Samsung Galaxy S25+ review

Design, build quality, handling

Yes, the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S24+ have identical designs. In fact, except for the new colors and the 0.4mm reduction in thinkness, there is not a single obvious change to the exterior.

The Galaxy S25+ has two flat Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels and uses the second-generation Armor Aluminum frame, also flat. The lesser S25 models are not getting the anti-reflective Gorilla Armor glass for a second year in a row, while the S25 Ultra is already using Gen 2.

The Galaxy S24+ is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance, and Samsung is content with covering the rating's bare minimum standard for immersion in 1.5-deep water for 30 minutes.

The Galaxy S25 trio

Samsung's classic design has been well received and appreciated so there is nothing bad about keeping it unchanged. It is a clean no-nonsense design with minimum interruptions and no large camera housing. Now that the Galaxy S25 Ultra adopted the same flat design, the Plus model can be safely described as cool as the Ultra, but a bit more compact.

The Galaxy S25 trio

The Galaxy S25+ is 0.4mm thinner than the Galaxy S24+ and 7 grams lighter, which is great. The phone became more powerful, yet thinner and lighter.

But the lack of obvious change can be off-putting to some users and we do agree with that sentiment to an extent.

The 6.7-inch 1440p Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen is at the front, featuring nicely thin and even bezels.

The 12MP selfie camera is sitting in a small perforation centered around the top part of the screen.

There is an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which is a nice treat available across all Galaxy S phones. It works very well, is fast and reliable, and does not need illumination as optical ones.

The earpiece is so thin, almost invisible, but it is there and it appears nicely loud. It also doubles as a stereo speaker, as usual.

The other speaker is at the bottom of the Galaxy S25+, close to the USB-C port, the mouthpiece and the dual-SIM tray (EU version).

The Galaxy S25+ supports two nano-SIMs and two eSIMs, and you can use a maximum of two SIM cards, no matter of their type. The standard US version accepts only one physical SIM card (plus two eSIMs).

Samsung Galaxy S25+

The back of the Galaxy S25+ is all matte, just like the frame. There are three standalone rings - one for each camera, and the LED flash. Even of the metal rings around the lenses are merely glued on top as decoration, we still appreciate the flat back design without a gigantic camera island.

The Galaxy S25+ strikes the perfect balance between the large Ultra and the compact S25, both in features and design. It still feels lightweight and thin; it fits great in your hand, but the larger screen allows for a more immersive multimedia experience. It is a solid phone with a timeless design that deserves appreciation.