Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S25 Plus: what’s different?

Like previous years, the early 2025 Samsung flagship phone series contains three models, the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The main difference between the three is size. While the Ultra goes all out with specs and extra features like the S Pen and Gorilla Armor 2 glass, the difference is minimized when comparing the more affordable duo.

You might think the differences between these two comes down to different display and battery sizes. But as you go into the details, you’ll notice more differences than those immediately visible on the spec sheet or the box. Here’s what you need to know about the two devices.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: specs

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: design and display

The Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus feature a similar design language as their respective predecessors. You get three vertically aligned cameras on the back, rounded corners, and flat sides. The handsets might look similar to their predecessors, but they’re slimmer and lighter this year. The Galaxy S25 sheds four grams of weight to measure 162 grams this year, while the Galaxy S25 Plus weighs 190 grams.

Both of them feel good in the hand but the Galaxy S25 has the best in-hand feel of any compact phone, including the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16. The smaller flagship sits more comfortably in the hand compared to the Galaxy S25 Plus, and it’s far more comfortable than its competition from Aple.

The Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 1080 x 2340 resolution and 416 pixels per inch (ppi).The Galaxy S25 Plus sports a sharper and bigger 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with 1440 x 3120 resolution and 513 ppi.

Other than the size and pixel resolution, the displays are similar. Both of them use an LTPO panel with an adaptive refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz, and both max out at 2,700 nits of brightness — far more than enough to use in direct sunlight.

As for any other similarities, both share ultrasonic under-display sensors, and they work just fine — nothing really needs to be changed about the sensor’s performance.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: performance and software

The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, and it goes toe-to-toe with the Apple A18 Pro.

From a purely performance standpoint, the Galaxy S25 Plus outperforms the Galaxy S25, and the primary reason is heat. Since it’s bigger, the S25 Plus is able to better dissipate heat buildup and reduce the impact of thermal throttling. Of course, the impact is minimal; you likely won’t notice in day-to-day performance, but the differences will show up in benchmark tests.

Both the Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S25 Plus come with 12GB of RAM. The differences in configurations lies in the storage; the S25 boasts 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB setups, while the S25 Plus starts at 256GB with an additional 512GB option.

There are a slew of new features in One UI 7 that are part of both phones. The Now Bar functions like Dynamic Island but sits at the bottom of the lock screen. It houses active apps as cards, so when you have things like navigation, stopwatch, and workout going on, they’ll be stacked as cards on the lock screen. You can interact with them and switch between the active cards with swipes.

Both the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 get better as you use them, thanks to the AI Brief feature. It sends you a brief at 6am and 9pm every day based on data from your Calendar, Samsung Health, and other apps. For instance, if you haven’t slept well, it’ll suggest you go lighter on yourself for the day. These briefs will also include weather information and things like scores and fixtures of your favorite teams.

Samsung also offers an Audio Eraser feature that can detect up to six types of sound in a video to select, separate, and tune the sound to your liking. It works like Apple’s Audio Mix feature. For example, if you record a person playing an instrument in a noisy environment, you can select the wind disturbance and the public chatter, tone them down, and get better clarity of the instrument’s sound.

There are a bunch of other AI features like AI Select, Circle to Search and more that can improve your experience.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: cameras

Not much has changed in terms of optics on the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus. Both handsets sport identical cameras and rely on the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s prowess to improve details and clarity on these images. There’s no reason to choose one over the other in terms of camera performance; both devices perform basically identically.

Both phones have a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and 85-degree field of view with optical image stabilization (OIS), a 12MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field of view, and a 10MP telephoto camera with an f/2.4 aperture, and 3x optical zoom. The selfie shooter is a  12MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and an 80-degree field of view.

Despite these specs, the cameras don’t hold up to other phones in the same price bracket. Pictures taken with the Galaxy S25 are sufficiently saturated, but the cameras suffer in low-light performance. However, you’ll sometimes see highlights blown out, and HDR can sometimes stutter.

The cameras perform well in dim lighting, but are prone to introducing a lot of noise — and the automatic editing features can add more artifacts in the de-noising process.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: battery and charging

The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus battery capacity and charging is unchanged from the previous generation, with the S25 sporting a 4,000mAh battery and the S25 Plus featuring a 4,900mAh battery.

The biggest difference between the two — aside from capacity — is charging speed. The S25 supports 25W charging, while the S25 Plus bumps that up to 45W. Both handsets also support 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.

Like we said, not much has changed on this front from the Galaxy S24 generation. The hope is that Samsung will implement silicon-carbide batteries in the next generation and provide a significant increase in battery life.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus are similar enough that the choice comes down to mostly size preference. If you want a compact phone, the Galaxy S25 should be your choice. Fortunately, you don’t lose out on the optics since it features the same camera setup as its bigger sibling. However, you’ll get a lower-resolution display and slower charging speed.

By contrast, if you opt for the Galaxy S25 Plus, you also get a QHD+ display resolution, double the storage in base variant, a larger battery, and faster charging speeds.

Like we said: it’s all about preference. While there are some benefits to the Galaxy S25 Plus over the S25, the differences are miniscule enough that you won’t miss out on any major features by picking one over the other.