The first Samsung Galaxy Unpacked of 2025 has been and gone, and now that we have had time with the brand new Samsung Galaxy S25 sequence, we have been chewing over the nuances of those flagship telephones.
Though we’re getting a decently refreshed Galaxy S25 Ultra and a completely new mannequin within the S25 Edge, our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 overview discovered that the baseline S25 has obtained a relatively smaller replace this 12 months than both of its bigger siblings.
However, as vital as it’s to rejoice innovation, I additionally assume it’s price taking a step again earlier than casting judgment over the brand new vanilla Galaxy S25, and appreciating that the S25 affords quite a lot of worth for its $799 / £799 / AU$1,399 price ticket, even when it is broadly just like final 12 months’s Samsung Galaxy S24. Indeed, in terms of one particular digicam function, the S25 remains to be the one cellphone of its type.
The Galaxy S25 remains to be the one globally out there current-gen flagship of its value to come back with an optical telephoto zoom lens, and, personally, I believe that’s price raving about. Optical zoom provides customers a lot extra functionality and flexibility in terms of taking snaps and movies, providing extra constant high quality and enabling the accompanying digital zoom to achieve out additional.
An optical zoom digicam is a type of tech options that you simply don’t know you want till you’ve got it, like a 120Hz show or an under-display fingerprint scanner. While these different two options have discovered their option to dozens of fashions at every kind of value factors, telephoto cameras are nonetheless usually relegated to solely probably the most premium items.
The S25 has three cameras, however its two primary rivals – the iPhone 16 and Google Pixel 9 – each go for a two-camera system comprising a primary and ultra-wide digicam. Apple and Google followers must step as much as the pricier iPhone 16 Pro ($999 / £999 / AU$1,799) or Google Pixel 9 Pro ($999 / £999 / AU$1,699) to get their palms on a telephoto zoom.
I’ve been utilizing telephoto-equipped telephones for shut to 6 years now, and would go as far as to name optical zoom a vital function (relying, in fact, in your funds). The prolonged attain is nice for concert events and wildlife pictures, whereas the narrower area of view and longer focal distance of telephoto cameras makes them preferrred for portraits.
In the examples under, I successfully took the identical photograph with the S25’s 3x telephoto digicam and the iPhone 15 at 3x digital zoom. Feel free to attract your personal conclusions and let me know within the feedback part, however in the event you ask me, the S25 wins because of its richer element and bolder lighting.
iPhone 15 digicam samples: 3x digital zoom
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Samsung Galaxy S25 digicam samples: 3x optical zoom
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I beforehand voiced my distaste for ultra-wide cameras, however my appreciation of the S25’s digicam system is extra than simply the flip aspect of this long-standing annoyance.
As properly as giving customers extra choices for pictures, the continued inclusion of the 3x digicam symbolizes what I see as Samsung’s real dedication to equipping customers with higher-quality {hardware}. In truth, the Galaxy S25 general might be probably the most technically superior cellphone in its value bracket, sporting a chunky 12GB of RAM and the class-leading Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, in addition to its well-furnished digicam system.
So, can we hope to see Apple and Google catch up any time quickly? I’m not so certain. The baseline iPhone usually inherits options from the Pro fashions one, two, or three years after they debut, however telephoto cameras have remained the protect of the perfect iPhones because the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. It’s the identical story for Google’s Pixel telephones, with telephoto cameras nonetheless unique to the XL, Pro, and Pro XL fashions. It looks as if Samsung’s lead is fairly secure, then.
It’s price mentioning right here that there are cheaper telephoto-equipped telephones out there from cellphone makers like Xiaomi, Oppo, and even Samsung itself (see the Galaxy S24 FE), however these aren’t globally out there and do not match the S25 in {hardware} energy.
Additionally, you possibly can at the moment decide up final 12 months’s telephoto-sporting OnePlus 12 for $799 / £799, although with the OnePlus 13 now out within the wild, this is not a part of the identical technology because the S25.
Samsung’s baseline flagship, then, stays one-of-a-kind.
