5 reviews for SAMSUNG Galaxy A25 5G A Series Cell Phone, 128GB Unlocked Android Smartphone, AMOLED Display, Advanced Triple Camera System, Expandable Storage, Stereo Speakers, US Version, 2024, Black

1. 

   BGK – November 25, 2024

   Solid reliable phone, great value
   This phone gives me everything I need at a great price. Runs all my apps, texting, excellent voice quality on calls, good picture quality. The transfer of data from my old S10 was fast and seamless. Can’t address how it would handle streaming or gaming sine I don’t use it for those things, but that’s precisely why I didn’t want to pay for a more expensive phone. It’s an excellent phone at a great price.

2. 

   Leslie J. Bruder – November 25, 2024

   The worst phone and customer support imaginable
   I wish I could give Zero stars. After owning the phone for a few months it began malfunctioning. It would start and stop apps on its own randomly. Sometimes it would start playing music, other times the weather or the calculator numerous other apps would start. Today it was Lyft’s turn, and it welcomed me as a new user. At least I could make and receive phones and texts; everything else was a crap shoot.Samsung customer service was even worse. The phone was past Amazon’s 30 day return period, but I knew I was covered by Samsung’s 1 year warranty… ha!!! I’ve never been so wrong. The first tech was a very pleasant woman to whom I gave permission to link into my phone and adjust some settings more to her liking. She made sure I had the most up to date firmware (maybe software). This did no good. The next tech had me wipe the phone clean to original factory settings, and then download the current firmware. This also did no good. I finally got to a supervisor, and he said to take the phone to Samsung’s nearest walk-in repair location. Happily this was only a few miles from my home. The tech there accomplished nothing.Today I went through the entire tech and then to supervisor routine again. The supervisor promised to call me back in about 2 hours after texting me to make sure it was a convenient time. He never texted nor called… what an insult to a customer. So I tried again working my way to another supervisor, who had the ticket of my earlier call. He insisted I sent them the phone to have their tech people examine it. That this was done locally had no impact on him. I raised enough hell to be bumped up to his boss who went on and on about Samsung’s “Policy” of getting the phone back before honoring their warranty, and their was no other way.I give him a couple of other ways, such as buying a phone from Amazon and and sending it to me (as a loaner, if need be), or he could reach in his pocket and send me his phone to use while my phone in transit and being evaluated for a maybe 3-4 weeks. He had a fit. I gave him a few other options, but he said that only one of their techs had that authority. I told him I’d guess the CEO of Samsung in Korea probably had that authority as well. And that many other people had it as well, but he would only repeat Samsung’s “Policy”, which I then told him was in conflict with my Policy.I let him know that I’d contact the Ohio Sect of State, who loves tearing into big companies, and that I was sure his team of lawyers would find something, anything to sue them for. I guess breach of contract, false advertising, etc. When I told him government works slowly so he might not be served with the suit for a few years, but to be on the look out for it.Keep away from this phone, and never count on Samsung to honor their warranty. They make it nearly impossible to dance to their requirements.

3. 

   Buckethead – November 25, 2024

   Excellent all-round phone for the money.
   For the money, you just can’t beat this phone. Superb display, responsive, multi-tasks well and photos taken by the main camera are very nice. Build quality isn’t flagship but that isn’t to be expected at this price point. Well done Samsung!

4. 

   C – November 25, 2024

   Slightly overpowered, but solid, phone.
   TL;DR: Nice phone with a few common-sense features, and several issues.I’m an undemanding user, and my old A01 showed its age at the end of its support life. It began lagging more and more. Storage was full and apps wouldn’t update because there supposedly wasn’t enough space, regardless of the size of SD card I installed. The very definition of “planned obsolescence”. Wanting to avoid this with my next phone, I bought something with more storage and memory this time around.SCREEN:After 2 Galaxy A15’s had phantom screen press issues I decided to give the A25 a try since online resources suggested it had a different screen. Thankfully I’ve yet to have any phantom screen press issues about 2 months since receipt.Per gsmarena.com the A15’s features a 800-nit screen, while the A25 features a 1000-nit screen. The noticeable difference here is that the A25 is actually usable in sunlight. The A15 is too dim. This is very important, and I feel a huge drawback of the A15.BATTERY:I subjectively feel like the A25 runs down the battery a bit faster than the A15. This does make sense given the hardware. Per nanoreview.net the SOC of this phone is more powerful than that of the A15, with a lower battery life rating. Per gsmarena.com the A25 has a 120Hz screen vs. the 90Hz of the A15, while both phones feature 5000 mAh batteries.Either someone at Google decided to finally build battery charge thresholds into Android after 14 versions (better late than never?), or this phone, due to price point and/or hardware, supports them. This should help improve battery lifespan of this phone.Neither the A15 or A25 feature wireless charging. I don’t care. You might.HARDWARE:I DO care that both feature 3.5mm jacks. They make life so much better. Locating it on the bottom, unlike the A01’s top-mounted 3.5mm jack, makes it easier to route a cable when it’s in a pocket or car mount.It supports either dual SIM or one SIM and a microSDXC. This also makes life much better. I wish it could hold 2 SIMs AND a microSDXC at once, but it’s better than nothing I suppose.The cameras are pretty good, but get grainy/pixelated when zooming in. My camera needs are modest compared to some, so I’m satisfied.The notch for the front camera is fine. In fact I grew to like the status info (battery, WiFi/cellular, notification icons, etc) being at the top, next to the notch, in the A01, giving more room to apps.The inclusion of stereo loudspeakers is a nice upgrade from the A15, especially considering the price increase. If you hold the phone at an off-angle they can sound strange due to the angle. For best results hold the phone with the screen flat toward your face.It gets a bit warmer than the A15. A quick internet search suggests it’s the Exynos SOC. Thumbs down.I’m not particularly tough on my phones, so the plastic construction is fine for me. I put it in a silicone case. This makes it easier to grab, and was potentially far less expensive than buying a phone with metal construction.SIZE:The phone’s too big*. The A01 was too big at 5.7″, and the A25 is worse 6.5″. I have long fingers and it’s impossible to reach the top of the screen (where one might find a close or menu button in an app) one-handed without major grip adjustment, risking dropping the phone. The A01 was borderline uncomfortable in the (large) pockets of my pants, the A15/A25 cross the border. Squatting down must be carefully done lest it dig into your hip and cause discomfort or pain. Yes viewing more of web pages is nice. Yes I have to thumb to the next page of ebooks less when there are more words on-screen. Yes, more screen real estate is nice for Google Maps. But I don’t NEED those things. In fact, I’d rather have an easier-to-carry PHONE, not a PHABLET I have to buy military cargo pants or a purse to comfortably carry.SOFTWARE:Mostly stable and as-expected: minimal changes to Android and the usual Samsung bloatware. There are some issues but I’m not sure if I can blame Samsung.1. Expo Go (an app used for mobile app development) doesn’t allow interaction with the app I’m helping develop. Expo Go itself works fine on both the A15 and A25, but the in-development app would appear frozen. The in-development app works perfectly on Expo Go on the A01.2. ** 2nd Edit: The issue has resurfaced, and I’ve had to switch to a different camera app. Edit: this issue appears to have been resolved, perhaps via one of the updates the phone received since I wrote about it. Original issue text: “I set the “side button” (power button) to turn on the flashlight when double-pressed. Using the included camera app before using the side button to turn on the flashlight results in the flashlight not working. This can be fixed by clearing the camera app’s cache every time you want to use the flashlight, or using a different camera app. For all I know there’s a fix for these, but I haven’t found it yet (and I’ve looked).”3. Some third-party apps fail to start and require a second screen tap.VALUE:This phone is exiting the budget segment toward mid-range, but you get more for your money compared to an entry-level phone. More computing power, more storage and memory, an ultrawide camera, stereo speakers, a better screen than the A15, while retaining a 3.5mm jack.*But “the market” wants big phones (see the Marques Brownlee video “Small Phones are Dead and We Killed Them” video for more).

5. 

   W. Cooper – November 25, 2024

   Excellent ‘A’ phone with many ‘S’ features for a much lower price.
   I bought my Galaxy A25 5G on sale and was pleasantly surprised by its’ many features at a very low price point. My old phone couldn’t be used in direct sunlight, this AMOLED display is phenomenal, HD, bright and readable in any light. This makes using the cameras during the day very easy, regardless of the setting. The stereo speakers sound crisp and clear, and the response from the Exynos 1280 processor is fast. Battery life is great, and transfer app made switching to the new phone the easiest process yet. I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to my friends.