Samsung Galaxy A25 Review: Best for Budget Users

Samsung Galaxy A25 5G price $200 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It has 120Hz refresh rate and here we discuss is this phone worth or are there better options?

Design and Build

Samsung Galaxy A25 boasts a design that’s not just about looks but about creating an emotional connection. This style is one we are now familiar with from the previous generations of the A series up to the flagship lineup. We know what to expect, and that’s not something I would complain about considering you now have a budget phone that shares the same design as the top-end smartphones.

The addition of a wedge-like design to the right side of the smartphone, just below the volume rocker key, makes this A series device unique. It also serves the purpose of giving your thumb a cozy spot to rest. Crafted with a glass front, a plastic back, and a plastic frame, holding the Galaxy A25 in your hand feels balanced at 197g, striking a balance between sturdiness and portability.

From the left side, you get a hybrid SIM tray offering the flexibility to embrace either dual SIM functionality or opt for a single SIM alongside a MicroSD card slot for storage expansion. At the bottom, there’s the beloved 3.5mm jack, ensuring that you keep grooving to your favorite tunes without the hassle of dongles, a microphone opening, a USB Type-C 2.0 port, and a down-firing speaker.

The fingerprint scanner, cleverly positioned to the side, doubles as the power button, providing a seamless unlocking experience that’s both intuitive and secure. Also, the buttons are tactile to enhance the overall user experience, adding a satisfying click to your every touch. The back of this device features a pattern that I love, although it doesn’t translate to the feel; it’s just for looks. Also, there’s no water resistance here, no IP rating, so resist the temptation to give the smartphone a water baptism. This device prefers to stay high and dry.

Display and Speakers

When we come to displays, we know that displays have been Samsung’s thing, and they didn’t disappoint here. The Galaxy A25 has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display that redefines visual excellence. Colors are vibrant, the details come to life on this panel, and this, for sure, elevates your everyday interaction with this device. From streaming videos to scrolling through photos, this display ensures an immersive experience that goes beyond what you get with budget-friendly Phones.

Also, the Galaxy A25 boasts a 120Hz refresh rate for this front panel, injecting a dose of fluidity into your every touch. Navigating through apps or engaging in casual gaming becomes an effortless, responsive affair. When it comes to outdoor visibility, the A25 shines, literally, with an impressive 1000 nits of brightness. This display remains crystal clear even in the brightest sunlight, so say goodbye to squinting and hello to great visibility regardless of the lighting condition with the smartphone.

Now, it seems like all I have to sing here is praises for this display, and that’s because it’s actually really good. The only complaint I have here will be the US-style notch and the thick bezels we get here, especially the one at the bottom, which is the chin on this device.

You get a stereo speaker here, so you won’t have to bother yourself about covering this bottom speaker when you try to consume media or game with this device. What this means is there’s a down-firing speaker and a top-firing speaker for the Galaxy A25. Also, the sound from the A25 is quite clean.

Performance

Galaxy A25 is powered by the Exynos 128 processor, which is the same processor we had from the Galaxy A33 and A53 from two years back. From my tests, it’s an upgrade from the Helio G99 we have from the Galaxy A24, which is now on the Galaxy A15. A lot of connections, isn’t that confusing? Performance has been nothing but excellent with this device, and as expected with this chipset, I was able to smoothly play the titles I love without worries on the Galaxy A25.

The variant I have here is 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, but you can get the following variants as shown on the screen. Multitasking is a breeze; performance is, as expected, excellent for the price, and it just gets the job done.

When it comes to gaming, I played a 30-minute session of PUBG Mobile on Galaxy A25, and I did notice that the battery drained from 85% to 79% after 30 minutes of gameplay, which is just like a 6% drop. Performance was commendable with no lags, and also, the maximum setting I achieved here with PUBG Mobile was HD graphics and high frame rates. I moved over to Call of Duty, and I had a similar experience with the maximum setting, as pled can be seen on the screen. With the Galaxy A25, I can also see that it’s a good gaming phone for the segment.

After gaming for a while, you begin to notice this gets quite warm, not uncomfortably warm though, and that was, of course, expected.

Software

So, the operating system you get out of the box is Android 14 and One UI 6.0, being the skin Samsung slaps on the Galaxy A25. You’re expecting to see four years of updates, and that’s 3 years for OS and one year of security patch.

Camera

For the camera hardware, there’s a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The front-facing camera is a 13-megapixel camera. Now, this is where you begin to see a significant improvement as far as photography in this year’s lineup of the A series. Anyway, back to the photos. I’d love for you to go through the photos from the Galaxy A25 and let me know what you think. For me, these photos are really good, if not great, for the price $299. One of the things that can be improved is the edge detection for portrait mode with this device.

I was able to record videos with the back camera up to 4K 30 FPS, but for the front-facing camera, I was able to get a maximum of 1080p. In fact, the slow motion here can only be recorded at a maximum of 720p with the Galaxy A25. Now, when you record in 4K, you do not have the ability to turn on steady shot, which is also known as video stabilization. With the smartphone, you can only use steady mode or stabilization when you record at 1080p.

As far as the cameras on the Galaxy A25, as long as there is adequate lighting, there’s nothing to really complain about here as you get good photos with the smartphone.

Battery Life

You get a 5,000mAh battery on the Galaxy A25, and with this Exynos chipset on here, you would notice that this smartphone is meant for slightly heavy use. In fact, as you might have noticed, the A series devices are meant for one-day charge for a lot of people. I kept ending my day with less than 20% on the Galaxy A25, and that’s maybe because I was always on 120Hz for motion smoothness or refresh rate. There’s also support for 25W fast charging, meaning you can get this from drop dead zero to 100 in about 85 minutes. That’s a welcome development from last year.

76%

76%

Editor Choice for Budget Users

So, the Galaxy A25 is a 5G smartphone. I actually can't fault the design; it's one I really love, and the display is super clean and great for media consumption and mild gaming, especially considering the high refresh rate. If I have any complaints with this device for this price point, it will include not having a cutout notch; this old-style notch is actually dated. Not having the charger from within the box is also a downside. I also feel the camera app could use some updates to fix certain bugs, and this is actually me nitpicking at this point. Honestly, I think the Galaxy A25 is a great 5G phone for price $200.

• Design and Build

  8
• Display

  8.5
• Speakers

  7.5
• Performance

  7.5
• Software

  7
• Camera

  7
• Battery Life

  8