The Galaxy S25 will be the most popular Android flagship and it’ll be undeserved

Samsung’s Galaxy S devices are usually the most popular high-end Android phones globally each year. In fact, the standard Galaxy S24 reportedly cracked the list of top ten best-selling phones in Q3 2024. That was the first time since 2018 that a Galaxy flagship made this list in Q3.

The company has just released the Galaxy S25 series, and I have little doubt that the base Galaxy S25 will be the most popular Android flagship phone once again. But it will still be a best-seller despite Samsung’s lackadaisical efforts.

The biggest reason why the standard Galaxy S25 won’t have earned its presumptive best-seller status is simple. With the exception of the chipset, Samsung has offered few major hardware upgrades since 2022’s Galaxy S22. Where do I actually start?

Perhaps nowhere is Samsung’s penny-pinching more apparent than with the camera experience. Samsung is claiming better low-light video and a few other camera-focused additions, but we’ve now had four generations of the same camera hardware on the base model. That means a 50MP 1/1.56-inch main camera while rivals offer larger primary cameras, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and the same aging 10MP 3x telephoto camera. I’m especially disappointed as rivals like the Xiaomi 14T Pro and the slightly pricier OnePlus 13 offer superior hardware.

Samsung’s lazy approach to hardware is also reflected in the Galaxy S25’s battery specs. The phone offers a 4,000mAh battery that’s identical to the Galaxy S24’s battery. I guess we’re supposed to be thankful that it’s a 300mAh boost from the Galaxy S22’s small 3,700mAh battery. Yes, the chipset and other improvements have a major bearing on battery life too, but it’s still disappointing to see no changes on this front.

The unchanged battery size is especially disappointing when the rest of the industry is embracing silicon-carbon batteries that allow for much more capacity in the same physical size. Case in point: The vivo X200 Pro Mini is slightly larger and thicker than the S25 but has a 5,700mAh battery.

The standard Galaxy S25 also continues to offer 25W wired charging speeds when rivals and even stablemates offer much higher wattages. Samsung hasn’t significantly upgraded wired speeds in the base model since 2020’s Galaxy S20. There’s obviously more to charging speeds than peak wattage, but it says a lot when even the Google Pixel 9 has marginally higher speeds. Then there are the rumors that the Galaxy A56 could adopt 45W charging speeds, beating the Galaxy S25 if confirmed.

Samsung’s base flagship has also failed to keep up with the times when it comes to storage. Yes, you can now buy a 512GB model in some regions, but the cheapest variant still starts with a meager 128GB of space. The last time Samsung increased the base storage was with 2020’s Galaxy S20. The Korean brand isn’t alone in offering 128GB of storage in its cheapest models, as Apple and Google are guilty of this, too. However, there is more evidence that Samsung’s “conservative” approach to upgrades needs to change.

I’m not saying that any major success for the Galaxy S25 would be completely unwarranted. Samsung continues to lead the pack (along with Google) by offering seven years of OS and security updates. That’s a huge credit to the Korean brand, ensuring that your Galaxy flagship will receive fixes and new features long after most rival brands have abandoned their handsets. Samsung has also delivered class-leading AI features once again. But, to be fair, last year’s Galaxy S24 phones have the same update policy and will undoubtedly receive most of these new AI features.

Another reason why the Galaxy S25’s success wouldn’t be completely without merit is because Samsung continues to offer unparalleled availability across markets. Brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and others are available in global markets but all skip the US. OPPO and vivo also skipped Europe for a couple of years due to legal issues, frustrating consumers who want their products and stymying attempts to build loyalty. Meanwhile, Samsung phones are available in every region, from Africa and North America to Europe and Asia-Pacific countries.

You could argue that Samsung was forced to choose between no upgrades and a higher price because its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is reportedly more expensive than last year’s processor. However, this excuse doesn’t justify the previous years of extremely minor upgrades.

Either way, Samsung has delivered less than minimal effort with the base Galaxy flagship for multiple years now. This won’t stop the Galaxy S25 from becoming the most popular Android flagship phone of 2025. But it really should.