I went hands-on with all three Galaxy S25 phones and they’re impressive, but the déjà vu is real

When Samsung led me into a content capture area in New York City to get a first look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, I must admit that I was pessimistic. Up until that point, all the leaks suggested Samsung would show off three phones that looked nearly identical to the previous year’s versions. Sure enough, when I got into that room to see them for myself, it was like déjà vu — the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra are near clones of their older models, making this the fourth year in a row without any major overhaul to the Galaxy S look.

Below the surface, though, Samsung has done some cool new things with these devices. The problem is that you need to go hunting for those cool things, and I’m not sure playing a game of hide-and-seek with your customers for the main selling points of your new phone is the best idea.