I have been utilizing Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 Extremely for a few days, and I’ve a confession to make. For years, my absolute favourite ultrawide digicam discovered on any cellphone was on Samsung Galaxy S fashions, and the brand new model on the S25 Extremely is even higher. When the Galaxy S10 collection dropped in 2019, I could not take sufficient pictures with Samsung’s first ultrawide digicam. Was it good? No. However the lens had an unimaginable method of distorting actuality to make ultrawide pictures look dramatic with out going full fisheye with warped edges.
Over time, Samsung has up to date the lens and sensor on its ultrawide digicam. And the Galaxy S25 Extremely rocks a brand new model with a 50-megapixel sensor — and it is superb. Judging from my first 48 hours with the S25 Extremely, the ultrawide appears to seize lots of particulars, whereas having a decent dynamic vary, particularly for high-contrast pictures with various gentle and shadowlike sunrises. Clearly I nonetheless have extra testing to do, however to date I just like the pictures I get from the brand new ultrawide digicam.
The S25 Extremely’s ultrawide provides Peebles the cat a dramatic look as he strikes to see out the window.
Check out the element the S25 Extremely’s ultrawide captured on this photograph of Peebles the cat. Regardless of Peebles dashing to his window mattress, the cellphone caught a ton of texture in his fur and whiskers. This picture has some difficult lighting, with sunshine pouring by means of the window on the left into an in any other case darkish room. Discover the picture noise within the shadows on the best aspect. Good? No, however in my guide, the element and lens’ dramatic distortion make up for it.
Although the ultrawide digicam is not clinically good (and remains to be a step down in contrast with the principle digicam), it may possibly produce gorgeous pictures like this of water flowing down stone steps.
Here is an early-morning shot of a water sculpture taken with the ultrawide. The flowing water appears like glass contrasted in opposition to the stone. This picture is oversharpened, however I just like the look of the sunburst flare within the high proper nook.
Macro images will get a pleasant enhance due to that new 50-megapixel sensor.
The S25 Extremely’s ultrawide doubles as a macro lens, permitting it to get very near its topic and nonetheless hold issues in focus. On this photograph of a Godzilla toy on a window sill, the monster’s plastic texture reveals up fairly effectively. Discover the main points of the turquoise eyes and cream-colored enamel — Godzilla could have to see a dentist. Additionally the S25 Extremely balanced exposing the picture of Godzilla with avoiding a blowout of the highlights of the sky and cityscape exterior the window.
This photograph was taken with the S25 Extremely’s fundamental digicam.
Here is the identical scene taken with the ultrawide digicam.
The ultrawide will not be with out its flaws, and it is nonetheless a step down by way of general picture high quality in contrast with the principle digicam. Discover within the pictures above that the picture from the principle digicam has higher particulars within the shadows (the bushes on the best) and a wider dynamic vary, and that the principle digicam makes use of much less noise discount (have a look at the bricks within the buildings). However even with these downsides, photos from the ultrawide are, most of the time, hanging.
Listed here are just a few extra ultrawide snaps from the S25 Extremely.
This ultrawide picture was taken indoors with a mixture of overhead gentle and daylight coming in from the home windows.
I am impressed with the dynamic vary, which is not as huge as the principle digicam’s however is respectable for an ultrawide cellphone digicam.
Maisie the cat’s downward gaze appears all of the extra dramatic by means of an ultrawide lens. After all, as purr-fect as this photograph is, it is not good, with the shadows in her coat all crunched to black.
AI and rounded corners
The S Pen poking out of the Galaxy S25 Extremely. Discover the cellphone’s new rounded corners.
However wait, there’s extra! Whereas the Extremely within the cellphone’s title does not seek advice from the ultrawide lens, it does symbolize this cellphone’s ambitions. The Galaxy S25 Extremely is extremely at every part by way of specs: Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 12GB of RAM, a 5,000-mAh battery, two telephoto cameras, a stylus and, the true star of the cellphone, that display. However the identical might be stated of final 12 months’s S24 Extremely, in the event you swap out the brand new chip for final 12 months’s nonetheless blazing quick Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
By way of bodily design, the S25 Extremely now has rounded corners in lieu of the Galaxy Notice-ish right-angled ones discovered on earlier Extremely telephones. And just like the common Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, the cellphone’s edges are actually flat, which I discover makes the cellphone simpler to carry. The S25 Extremely weighs even lower than final 12 months’s mannequin. Watching movies, enjoying video games or simply scrolling social feeds feels extra immersive, due to the display’s thinner bezels. None of those refinements are main, however they add as much as make the S25 Extremely appear extra polished and fewer like I am carrying a tech-dense brick round with me.
Then there’s the AI. Oh, the AI. In the course of the reveal of the S25 Extremely on the Galaxy Unpacked occasion, Samsung highlighted its relationship and partnership with Google. And that is likely to be one of the simplest ways to consider all these AI options. You have to have a Google account for the Gemini aspect of issues and a Samsung account for the on-device and Bixby aspect of issues.
Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely Arms-On: A Larger Display screen and Extra AI
As marketed, a long-press on the ability button let me pull up the Gemini interface to ask issues like when the subsequent Warriors recreation was and to have it added to my calendar. Having a digital assistant perform a number of steps off of a single command is sweet. Sadly, it added the sport to the Samsung calendar app and to not the Google calendar app that I’ve used for years — an assumption that meant I would should manually add the occasion to the latter calendar anyway.
This would possibly sound humorous, however past my desire for Google apps over Samsung ones, having a digital assistant able to extra advanced queries goes to take some getting used to. Like most cellphone homeowners, I’ve mastered the one step at a time actuality that our present smartphones have had for years. Within the quick time I’ve had the cellphone, I hold attempting to think about extra methods I can benefit from this extra refined helper.
My final thought for now’s that I actually like the concept of the Now Bar on the lock display that reveals reside updates to background apps. However in contrast to the iPhone and its Reside Actions on the lock display, it is very restricted in the meanwhile. I see the potential and I hope that is one thing Samsung can get extra third-party builders to benefit from.
I’ve extra testing to do, however after two days, I am nonetheless feeling extremely good concerning the new S25 Extremely.
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