Samsung Galaxy A25 5G overview: Higher than finances

Samsung’s A-series has been among the finest finances Android choices for those who’re attempting to avoid wasting a buck with out sacrificing an excessive amount of. Primarily based on certainly one of its more moderen entries into the market — the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G — the Korean tech agency is maintaining the streak alive by offering a stellar smartphone expertise at a worth that gained’t make you recoil in concern.

The Galaxy A25 5G sports activities a wonderful show and a stable digital camera array, arguably two of a very powerful options of any gadget in 2024. Even higher, Samsung has dedicated to 4 software program updates for the gadget, which dwarfs guarantees from its rival producers on this worth vary. Certain, it suffers the efficiency points which are widespread with even the most effective finances smartphones, and massive bezels imply you don’t get to take pleasure in each inch of the OLED show, however don’t let just a few anticipated pitfalls break a superbly good telephone for the worth.

Availability, community, and pricing

Low pricing with some offers as well

The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G is a stable worth gadget at $299 within the US, and you should buy it at both Amazon, Finest Purchase, or Samsung itself. So as to add to that worth, the gadget is usually on sale for even cheaper, with all three retailers providing the gadget for under $264 on the time of writing.

Sadly, for US consumers, the gadget is just accessible in a single shade — blue black — though it’s accessible in each gentle blue and yellow in choose areas. You’re additionally restricted to only one storage choice, and it’s fairly low at solely 128GB together with the one RAM choice being 6GB.

Design & show

Sturdy design and exquisite show do not feel like a finances telephone

With this smartphone, Samsung continues the development of placing out finances units that don’t really feel like finances units in your hand. The Galaxy A25 5G has the hand-feel of a modern flagship, even whether it is sporting a plastic physique. Admittedly, it feels a bit cumbersome with its 8.3mm large physique and flat edges, notably for those who plan on including a case to it for higher safety. However total, it feels sturdy sufficient to deal with a fall right here and there, which is what you need out of a finances gadget.

Along with the headphone jack, you’ll discover a USB-C port and a single speaker on the underside of the gadget, a twin SIM card and microSD port on the left edge, and the amount and energy buttons on the precise edge, which doubles because the fingerprint sensor. The singular speaker isn’t ideally suited, offering some pretty unbalanced sound, notably when holding the gadget from the underside.

The show is certainly one thing to put in writing dwelling about. The 6.5-inch OLED 1080 x 2340 decision show seems nearly as good as marketed, if not higher, and the 120Hz refresh price makes the general smartphone expertise as clean as butter. The contact display is noticeably responsive, and this reviewer is pleased to argue that it’s among the finest shows he’s seen on a finances telephone in his lengthy and enduring lifetime.

The issue, nevertheless, is that you simply don’t get essentially the most out of it due to the bezels, that are large, coming in at an 84.2% screen-to-body ratio. Maybe I’m exaggerating a tad once I say that I may see the big chin bezel from house if I have been blindfolded, however truthfully, not by a lot. Even worse, the selfie digital camera is housed within the dreaded notch, which takes away much more of the most effective components of this telephone.

Different {hardware} & what’s within the field

A USB-C cable included is sweet sufficient for me

Fortunately, the times of finances units missing among the extra primary {hardware} are behind us. The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G offers each main types of biometric login performance: a fingerprint sensor on the facility button and facial recognition from the selfie digital camera. In constant testing, each types of entry have been pretty clean, though the facial recognition did start to lag a bit after the primary few days. The fingerprint scanner was a superb backup, although, with quick unlocks and nearly no mishaps in any respect.

Regardless of the plastic physique and headphone jack, the Galaxy A25 5G is waterproof with an IP67 score. Not all finances smartphones supply this sort of safety, just like the Moto G Stylus, so for those who’re anticipating a whole lot of spills and drops close to water, this could possibly be the best choice.

As for what’s within the field, you’re getting nothing greater than the fundamentals: a fast begin information and a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging. That’s proper, no brick. Nonetheless, the cable does present some fairly speedy charging at 25W, however we’ll get as to whether or not it really retains up these speeds on the battery check.

Software program & efficiency

The finances worth rears its ugly head

There’s little to fret about on the subject of the software program on Samsung finances units, and the Galaxy A25 5G retains with custom on that entrance. You’ll get Android 14 proper out of the field, albeit in Samsung’s devoted One UI 6 pores and skin that makes some aesthetic adjustments, however nothing of substance is basically that totally different. You’re nonetheless getting the Google Uncover web page if you scroll to the precise from the house web page, and it’s naturally preloaded with an array of Google apps, like Gmail, Drive, and YouTube.

You’re additionally getting a whole lot of preloaded apps from Samsung, like SmartThings, Good Swap, and AR Zone, however except you’re an enormous Samsung fan, these are doubtless going to go unused by nearly all of customers. Whereas it actually isn’t the onslaught of bloatware that some finances units are geared up with, it’s nonetheless greater than you’ll want, and it comes at a price in the direction of your mounted quantity of storage. You aren’t getting any of the legendary AI options simply but, both, as these are doubtless going to be reserved for flagship units and past.

Maybe the largest boon on the subject of the software program of the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G is the truth that it’s going to get a whole lot of updates over the course of its life. Samsung introduced that this gadget would get 4 software program updates, which is nicely forward of different finances units available on the market that usually solely get one or two. This could allow you to save much more cash in the long term, as you gained’t really feel the need to purchase a brand new telephone in an effort to get entry to freshly launched options.

Efficiency is an actual sore spot for the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G, although. There was a noticeable lag within the gadget in comparison with my customary Pixel 7 expertise at dwelling. Even proper out of the field, it lagged throughout setup to remind me precisely the place these saved {dollars} actually go. As somebody who evaluations a whole lot of finances smartphones, although, it’s price noting that it wasn’t any worse than rivals at this worth. Merely put, if you wish to keep away from the lag, you’re going to should pay greater than an Exynos 1280 processor with 6GB of RAM.

Battery life & charging

The usual finances expertise at 5000 mAh

Samsung has been fairly dedicated to maintaining massive batteries in its finances telephones, and the Galaxy A25 5G is, in fact, no totally different. You’ll be getting a hulking 5,000 mAh battery, which has change into pretty customary over time. It was in a position to give me greater than the complete two days promised with no cost on gentle to average use. That’s doubtless as a result of lower-end processor, which doesn’t require as a lot energy, however that type of battery life is to not be scoffed at.

Even higher, Samsung didn’t skimp on the charging capabilities on the subject of the Galaxy A25 5G. You’re getting a USB-C to USB-C cable out of the field, so you understand there’s at the least an opportunity you’re getting quicker than regular charging, listed at 25W wired. In testing, the supplied cable and my very own USB-C quick charger have been in a position to get the gadget from 50% to 100% in somewhat over an hour, which isn’t almost as quick as some flagships however will get the job accomplished for such a low worth.

As we talked about earlier, although, the Galaxy A25 5G doesn’t include a charging brick, so that you’ll should buy one that’s appropriate with 25W wired charging to get these sorts of speeds. Nonetheless, for those who don’t have already got one, it shouldn’t price an excessive amount of more cash, and the quick speeds with a giant battery like this may make life lots simpler.

Digicam

Fantastic for the worth, with a little bit of aptitude

The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G is supplied with the usual digital camera array for a finances gadget. The 50MP essential digital camera is on just about each telephone at this level, and it performs admirably for the worth. The standard of the photographs depends closely on the lighting, because it isn’t geared up with the software program energy of the Google Pixel 8, for instance. The main points are undoubtedly crisp and clear, however you aren’t getting that further pop that comes from a little bit of AI-powered enhancing, you understand?

The 13MP selfie digital camera didn’t disappoint an excessive amount of, both. The essential portrait photographs got here in with nice element — perhaps somewhat an excessive amount of given my advancing age — and the Portrait Mode photographs had crisp, clear edges that didn’t blur to disclose an clearly doctored picture. Much more thrilling, there’s the “Enjoyable” function within the Samsung digital camera app, which primarily homes an array of Snapchat filters that may make your footage further bizarre. Heads up, although, you have to an web connection to entry the options, because it’s not a totally built-in function with the digital camera.

For zoom, you’re getting a stable vary on the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G. The gadget is of course geared up with an 8MP ultrawide lens so to get every little thing into the shot wherever you’re standing. Past that, although, the primary digital camera can digitally zoom as much as 10x, which is fairly good contemplating the iPhone 14 has 10x zoom. Clearly, the zoom is a bit on the blurry facet as a result of the Galaxy A25 5G isn’t geared up with a telephoto lens, but when it is advisable to catch Bigfoot in a crowded forest, you understand the place to show.

Let’s see, did we overlook something? Oh yeah, the 2MP macro lens is essentially the most forgettable lens on any smartphone. This doesn’t impress a lot both, however when do these sorts of digital camera options ever actually turn out to be useful? The close-up photographs look a bit higher, however for those who’re shopping for a smartphone primarily based on how good the macro lens seems, it’s best to most likely stray away from the phrase “finances.”

Competitors

Loads of choices at this worth, however are they nearly as good?

Certain, it’s been talked about just a few occasions already, but it surely’s price saying once more: Samsung has nice finances smartphones. If the Galaxy A25 5G isn’t for you, we’d perceive, because it’s undoubtedly on the upper finish of the A Collection by way of worth. For a less expensive choice that also impresses, the Samsung Galaxy A15 is a full $100 lower than the Galaxy A25 for a really comparable expertise. It drops to 4GB of RAM, a 90Hz OLED show, and a barely worse digital camera array, however retains a lot of the core expertise similar.

For a similar $300, you may rating Motorola’s new Moto G Energy 5G (2024). It has a bigger 6.7-inch LCD 120Hz show and swaps out the Exynos chip for a Dimensity 7020. Throw in fast-charging — wired and wi-fi — extra RAM, and a hanging faux-leather design, and also you may end up swayed by Moto’s expertise. However the show simply is not nearly as good, efficiency is fairly hit and miss, and the software program assist is abysmal. Throw in a ton of pre-installed adware, and it simply would not ship the best way this telephone can.

Do you have to purchase it?

Samsung’s finances telephones are an apparent advocate

It’s onerous to argue that Samsung makes among the higher choices on the subject of finances smartphones, so for those who’ve acquired restricted funds to work with, we’d undoubtedly advocate trying out the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G. The show alone impresses sufficient to make it definitely worth the delicate funding, and the dedication to so many software program updates means you gained’t be pressured to swap it for a brand new gadget for some time, including much more to the worth.

If you happen to’re coming over from an older flagship, although, the efficiency points are going to hassle you. The lag is noticeable, though you shouldn’t have any severe issues when it really issues. Plus, the restricted storage choices could possibly be irritating for a heavy consumer, although contemplating you may all the time improve it with a microSD card, that’s removed from a deal-breaker. All that to say, we really feel greater than comfy recommending the Samsung A25 5G as a finances telephone, however for those who discover just a few further hundred {dollars} below the sofa, upgrading to a flagship — even a midrange one just like the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE — is prone to be a greater resolution.