At a time when major phone releases are as high-stakes as ever, Samsung tries to set the $800 Galaxy S25 and $1,000 Galaxy S25 Plus apart by leaning into what's new (AI), as well as the familiar (good cameras and battery life). And I am definitely impressed.

Is this one of those rare instances when last year's model is better than the new one? The Galaxy S25 Ultra is out, bringing the usual set of

All this to say the Galaxy S25 ($800), Galaxy S25+ ($1,000), and Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300) are powerful, reliable, and well-equipped smartphones. They're excellent upgrades if you're coming from a three or four-year-old device. They're just not otherwise interesting or exciting.