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 differentiator being 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 there are more differences than those immediately visible on the spec sheet. 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. These might look the same as before 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, as compared to the Galaxy S25 Plus.

Coming to the front, the base Galaxy S25 comes equipped with a 6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED display at 1080 x 2340 pixel 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 so you get an adaptive refresh rate. These displays can go from 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate when needed.

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. Samsung says that the Qualcomm SoC is tuned to offer better performance on the Galaxy S25 series.

While we’ll get more clarity on how they perform in our review later, most of the new features are part of Android 15-based One UI 7. Moreover, Samsung has upgraded the base RAM on the Galaxy S25 from 8GB to 12GB this year. As a result, all three flagship smartphones have the same RAM capacity but differ in storage variants. Like last year, the Galaxy S25 starts at 128GB base storage, whereas the Galaxy S25 Plus comes with 256 gigs of onboard storage in the base variant.

There are a slew of new features in One UI 7 that are part of both phones. There’s a new Now Bar that’s 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 are said to 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 more. 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 is also offering 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 potentially make your experience better.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: cameras

Not much has changed in terms of optics on the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus. They sport identical cameras and Samsung is relying on Snapdragon 8 Elite’s prowess to improve details and clarity on these images.

Both of these 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.

Samsung has improved its color science over the years for better quality photos with each flagship. This year, the company says it has also worked on achieving better shutter speeds, so you can capture moving subjects with ease.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: battery and charging

The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus battery capacity and charging is unchanged from last year. However, Samsung claims they’ll offer better battery life than before.

The Galaxy S25 packs a 4,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S25 Plus houses a 4,900mAh cell, which is very close to the 5,000mAh battery capacity of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The bigger phone also charges faster at 45 watts, while the Galaxy S25 can only go up to 25W charging speeds. Both the S25 and S25 Plus are still capped at 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.

Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus: verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus are almost identical. 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, and faster charging speed. The overall software experience is likely to remain the same on both devices.