Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Biggest upgrades

The Galaxy S25 is here, and the response has overall been pretty positive. However, many people might be wondering how it compares to the older Galaxy S24, and we are here to help.

Whenever a new phone comes out it creates a bit of quandry for the average consumer. For instance, if you already have a Galaxy S24 do you want to upgrade to the new model? Or, perhaps, you're considering moving brands over to Samsung but are undecided which is the best option?

There's a lot to take note of when it comes to Samsung phones, they regularly take a high position in our best phones list after all. However, there's no doubt that it can be hard to find the best Samsung phone for you.

For reference, I worked as a Samsung engineer for a few years, and have been using the Galaxy S25 since its release. As such, I've helped to compile this comparison of the Galaxy S25 vs the Galaxy S24 to help you decide which is the device for you.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Price

We all remember the rumors about a possibly price rise for the Galaxy S25, but thankfully none of those rumors came to pass. As such, when it launched, the Galaxy S25 cost $799, the same as the Galaxy S24. This means that there's no major price difference for new devices.

However, there are some great deals for the Galaxy S24 that run pretty constantly and it's much cheaper to pick one up second hand. As such, if you're looking for pretty similar hardware for less cost you might want to grab the older model.

Saying that, you'll be getting much more software support for the newer Galaxy S25 and there are still some great Galaxy S25 deals if you know where to look.

Overall, I'd say that price likely isn't the deciding factor when it comes to choosing between the two phones. Although, it is certainly a consideration.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and display

The Galaxy S24 featured a 6.2-inch screen, a slight increase from the 6.1-inch display on the Galaxy S23, with Samsung shrinking the bezels to add more screen space. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 comes with the same 6.2 AMOLED display.

For the most part, the displays between the two devices are essentially the same. However, the Mura effect that plagued the Galaxy S24 and caused the screen to look grainy at low brightness hasn't appeared.

The Galaxy S25 is also a little brighter and, when John tested the screens with a movie trailer, he found that the sheer color saturation and its iridescent glow at the highest brightness setting did not disappoint.

In reality, the difference between the two displays isn't anything insane, with the newer phone being just a bit brighter. Although, if we're honest, that makes sense considering they are basically identical.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Cameras

The Galaxy S24 offered an impressive camera setup, with a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 offers the same basic camera setup as the older model with the same hardware.

So surely that means that there's no real difference, right? Well, not exactly as the Galaxy S25 does have some advantages going for it. The reality is that the days of big camera changes between smartphone generations is gone and AI is the real name of the game now, and the Galaxy S25 certainly has the advantage there.

For instance, the Audio Eraser feature gives you much more control over background noises. There's also the new Nightography mode that makes taking video in the dark much easier.

Finally, we also saw a new feature called Log Video that records in a flatter picture profile, which will make life much easier for editors. There's also a new virtual aperture on the cameras that gives way more depth of field control.

Overall, the Galaxy S25 offers you way more finetuning over the images and video that you take. However, the base images will still largely be the same, making it hard to recommend upgrading for the camera alone.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Performance & AI

When it comes to overall power, there's no getting past the fact that the Galaxy S25 has the edge thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 elite chip. We've seen this chip in some of the best Android phones and it certainly delivers.

Meanwhile the Galaxy S24 is a little more confusing, mostly because the series is by no means uniform when it comes to chips. While The Galaxy S24 Ultra exclusively featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus split the difference on which chip appeared in which model.

North American phones featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while models in other parts of the world ran on the Exynos 2400, which is a step slower than Qualcomm's silicon.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was a strong performer, topping Apple's A16 Bionic in graphics testing and some speed benchmarks. The Snapdragon 8 Elite figures to be even faster, according to our initial benchmarks of Qualcomm's chipset. In those tests, a Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered reference device even managed to top the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max on some tests.

If we look at the numbers, it's clear that, when it comes to the multi-core score, the Snapdragon 8 elite clearly outclocks the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, the single core score is less impressive, which isn't that shocking as Qualcomm's chips tend to struggle in that area.

However, what does all that mean in a more practical sense? Firstly, in my experience, the Galaxy S25 is certainly faster when trying to perform tasks like searching the web and gaming. The real strength though is that the Galaxy S25 has much better heat regulation, meaning that more strenuous activities tend not to offer as much risk of overheating.

With all that said, graphically the speeds aren't all that apparent, but it does make a huge difference when it comes to the AI. Samsung claims that this particular chipset sees a boost of 40% in NPU, 37% in CPU, and 30% in GPU compared to the previous chip.

When launched all three models of the Galaxy S25 featured One UI 7, which includes a redesigned home screen and camera app, as well as new and improved AI features. The phones also come with an improved Gemini and Galaxy AI, which offer a much smoother experience.

It is worth noting that Samsung is planning on bringing One UI 7 to the older devices, with a planned release date in April.

So what are you getting in the newer model? Well, it's faster and can handle heat better, which is pretty important in the long run, trust me. You're also getting an improved experience with AI on the new phone that is much faster and more competent. So, while you might get some of the features on the older phones eventually, the better experience will always be on the Galaxy S25.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Battery

As with much of the hardware on the Galaxy S25, there isn't really much change when it comes to battery. The phone has the same 4,000 mAh battery as the Galaxy S24. However, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, it certainly lasts.

When we tested the Galaxy S25 it managed to last 15 hours and 43 minutes in the TG battery rundown test (browsing websites non-stop over a cell connection from 100 - 0%). That's two hours longer than the Galaxy S24, so clearly the chip knows how to manage power.

So, if you want a phone that can run for longer, then you could easily drop the extra cash for the newer phone. However, both devices charge at roughly the same speed, so really it's more down to if you want a device that you know won't die in your pocket.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Outlook

Honestly, it's really hard to compare the two models on hardware, if only because they're basically the same device. That means that you have to rely on software, and that's much harder to quantify.

For instance, while you might have a faster phone, there are so many external factors that experiences will always differ. As such, it becomes a question of whether the AI features are enough for you, and if not, then you might be better served waiting for the next generation of Samsung phones.

HOWEVER, if you happen to be looking to migrate to Samsung from another brand then the story is very different. In that case, the clear answer is to go with the newer device if money is no object. You are getting the superior experience, if however minute and there are enough deals that you can still save some cases.

Well, I say the ideal experience but, realistically, you need the ultra model for that. If you want to see how that compares, then we have a breakdown of the Galaxy S25 Ultra vs the Galaxy S24 Ultra that details all the differences.

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