Samsung upgraded the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus with a powerful new processor, enhanced AI features, and a slight bump in battery life.

All this to say the Galaxy S25 ($800), Galaxy S25+ ($1,000), and Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300) are powerful, reliable, and well-equipped smartphones. They're excellent upgrades if you're coming from a three or four-year-old device. They're just not otherwise interesting or exciting.

In high contrast scenes where there’s a strong source of light blending with shadowed areas, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s dynamic range performance is undisputedly better at neutralizing the exposure throughout the scene, resulting in not only a brighter picture, but also drawing out details hidden in the shadows.