The best Samsung phone has the performance, camera quality, and features you want at a price within your budget.
It would be too easy to say the top Samsung phone is the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the $1,300 model in a league of its own in terms of price and features. It's a stellar phone, but recommending the most expensive version of anything is obvious and doesn't consider value.
In our testing, the best Samsung phone for most people is the Galaxy S25, which includes most of Samsung's high-end features for the best value. For more conservative spending habits, the Galaxy A35 5G is the budget Samsung phone of choice. It's not as powerful as the company's flagship series, but its camera is capable, and its battery life is very impressive for a relatively inexpensive phone.
Our top picks for the best Samsung phone
Best overall: Samsung Galaxy S25 - See at Amazon
Best budget: Samsung Galaxy A35 5G - See at Amazon
Best camera: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra - See at Amazon
Best battery life: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra - See at Amazon
Best foldable phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 - See at Amazon
Best overall
The Galaxy S25's biggest updates include an incredibly powerful new processor and new AI features. Battery life is slightly improved, but the design, display, and cameras are largely unchanged from the previous generation.
What we like
What we don't like
Samsung's Galaxy S25 offers the best bang for the buck in the Galaxy S25 series, as it contains the vast majority of Samsung's premium features, including the company's latest AI software features. It's a compact, lightweight powerhouse you should consider first, and unless you specifically value a large display and faster charging speeds, there's little reason to spend $200 more on the Galaxy S25 Plus.
In the same vein, unless you specifically value a larger display, longer battery life, faster charging, and Samsung's S Pen stylus, there's little reason to upgrade to the Galaxy S25 Ultra for $500 more.
All three Galaxy S25 models run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Optimized for Galaxy processor with 12GB of RAM, which means the $800 Galaxy S25 has the same performance as the $1,000 Galaxy S25 Plus and $1,300 Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The Galaxy S25 also features the same triple-lens camera system and takes photos in identical quality as the Galaxy S25 Plus, so there's no upgrade by spending $1,000 here.
You'll also find the Galaxy S25 has a similar display with an adaptive refresh rate that reaches up to 120Hz, but it's limited to 1080p resolution compared to the 1440p resolution of the Galaxy S25 Plus. While technically an upgrade, we found the Galaxy S25's 1080p resolution to be more than sharp enough, and we'd even use the same resolution on the larger Galaxy S25 models to help increase battery life, too.
The Galaxy S25 scored surprisingly well in our battery test for a small phone, ending with a 62% result compared to the larger Galaxy S25 Plus' 63%. The only disappointing aspect of the Galaxy S25 is its comparatively slow 25W charging speed compared to the 45W charging speed on the larger models. Still, it's not a reason to dismiss the Galaxy S25.
Knowing that some prefer larger displays regardless of the higher price tag, the Galaxy S25 Plus comes in at a close second, with the added benefit of slightly longer battery life and faster 45W charging.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 review, and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S25 cases to protect the phone.
Best budget
Samsung's Galaxy A35 offers a large 6.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, three cameras (but you're only likely to use two), and a premium-like design. Performance is on par with a mid-range device in the $400 price range, but its battery life beats almost every Android phone we've tested, even the most expensive ones.
What we like
What we don't like
In the sub-$500 price range, Samsung's Galaxy A35 5G stands out with its 120Hz 6.6-inch display and superb battery life for its list price of $400, placing it easily among the best budget Android phones.
The Galaxy A35 obtained one of the best scores of any phone in our intensive battery test, with 65% remaining. That's Galaxy S25 Ultra territory, as the high-end phone scored 64% after our battery test. To top it off, the Galaxy A35 supports 25W charging, which is on the fast side in the budget realm, and the same charging speed as the base Galaxy S25.
The Galaxy A35's excellent battery life pairs nicely with the mid-range Samsung Exynos 1380 processor, which is fairly snappy when running apps. The Galaxy A35's predecessor, the Galaxy A54, featured the same processor, and performance was equally snappy but delivered stuttery animations when swiping around the phone. It seems Samsung has optimized its One UI phone software to run more smoothly on the Exynos 1380 processor.
Photo quality from the main 50MP camera and 8MP ultrawide lens can be surprisingly good and easily mistaken for photos taken with a more expensive premium device. At the same time, the Galaxy A35 can excessively brighten photos and bright details, especially. Still, it doesn't detract from the memories you're trying to capture, and it's an excusable facet of many of the best cheap phones.
Best camera
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung's top-end phone in 2025. It's set apart from its Galaxy S25 siblings with its four cameras, giant 6.9-inch display, stronger glass screen, and included S Pen stylus.
What we like
What we don't like
With its four camera lenses, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the best and most versatile camera system among Samsung's latest phone lineup.
Photos taken with the Galaxy S25 Ultra's 200MP main camera don't look much better than those taken with the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus' 50MP main cameras. For all three models, Samsung uses the same 10MP 3x zoom camera, so photos are identical through that lens.
However, the Galaxy S25 Ultra's fourth camera — a 50MP 5x zoom lens — sets it apart. It takes significantly sharper photos of objects and subjects further away at 5x magnification than the 3x lenses common to all the Galaxy S25 models. The 5x lens can also take shots up to 10x in full optical quality without employing digital zoom that degrades quality, thanks to cropping the 50MP sensor's center pixels.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra's upgraded 50MP ultrawide camera, compared to the 12MP ultrawide camera from the previous-generation Galaxy S24 Ultra, results in more detailed macro photos. Regular ultrawide photos, however, look generally about the same year over year.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review, and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra cases to protect the phone.
Best battery life
With most phone lineups, the largest model has the best battery life. In the Galaxy S25 series, the difference isn't significant. The Galaxy S25 Ultra ended our battery test with 64% remaining, while the Galaxy S25 Plus ended with 63% and the base Galaxy S25 with 62%.
In raw battery testing, the Galaxy S25 Ultra actually loses out slightly to the Galaxy A35 with its 65% result. However, regarding an overall recommendation for the best phone for battery life, we'd opt for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. If the Galaxy S25 Ultra steps over your budget line, we recommend you consider the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus before the Galaxy A35. Even though the Galaxy A35 delivers an excellent experience for budget seekers, it's worth weighing the extra cost for the Galaxy S25 series, as the flagship phones offer a significantly superior experience with effectively similar battery life.
Our battery test puts phones through four tests designed to simulate a mix of heavy and light use, with the overall screen-on time amounting to three hours. Five runs of the Geekbench 6 CPU test and two runs of the 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test mimic heavy use, while two hours of video streaming and one hour of music streaming when connected to a Bluetooth speaker mimic light use. At the end of the test, we record the remaining battery percentage, with higher scores suggesting better battery life.
Despite a score similar to the smaller Galaxy S25 models and even slightly lower than the Galaxy A35, the Galaxy S25 Ultra imparts confidence that your phone will comfortably last your entire day, even if you have a lot of screen time.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review, and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra cases to protect the phone.
Best foldable phone
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 features a slightly larger cover screen than previous generations, exclusive Galaxy AI features, and a more powerful processor than its predecessors.
What we like
What we don't like
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is one of two foldable phones Samsung currently offers, along with the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
We recommend the Z Fold 6 before the Z Flip 6 if you're looking for a foldable phone from Samsung. Though it starts at $1,900, the Z Fold 6 has a tablet-hybrid design that is substantially more versatile and offers better relative value than the Z Flip 6's compact design.
When folded, the Z Fold 6 has a 6.3-inch exterior screen that runs at a seamless 120Hz and offers the basic functionality of a traditional phone screen. The 0.11-inch, year-over-year widening of the phone's cover display is a subtle yet critical improvement over previous generations of the device, which had cover displays that were narrow to the point of being difficult to use. When unfolded, the phone becomes a lightweight tablet with a 7.6-inch display, which also runs effortlessly at 120Hz.
These factors separate the Z Fold 6 from the Z Flip 6 and justify the $700 difference in starting prices.
In contrast, the clamshell-style Z Flip 6, which starts at $1,100, has a 3.4-inch exterior display that offers comparatively limited use as a notification screen, a viewfinder for the main cameras, a means to control music, and a means to write messages. That said, it's the best foldable phone among competing clamshell devices, whereas the Z Fold 6 is not our first overall recommendation for a tablet-hybrid foldable.
Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 hands-on assessment, and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 cases to protect the phone.
Best Samsung phones compared
| Specs | Galaxy S25 | Galaxy A35 5G | Galaxy S25 Ultra | Galaxy Z Fold 6 |
| Starting price | $799.99 | $399.99 | $1,299.99 | $1,899.99 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Optimized for Galaxy | Samsung Exynos 1380 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Optimized for Galaxy | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Optimized for Galaxy |
| Release date | February 2025 | April 2024 | February 2025 | July 2024 |
| Screen size | 6.2 inches | 6.6 inches | 6.9 inches | 6.3 inches (folded), 7.6 inches (unfolded) |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom | 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro | 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom, 10MP 5x zoom | 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
How we test Samsung phones
As with any of the best phones, we thoroughly test Samsung phones by using them as daily drivers for as long as it takes to get a complete picture of their performance, battery life, features, and overall value. Considering our extensive experience with phones, this can take as little as a few days or longer if major new features are introduced.
During testing, we run popular and common apps and games and watch for signs of stuttering or slower-than-expected loading times. We also run the Geekbench 6 CPU and GPU benchmark tests and various benchmark tests in the 3D Mark app to get an idea of year-over-year performance improvements. For AI performance, we have begun benchmarking with the Geekbench AI app.
We test camera quality by taking photos of the same scenes with each lens and comparing them to the same images taken with different phones. When we test a new phone's camera, we bring its competitors to take the same photos at the same time of day and time of year to make accurate comparisons.
We also use Samsung phones to take hundreds of personal photos, which weigh heavily in our assessments. These photos reveal a camera's real-life strengths and shortcomings that a testing scenario often misses, like a photo's clarity where subjects are in motion and the everyday experience of using its camera apps. You may not see these key photos in our reviews, as they often include friends and family, and we respect their privacy.
Our battery life test aims to simulate a mix of light and heavy usage with three hours of screen-on time at a set brightness that's identical on every phone we test. The test includes five runs of the Geekbench 6 CPU test, two runs of the 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test, one hour of music streaming while the phone is connected to a Bluetooth speaker, and two hours of video streaming. We then note the remaining battery percentage.
FAQs
Which is the best Samsung phone?
From our testing, the best Samsung phone available now is the Galaxy S25, which offers the best overall combination of performance and features for the price. It's also our top pick for the best small Samsung phone and among the best Android phones you can buy.
We're aware that many Android users prefer larger displays, and we wholeheartedly recommend the Galaxy S25 Plus, too, as it's essentially a larger version of the Galaxy S25. Just be aware that it's $200 more for the extra display size. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is technically the best Samsung phone you can buy from a specs standpoint, thanks to its quad-camera system, large display, and S Pen stylus (if you're into that kind of accessory). However, it's also an eye-watering $1,300.
We also recommend several other Samsung phones according to specific criteria.
The best Samsung phone for a more affordable price is the Galaxy A35 5G. It has a large 6.6-inch display that runs at 120Hz, just like a premium phone. Its cameras can take surprisingly good photos for the price, but they can also appear overly bright. Performance is speedy, and battery life is among the best we've tested.
Samsung's best camera phone is the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which offers a stellar four-camera system and is the company's lone phone with a 5x optical zoom lens in addition to a standard 3x zoom lens.
Samsung's best foldable phone is the Galaxy Z Fold 6, a versatile device that can operate as a 6.3-inch phone or a 7.6-inch tablet.
Which is the newest Samsung phone?
Samsung's newest phones in the US are the flagship Galaxy S25 phones, including the base Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra, which the company released on February 7.
Before that, Samsung's latest release in the US was the mid-range Galaxy S24 FE, released in September 2024. It offers many features of the previous-generation flagship Galaxy S24 series, including Galaxy AI, at a more affordable $650 starting price.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@jkmperu.com.
