Samsung Galaxy A25 5G review

Samsung has consistently proven that its prowess extends far beyond just flagship devices. The company’s commitment to delivering compelling value across various price points is evident in the success of its budget-friendly A series.

Last year’s Counterpoint Technology Market Research report underscored this fact, with three A-series models securing positions in the top-10 list, showcasing the lineup’s strong value proposition.

Notably, the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G stood out, claiming an impressive eighth spot with remarkable sales in the US and Indian markets.

While the buzz surrounding Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S24 series, dominates the headlines, the company’s mid-range offerings should not be overlooked.

The recently released Samsung Galaxy A25 5G aims to strike a balance between performance and affordability, positioning itself as a potential budget champion.

Slotting in between the more affordable Galaxy A05 and the just announced Galaxy A55, the A25 5G could be the ideal choice for those seeking a capable Android smartphone without breaking the bank.

In this review, we’ll delve into the details of Samsung’s newest addition to its A-series lineup, exploring whether it stands out in the crowded field of midrange smartphones from rivals like Xiaomi, OPPO and Tecno.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Pricing and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G is a stylish and affordable 5G smartphone that comes in four trendy color options: Midnight Black, Awesome Blue, Mustard Yellow, and Sky Blue. Designed to meet the needs of various users, this device is available in two storage configurations.

The 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage variant is priced at KES 36,000, while the higher-end 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model retails at KES 43,000.

Consumers can purchase the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G from all authorized Samsung retail outlets or conveniently order it through various online marketplaces, including Samsung’s official e-commerce platform, Brandcart.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Design & Build

The design of the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G doesn’t deviate significantly from its predecessors in the A series. It echoes the styling cues of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S24 range, with a few minor tweaks here and there.

The Galaxy A25 5G features a plastic back and frame, while the front is clad in glass, though Samsung doesn’t specify the type. It’s worth noting that the screen picked up several light scratches within the few weeks of use.

The A25 5G pairs a plastic frame with a dot-patterned plastic back that resists fingerprints but tends to hold onto smudges.

A small design detail that stands out is the slightly raised “Key Island” around the volume and power buttons, a thoughtful touch from Samsung.

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The power button doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which performs well for the most part. However, I did notice that the fingerprint scanner occasionally failed to work after the phone was turned off for an extended period.

The raised housing of the volume and power buttons proved to be quite helpful when adjusting volume levels while the phone was in my pocket.

The review unit I tested is the “Blue Black” variant, but the phone is also available in yellow, blue, and light blue colorways.

Build Quality

While the device feels sturdy and survived a fall from the arm of my sofa to a laminate floor without any issues, a case might be a wise investment.

Not only will it protect the phone, but it will also cover up the rear pattern if you’re not a fan of the design.

I would recommend using a case not just for protection but also to improve grip, as the Galaxy A25 is on the slippery side.

In terms of size and weight, the Galaxy A25 is almost identical to the cheaper Galaxy A05, making it a relatively large and heavy phone. Keep this in mind if you’re looking for a compact and easy-to-handle device.

We also get a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the Galaxy A25 5G lacks any official dust or water resistance ratings. It’s also worth noting that the vibration motor for haptic feedback on the A25 5G is particularly weak, providing a buzzy and cheap-feeling sensation.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Display & Speakers

The display on the Galax A25 5G is quite similar to that of the Galaxy A34 5G from last year. The 6.5-inch AMOLED panel boasts a Full HD+ (2340 x 1080) resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. This combination delivers a punchy, colorful, and detailed viewing experience, making it one of the best displays you’ll find in the budget smartphone market.

However, one aspect that feels outdated is the teardrop notch housing the selfie camera. In an era where even more affordable devices like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 have adopted more modern punch-hole designs, the notch on the A25 5G feels like a remnant of the past.

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Hopefully, Samsung will ditch this design choice in favor of a more contemporary look for next year’s Galaxy A26.

Samsung claims that the Galaxy A25 5G’s display can achieve an impressive peak brightness of 1000 nits. While I didn’t measure the exact peak brightness levels during my testing, I can confirm that the display’s brightness is more than sufficient for outdoor use.

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Even under direct sunlight, the screen gets remarkably bright, ensuring that content remains clearly visible and easy to read.

The 120Hz refresh rate contributes to a smooth overall experience, although you can switch to 60Hz to conserve battery life if desired.

It’s a shame, however, that Samsung didn’t include a dynamic mode that automatically adjusts the refresh rate based on the current usage scenario.

Purple Haze Effect

During my testing, I did notice a purple haze when scrolling through certain apps in dark mode. After some research, I discovered that this issue is common with AMOLED screens at low brightness levels. When the pixels are dimmed, they can cause a purple tint or haze to appear, particularly noticeable when scrolling on dark backgrounds.

Increasing the brightness alleviated this issue, but it was an odd occurrence that I haven’t encountered before, potentially indicating the use of an older AMOLED panel technology.

Speakers

In the speakers department, the Galaxy A25 5G features stereo speakers. While not exceptional, they deliver decent sound quality with a good amount of volume and bass. The phone also supports Dolby Atmos, but you’ll need to enable it manually in the settings menu.

In my experience, Dolby Atmos doesn’t significantly enhance the built-in speakers’ performance and can sometimes degrade the audio quality. However, it may prove beneficial when using headphones (the phone features a 3.5mm jack), depending on the quality of the headphones themselves.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Performance

Powering the Galaxy A25 5G is Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1280 chipset, a 5nm processor that made its debut a few years ago with the Galaxy A53 5G. While it wasn’t quite powerful enough for the A53 5G at the time, it feels more at home in the lower end of the lineup.

The Exynos 1280 is complemented by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, with the option to expand the storage further via a microSD card that shares the dual nano-SIM slot.

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Realistically, the Galaxy A25 5G won’t set any performance records, but that’s to be expected from any device at this price range. However, it offers sufficient power to handle day-to-day tasks such as social media browsing, email, and music streaming without any major hiccups.

While it’s not recommended as a dedicated gaming device, the A25 5G can handle basic games like Candy Crush or other puzzle titles without issue.

However, more demanding games like Genshin Impact will likely bog down the device to a crawl. Nevertheless, for its price point, the Galaxy A25 5G delivers a decent overall performance, with benchmark results not far off from the more expensive Galaxy A54 5G, offering a solid bang for your buck.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Cameras

While the triple-lens rear camera setup on the A25 may resemble that of the Galaxy S24 series at first glance, there’s a noticeable performance gap between the two.

The Galaxy A25 5G packs a 50MP primary camera, complemented by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro lens.

Although the primary sensor performs decently in well-lit scenarios, and the ultra-wide camera is a handy addition for group shots, the dedicated 2MP macro lens fails to live up to expectations.

Its low resolution struggles to preserve the intricate details one would expect from a macro shot.

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In the sample photos above, the Galaxy A25 5G delivers a respectable performance in favorable lighting conditions. The images exhibit the typical Samsung color science, with slightly saturated but pleasing hues, accurate exposure, and well-balanced white balance.

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However, you’ll notice a drop in detail when switching to the ultra-wide camera, and the colors appear more muted.

The digital zoom capability tops out at 10x, and as expected, the quality at higher zoom levels is not great. Surprisingly, the 13MP selfie camera housed in the Infinity-U (teardrop) notch captures good-looking selfies with natural skin tones.

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Additionally, the Portrait mode, despite offering only 1x zoom, produces impressive results, with accurate edge detection for the price.

You can also capture images at the full 50MP resolution for added detail, and overall, the camera performance was reasonably snappy.

Videos

On the video front, the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G now supports 4K recording at 30fps from its primary camera, an upgrade over its predecessor’s 1080p limit.

However, this higher resolution comes at the cost of image stabilization, which is unavailable at 4K. If you plan to capture moving subjects or shoot videos while walking or running, you’ll need to stick to 1080p for stabilized footage.

Personally, I found the lower-resolution, well-stabilized clips more suitable for capturing my cats in motion, while the higher-resolution 4K videos suffered from noticeable shakiness. It’s worth noting that the selfie camera is also capped at 1080p resolution at 30fps.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Battery Performance 

While a 5000mAh battery capacity is about average for a modern smartphone these days, Samsung claims that the Galaxy A25 5G can last up to two days on a single charge.

In my personal experience, this claim holds true, and you’re likely to achieve similar battery life as well, provided you’re not engaging in extensive gaming sessions or other demanding tasks.

Of course, heavy usage scenarios such as personal hotspot tethering or prolonged exposure to high brightness levels will inevitably take a toll on battery life, but at the very least, the A25 5G should comfortably last through a full day of regular use.

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy A25 5G with 25W wired charging capabilities, a feature that’s typically reserved for flagship devices like the Galaxy S24 series.

While this may sound impressive on paper, especially when Samsung touts it as “Super Fast Charging,” it’s important to note that the charging speeds are not particularly groundbreaking.

It’s worth mentioning that Samsung does not include a charging adapter in the box, a decision that I’ve heavily criticized, especially for budget-friendly devices.

For my testing, I used a supported 25W charging brick, and the A25 5G reached 50% battery life from 0% in approximately 45 minutes. A full charge from zero should take you close to 2 hours.

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G: Software Experience

The Samsung Galaxy A25 5G comes with the latest Android version, that is Android 14 and One UI 6 out of the box. This is quite impressive especially for a phone of this price category. Some flagship phones from other brands (cough, cough, Xiaomi) don’t launch with Android 14 out of the box.

The interface is visually appealing and intuitive to navigate, offering convenient features like the sidebar for quick access to favorite apps and contacts.

Samsung includes useful tools such as Link to Windows, Smart Switch for seamless data transfer from old devices, Quick Share for instant sharing with other Samsung products, and Multi Control for efficient device management.

However, the device does come with some pre-installed apps, or bloatware, including TikTok and a few from Microsoft. Fortunately, most of these apps can be uninstalled.

In terms of software support, Samsung stands out by providing up to four Android updates and up to five years of security patches for the Galaxy A25.

This level of support exceeds what many competitors offer, ensuring that the device remains up-to-date and secure for an extended period. While not on par with the flagship Galaxy S series, the Galaxy A25 still receives commendable software support.

Should You Buy The Galaxy A25 5G?

In the sub-KES 40,000 price segment, the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G offers a compelling value proposition. It boasts a fairly impressive display, a substantial upgrade in processing power and RAM compared to the more affordable A05 and A15 models, a decent primary camera, and respectable battery life. Overall, this phone can sufficiently meet your needs.

However, it’s challenging to get truly excited about the Galaxy A25 5G. The design is disappointingly bland and uninspiring, and the outdated teardrop notch is a letdown.

While the phone’s performance isn’t unbearably slow, it’s certainly not the fastest in its category. Nevertheless, Samsung seems to have found a formula for their mid-range and budget smartphones, where they offer a great software experience but compromise on certain hardware specifications, such as the processor and storage configurations.

If raw specs are your primary consideration when choosing a smartphone, there are better options available at the same price point. However, if you’re keen on owning a Samsung device and appreciate the brand’s user interface, the Galaxy A25 5G is undoubtedly a decent budget phone that offers good value for money.