smooth performance for heavy gaming, content creation and multi-tab web browsing alike though it does tend to run hot when conducting demanding tasks like gaming or heavy camera use.

The QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is functionally identical to the model used in the prior Galaxy S24+ with similarly excellent visibility, crisp detail and luscious colour rendition, offering good clarity under direct sunlight, surpassed by the Galaxy S25 Ultra and its anti-glare Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass on its display.

On the audio front, our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review sample features stereo speakers with one inset in a grille at the base of the phone and another in the earpiece in a tiny slit at the top of the display. Combined, the speakers offer good volume and detail for casual music listening and gaming alike.

Beyond the improved Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, the key update for the phone is that it runs Android 15 under the hood with their latest One UI 7 which features the new array of AI updates.

The new One UI 7 features Google Gemini as the default AI assistant that can be summoned with a press of the power button and which has been tightly integrated into the phone such that it can interact with almost all Google and Samsung apps via verbal commands alone and selected other apps too. This allows for users to phrase more sophisticated requests in natural language and get tangible results like ‘increase volume’ or ‘open Chrome’.

Another cornerstone of One UI 7 is the inclusion of their Now Brief that stores data on the on-device Personal Data Engine for enhanced privacy and which aggregates critical information for the day like the weather, news and appointments on your calendar in one handy tab.

Other additional features with One UI 7 include their Audio Eraser that  which enables you to selectively wipe background noise, voices or music from a captured video track. The AI Eraser features have been enhanced as well to offer more natural looking background fill-in when you delete unwanted objects.

You also get a Browsing Assist feature on Samsung browser that enables you to summarise, translate and read websites aloud, which comes in handy for digesting large websites or particularly dense topics.

When used over the course of the past couple of weeks, One UI 7 on our Galaxy S25 Plus review sample felt smooth, intuitive and snappy and the new Audio Eraser adds another powerful tool for content creators.

In terms of endurance, our Galaxy S25 Plus review sample offers even more endurance than its predecessor which is a pleasant surprise despite having the same battery capacity. In benchmarks, it scored 16 hours and 19 minutes of battery life while in practical use, it is comfortably able to last a full day of heavy use and about two days with light usage.

Charging speeds are fortunately faster with 45W wired fast charging which offers about an hour plus of charging time from dead zero.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus Review – Cameras

When it comes to the camera hardware, our Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review sample runs essentially the same hardware as its predecessor the Galaxy S24 Plus and which in turn is also identical to that of the smaller Galaxy S25.

You get a  50MP f/1.8 main camera with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle camera and a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The key upgrades here are primarily improvements to the ISP and the addition of a Spatio-Temporal Filter that better differentiates moving from static objects and which also helps capture better low light visuals. Content creators will also appreciate the fact that One UI 7 adds in the ability to capture videos in Log for effective colour grading.

Stills on the rear cameras can be captured at up to 3x lossless zoom and with up to 30x digital zoom while videos can be captured at up to 8K@30fps at a maximum of 5x zoom and a more practical 4K@60fps with a slightly improved 12x zoom. Up front, you still get the same 12MP selfie camera used in the Galaxy S25 and Ultra models as well as the Galaxy S24 series last year.

Our Galaxy S25 Plus review unit’s cameras delivered quite similar performance as the Galaxy S25 with slightly improved low light capabilities with slightly better retention of colours and shadows.

Daylight shots remain excellent on par with competing flagships with Samsung’s while retaining crisp detail all the way to 3x lossless zoom with 10x zoom shots and beyond all the way out to 30x remaining usable for social media use. 

In lower light conditions, the rear cameras manage to control noise well while managing to salvage colours and a fair amount of detail without overly aggressive processing all the way out to 3x zoom. Beyond that, shots are soft especially in very dim light conditions but in most urban settings, the cameras are able to yield decent stills. Shots from the front-selfie camera offer good skin tones and great detail.

For videos, the Galaxy S25 Plus does not disappoint and 4K videos have lovely detail and good colour rendition. One interesting feature here is that addition of a Smooth Zoom mode that lets users smoothly zoom in and out of a subject rather than the jarring motions seen in older smartphone camera setups.

While the Galaxy S25 Plus doesn’t offer radical camera hardware updates, it still offers flagship-grade imaging with a new bevy of options that also make it appealing for content creators including Log video capture and Audio Eraser.

Should you buy the Galaxy S25 Plus?

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus builds on the success of its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Plus, with the inclusion of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor and One UI 7, which introduces a host of AI-powered features. 

Many of these AI features will likely reach older Galaxy series smartphones with One UI 7 is pushed in updates later on but this likely won’t occur for some time and not all AI features may necessarily make it to older models.

These include more natural voice interactions, an impressive Audio Eraser tool, Browsing Assist and more. Samsung also promises seven years of OS and security updates, ensuring long-term software support and  adding to its longevity.

If the standard Galaxy S25 feels too small and the Ultra too expensive and its S Pen unnecessary, the Galaxy S25 Plus strikes the perfect balance of performance  and size.

Those who already own an older Galaxy Plus model a generation or two back like the S24 Plus or S23 Plus may not find many compelling updates but for those with older devices and those looking to make the hop over to Suwon-issued hardware, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is every inch a flagship phone that offers a near-Ultra-sized display, fast 45W wired charging, and the S25’s capable cameras—all in a sleek, refined design.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. For more details and to purchase please visit https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-s25/