When heading as much as NYC to take a look at the Galaxy S25 sequence 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 aspect with various ideas. Quick ahead to now, and I have been utilizing the Galaxy S25 Extremely for a few week, however for some motive, I am type of at an deadlock.
I can not assist however really feel as if I used to be trying on the Galaxy S25 Extremely by way of Samsung’s rose-tinted (or blue) glasses. Every thing that was introduced and demoed sounded great, and in that preliminary two-ish hours, it was. I used to be excited concerning the likelihood to check out the plain 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 had been promised.
Over the previous week, there have been fairly just a few issues that I’ve seen and some issues that I might have forgotten about if it weren’t for my RSS feeds and social media.
The great
Possibly it is simply because I am used to the iPhone’s design, however I really reasonably like what Samsung has finished with the S25 Extremely. I do not know if I prefer it greater than the S24 Extremely, however on the very least, it is type 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 at all times been a sucker for metallic and glass sandwich, and the S25 Extremely simply checks the field. Utilizing a telephone that matches the worth tag is not at all times a foregone conclusion, however I nonetheless have to present credit score the place it is due.
One thing else that I’ve completely 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 because of 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 had been shortly 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 could be.
In case you learn my preliminary impressions, you then in all probability seen that I could not shut up about AI. I’ll save most of my opinions for the ultimate assessment, 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 change into a part of my every 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 “challenge” is the Vitality Rating from the Watch Extremely, however that is not really a nasty factor. It simply feeds into my obsession as I stay up for seeing what sort of options for enhancements are made.
The annoying
For as shortly as Now Transient has shortly change into a part of my every day routine, it additionally did not take lengthy to understand one in every of its pitfalls. Close to the underside of the web page, you are often introduced with information that “you is likely to be curious about.” 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 is likely to be one thing to do with the Samsung Information app regardless of by no means really utilizing it. So I went by way of and tried to prune the matters, however that does not appear to have finished something. As an alternative, my Now Transient dashboard nonetheless manages to indicate me the “improper” information.
Earlier than you ask, sure, I double-checked the Now Transient settings, as there is a “Content material to incorporate” part. Sadly, you may’t change any of the matters from right here and might solely allow or disable the “Information” from exhibiting up.
So far as design goes, I admire the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s redesign, however there’s one nagging challenge. 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 consistently apprehensive that the telephone was going to slide out of my arms. 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 sequence is the primary to help the Qi 2.1 normal, however I do not really care concerning the charging speeds facet. What I do care about is having the ability to use one of many myriad of MagSafe equipment that I’ve accrued through the years, and never having 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. Possibly 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 think about that utilizing a PopSocket would have given me some peace of thoughts to make use of the telephone with no case?
Lastly, I have been a bit annoyed relating to attempting to make use of emulators on the S25 Extremely. Samsung is not in charge 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, Swap 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 great for cell gaming basically, however the entire time I am simply fascinated by the Apple-like storage constraints.
Having 256GB as the bottom configuration is nice and all, however the one technique to get extra is by shelling out more money to Samsung. It is also nice that Samsung is mainly providing you with a storage improve without spending a dime in the course of the pre-order part. 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 house left on the S25 Extremely. That may appear to be so much, however in actuality, that might be gone very quickly as I take extra footage with my son’s first birthday across the nook.
I suppose what I wish 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 out a shadow of a doubt, the S Pen “debacle” has made me simply wish 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 improper, I perceive the potential arguments. Samsung should not be eradicating any options from a telephone that begins at $1,200. And in the event you had been one of many few that did use Air Instructions, then it in all probability looks like some kind of betrayal.
Samsung did not do itself any favors both. Whereas the explanations had been defined in my hands-on session, there was no point out of it throughout Galaxy Unpacked. Then, we watched as conflicting experiences 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, attempting to determine a solution. Solely to come back to a reasonably bizarre, but semi-helpful, conclusion — technically you should use different S Pens with the S25 Extremely, however you cannot use Air Actions, they usually first should be paired with one other Galaxy system 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 steering. In that point, there have been quite a few articles, and apparently, there’s even a petition going round to convey BLE again to the S Pen. It is simply been mind-numbing and I concern that it’ll solely decide up as soon as the S25 Extremely is within the arms of extra folks than simply reviewers and influencers.
The place do I at present 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 the whole lot moreover telephone calls and textual content messages.
The design is implausible and simply seems to be gorgeous, even with how slippery it’s. Emulation woes apart, efficiency has been precisely what I hoped it will be, and I can make it by way of a complete day (after which some) earlier than even fascinated by battery life. I am additionally excited to see what sort of modifications and enhancements Samsung will convey to the on-device AI and Now Transient options.
Maybe extra shocking 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 wish to see what it is like to return to the “one telephone” life-style, 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 actually transfer that needle in any respect for me.
Rise up to $900 of prompt trade-in credit score, plus $300 voucher if you preorder
There’s nonetheless time to avoid wasting 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 may 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.
