Selfies certainly look sharper, though not everyone is going to like the cutout interrupting the flow of the main screen. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is thinner and lighter than ever while also featuring larger interior and exterior screens. Instead, open up the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and marvel at this 4.2mm thin phone’s slender profile. If you’re looking for the thinnest phone Samsung makes, look past the Galaxy S25 Edge. Should that $1,099 starting price prove to be too steep, Samsung offers the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 7 FE, which shares more in common with last year’s Flip. Battery life continues to improve with the Flip, too, in another positive step forward for Smasung’s phone.
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I relied on the above functionality constantly when using the Z Flip7 as my primary phone. You’ll be able to answer messages and keep tabs on important notifications, among other crucial tasks, without having to open the phone. Aside from the latter, the A36’s design and hardware specs are similar. By going for slimmer display bezels and more rounded corners, Samsung made the new Ultra more pocket-friendly despite its larger display.
It’s a big productivity booster that helps the Flip evolve into more than just a pretty-looking phone, but a tool that power users can turn to. The price may not have changed, but plenty of other factors have, making this the best Flip Samsung’s ever made. And testing revealed a much brighter display than last year’s model. But the Snapdragon 8 Elite has superior power management, helping the Galaxy S25 outlast it predecessor by more than 2 hours on our battery test. That said, changes to photo processing mean the images shot by the S25 are less prone to saturation, as I discovered when testing the new phone. There are no camera hardware changes from the Galaxy S24, so if you have a newer Samsung flagship, you may want to skip an upgrade.
Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra?
- Its compact size makes it the most pocket-friendly option among today’s flagship phones.
- You won’t find a faster phone than the Galaxy S25 Plus, but what will you do with all that power?
- In general, a phone that lasts 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.
- The excellent hardware is held back a bit by confusing software and the new Exynos processor, but this is still one of the best flip phones we’ve ever tested.
It features a 200MP main camera along with four accompanying cameras, allowing it to take extremely high-quality shots, including close-up images and ultrawide photos. To preserve your phone’s battery life, it’s best to charge it between 20% and 80% and never let it drop to 0% or charge fully to 100%. If true, we may see an upcoming foldable phone that bends in two ways, with a display that surpasses even the Z Fold 7 in ingenuity. Even then, you’ll receive a generous suite of premium features like a 120Hz OLED, a triple-camera setup, and a long-lasting battery.
Samsung Galaxy A56 – Best High-end Mid-range
It’s time for Samsung to catch up if it wants to remain at the top. You won’t find a faster phone than the Galaxy S25 Plus, but what will you do with all that power? A fantastic display that’s bright and colorful, making it easy to use in any situation, even taking photos in bright sunshine. I’m ready for something new, but this design is a classic, with good color options this year. Samsung’s shooting modes and AI photography also help the phone take great pics. It’s hard to justify spending significantly more for features that even premium users won’t utilize.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung often offers tech you won’t find on other phones, and Samsung owners love diving into the deep well of features. Samsung phones live at the cutting edge of mobile technology. Are the foldable phones worth the premium, or is the Galaxy S25 Ultra the phone to buy? In addition to being pricier, the foldable Galaxy Z smartphones lack the durability of their mainstream siblings, which have an IP rating for water and dust resistance.
The newly launched Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has the same primary camera, but it lacks a telephoto unit. If camera quality is paramount to you, consider a Galaxy with an Ultra moniker. I highly recommend purchasing a case for a foldable Galaxy because its build is more complicated and less likely to withstand heavy tumbles. The Galaxy Z Flip is super pocketable, while the bulkier Galaxy Z Fold can replace a phone and a tablet in one.
The best Samsung Galaxy phones: Budget, flagship, foldables and more
The phone’s audio jack and microSD card slot, on the other hand, are a pair of useful, decidedly old-school features that allow it to replace an MP3 player. Still, I wish the phone had an ultra-wide rear alvexo sensor with a higher resolution, as well as a telephoto instead of a macro snapper. Its primary and selfie cameras are among the best in its price range, too.
Author: Anyron Copeman, Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor
Samsung took the traditional smartphone route when refining the outer display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, opting for a wider, more regular aspect ratio panel than last year’s narrower Galaxy Z Fold 6. That’s fine, but in this day and age, flagship phones will usually last for a day and a half, meaning if you forget to plug in your phone overnight, you can wake up and make it to work before you’ll need to charge again. With the S25 serving as the base model for the lineup that also includes the S25 Plus and the S25 Ultra, it rounds out a selection of phones of all sizes, sharing the same specifications throughout the lineup.
- A fantastic display that’s bright and colorful, making it easy to use in any situation, even taking photos in bright sunshine.
- Compared to 2024 and 2025 S series phones, the previous generation mainly falls short on Galaxy AI features and camera performance.
- Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold6 it replaces, the Fold7 is noticeably sleeker, slimmer, and lighter, despite packing a larger 8-inch foldable screen.
- It does make a few compromises, such as ditching S Pen support and increasing its price, but it’s one of Samsung’s best options if you’re looking for a productivity powerhouse.
In my experience and research, Samsung’s smartphones have a track record of reliability, and because it’s a major player, it has a wider network of authorized repair centers than competing Android manufacturers. Google’s Pixel phones are my favorite Android devices, but Samsung’s offerings are just as great and often have better hardware. (And yes, Galaxy phones are Android phones, though Samsung calls its layer over Android “One UI.”) But whereas Apple is the sole company behind the iOS mobile operating system, even the best Samsung phones face stiff competition in the Android world.
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G: The best Samsung phone under $500
Superlative smartphone performance, really the best you’ll find at any price, though I’m not sure where all of that power is going. It does a lot, though it’s bloated with software, but Samsung keeps improving, and this phone will get seven years of software updates. The fastest phone in this price range by a small margin, but the design and specs are getting a bit stale. Takes good photos, but you can find much better cameras on competing phones, with bigger sensors and more pixels. Worth the premium over the Galaxy S25, with a display and battery life that beat the more expensive Ultra.
That’s because the new Galaxy AI features include capabilities that let you do more with your phone. Before becoming a professional phones guy, I was a faithful Samsung user, eking out every last drop of life from my Galaxy S7 before my job required me to swap devices more regularly. Samsung launches dozens of phones every year, but fortunately I am able to try them out, test and review them. The Galaxy S25 Edge brings a super-thin design to Samsung’s phone lineup, though the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has proven to be even thinner when opened up. Do you want a leading camera phone that produces captivating shots in all sorts of conditions?
As phone editors often say, nobody pays full price for a Samsung, so make sure to keep checking back for the best deals. You can find just about every Samsung phone on sale at your preferred wireless carrier, and carriers often offer huge discounts on Samsung phones, especially around a new phone launch. These phones aren’t as refined or elegant as a Pixel or iPhone, but who cares when they can do exponentially more than any other phone.
In fact, for most people, the Galaxy S25 will be a very satisfying choice, as it supports the same AI-powered features as the Ultra while costing $500 less. We recommend the Galaxy S25 Ultra as the ultimate Samsung phone because it delivers on all those demands and more. Or do you want an expansive screen for getting more work done on the go? Are you looking for the fastest performance, particularly when it comes to running graphically-demanding games?
That chipset, which is a slight upgrade over the previous Exynos 2400e version, also powers a slimmed-down slate of Galaxy AI features. Specifically, Samsung has finally decided that a 4,500mAh battery and 25W wired charging are no longer enough for its $650 sub-flagship. While Samsung’s Ultra may be its very best phone in 2025, its latest Fan Edition presents the most value for those who don’t want to break the bank. You’ll also get plenty more Galaxy AI features in the future, thanks to seven years of both Android updates and security patches. And, now that I’ve mentioned Galaxy AI, I should point out that it’s pretty much everywhere. I was glad to have it on hand for the darkest months of last season’s Premier League campaign, as my often remote work meant keeping up with highlights on the largest screen I could fit in my pocket.
