Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Samsung Galaxy S26+

Samsung Galaxy S25

Samsung

8.1

Great

Samsung Galaxy S26+

Samsung

6.5

Hard to Recommend

What Reviewers Agree On

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers excellent performance and efficiency gains
Galaxy AI features like Circle to Search and Live Translate are genuinely useful
Best compact Android flagship available in 2025
Display quality is outstanding with 2600 nit peak brightness
7 years of OS updates provide strong long-term value

Deal Breakers

25W charging is painfully slow compared to competition
No Qi2 magnetic charging support

Pros & Cons

Samsung Galaxy S25

Pros

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers excellent performance and efficiency gains
Galaxy AI features like Circle to Search and Live Translate are genuinely useful
Best compact Android flagship available in 2025
Display quality is outstanding with 2600 nit peak brightness
7 years of OS updates provide strong long-term value

Cons

25W charging is painfully slow compared to competition

Detailed Comparison

Design & Build

Samsung Galaxy S25

The Galaxy S25 retains the same flat-edge design language as its predecessor with minimal visual changes. It's slightly lighter and thinner, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart.

I swear these are the new phones, even though they look exactly like last year
Compact form factor remains a rarity in the Android flagship space — fills an important niche
One of the laziest and most uninteresting flagship families Samsung has ever released from a design perspective

Samsung Galaxy S26+

The S26+ adopts a more "Ultra-like" design with less rounded corners for a unified family look. The Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection are solid. At ~7.3mm thin and ~190g, it's comfortable to hold.

The more angular design brings it closer to the Ultra aesthetic — Samsung is creating a more unified design language across the S26 family
IP68 water resistance and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 mean the S26+ remains one of the more durable options in its class

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What Reviewers Agree On

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers class-leading performance
6.7-inch QHD+ 1–120Hz OLED display is bright, colorful and excellent for media
Solid 13h 13m battery life in Tom's Guide testing — enough for a full day
Premium thin-and-light design matches the S26 Ultra chassis quality
Seven years of software updates remains Samsung's strongest selling point

Deal Breakers

Zero hardware upgrades over the S25+ — same camera, same battery capacity, same charging speed
Same camera system as the base S26 — no 200MP sensor, no periscope, no telephoto upgrade
$100–$180 more expensive than the S25+ without any new hardware to justify it
No Privacy Display, no Horizon Lock — both locked to the Ultra
No Qi2 magnetic charging
Trapped in an awkward middle — easy upsell to Ultra or downsell to the base S26
Only the 256GB base tier increase adds practical value

Samsung Galaxy S26+

Pros

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers class-leading performance
6.7-inch QHD+ 1–120Hz OLED display is bright, colorful and excellent for media
Solid 13h 13m battery life in Tom's Guide testing — enough for a full day
Premium thin-and-light design matches the S26 Ultra chassis quality
Seven years of software updates remains Samsung's strongest selling point

Cons

Zero hardware upgrades over the S25+ — same camera, same battery capacity, same charging speed
Same camera system as the base S26 — no 200MP sensor, no periscope, no telephoto upgrade
$100–$180 more expensive than the S25+ without any new hardware to justify it
No Privacy Display, no Horizon Lock — both locked to the Ultra
No Qi2 magnetic charging
Trapped in an awkward middle — easy upsell to Ultra or downsell to the base S26
Only the 256GB base tier increase adds practical value

Display

Samsung Galaxy S25

The 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display delivers outstanding brightness, color accuracy, and smoothness. Anti-reflective coating ensures excellent outdoor visibility.

120Hz LTPO display is butter smooth with class-leading brightness
Anti-reflective coating makes it the most sunlight-readable compact phone available

Samsung Galaxy S26+

The 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate is familiar territory — essentially the same excellent display as the S25+. No Privacy Display here; that remains an Ultra exclusive.

The 6.7-inch QHD+ panel continues to be one of the best in its class with vibrant colors and excellent brightness
No Privacy Display on the S26+ is a real missed opportunity — the best S26 feature is locked to the Ultra

Battery & Charging

Samsung Galaxy S25

The 4000mAh battery delivers dependable all-day life thanks to Snapdragon 8 Elite efficiency, but 25W charging speed is well behind the competition.

Battery life is dependable for a full day of moderate to heavy use
25W charging is adequate but embarrassingly slow compared to Chinese flagships offering 100W+

Samsung Galaxy S26+

The 4,900 mAh battery pairs with 45W wired charging (unchanged) and 20W Qi2 wireless charging (up from 15W). A modest wireless charging improvement, but no increase in wired speed or battery capacity.

Qi2 wireless charging at 20W is a nice bump from 15W, and confirms Qi2 adoption across the S26 lineup (except the base S26)
45W wired charging is unchanged from the S25+ — Samsung reserves its 60W upgrade for the Ultra only