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Hey, what's up, guys? And welcome back to our head-to-head series. Today, we're comparing Samsung's new Galaxy S26 Plus with last year's model, the Galaxy S25 Plus. Is the S26 Plus a meaningful improvement over the previous model and worth the extra cash? Let's go through all of our test results and find out. I'm not going to lie, folks. The Galaxy S26 Plus is very similar to what we saw last year. These two phones have the exact same design, except for a minor change in the camera bump.
There's been no change in the IP68 ingress protection, while we've seen other manufacturers go even further these days. And you get the same display as last year, as well. A 6.7-in OLED with a QHD resolution. The two phones offer the same flagship-grade viewing experience and high refresh rate. And you get similar brightness on either panel, maxing out at over 1,400 nits in auto brightness mode. With the speakers, we start to get into some differences between these two phones. The S25 Plus is setup tested a bit louder, but the new model has better tuning with warmer and deeper sound.
Let's have a listen to compare. The two devices also have a different interface, at least at the time of this video. The S26 Plus runs on Samsung's latest One UI 8.5, which includes some refinements and new AI features. The S25 Plus still runs on the previous One UI 8, but it should receive an update to the new version in the coming months. Speaking of updates, both phones were promised 7 years of support from Samsung. You can check out the differences between One UI 8.5 and One UI 8 in our dedicated video. As far as the chipset goes, the S26 Plus actually can come in two variants.
There's one that has an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, sold in the US, China, and Japan. And then there's the version that comes with an Exynos 2600 chipset. This version is available in the rest of the world, including Europe, and it's the one we have our hands on here. Meanwhile, the S25 Plus always comes with the same chipset, last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite. Again, an overclocked version for the Galaxy phones. Looking at the benchmarks, the Exynos version of the new model is an upgrade over last year, beating the scores of its predecessor. The gap is quite modest, though, and we didn't feel any difference performance-wise when using the phones.
At least when it comes to thermals, the Exynos Galaxy S26 Plus has the edge, which might be good news for gamers. These two phones have identical battery capacities at 4,900 mA hours, but we did measure a significant change in battery life. In our testing, the Galaxy S26 Plus earned an active use score of about 16 and 1/2 hours, compared to 14 and 1/2 on the S25 Plus. A notable improvement, though the S25 Plus is still solid. The two phones charge the same, though. They support 45-W charging and took about an hour to go from zero to full. But the S25 Plus's 15-W wireless charging was upgraded to 20 W on the new
model via Qi 2.2. But there are still no magnets built in. You have to add them with a case. Both of these phones have a camera setup, which includes a main cam, a three-time zoom, and a fixed-focus ultrawide. However, the new model has new sensors on its main and zoom cameras. During the day, these main cameras shoot similar photos. We would say the new model has slightly better-looking detail and its colors are a bit more saturated in things like grass. At three-time zoom, the S26 Plus is once again a bit more enthusiastic with the greenery. Detail processing is looking slightly different, but you'd have to squint to see it.
Moving over to the ultrawides, and it's a bit more of the same. You could spot some minute differences, but we wouldn't say that one is better than the other. In low light, the S26 Plus's main camera does a marginally better job. Exposures are often slightly brighter and the shots are a little cleaner. The night mode behavior is automatic on the new model and it's not very consistent to kick in. It also introduces a significant color shift. The old model's dedicated night mode is more reliable. At three-time zoom, the two phones take somewhat different approaches, with the S26 Plus's photos typically being softer, while the S25 Plus's are noisier.
Shooting on the ultrawides is a bit of a toss-up on which phone will take the better picture. Half of the time it's the S26 Plus and the other half of the time it's the old one. When it comes to selfies, the new generation has a wider lens and we appreciate the extra coverage. The shots are also a little sharper on the new model. And here's a look at the 4K selfie video quality. Both phones offer nearly identical video recording capabilities. However, the S26 Plus does have Samsung's new Horizon Lock stabilization mode.
Also, the new model has the ability to use lookup tables when recording in log mode. For practical purposes, video quality in daylight is the same between these two phones. If you stare long enough from up close, you might think that the new model has slightly stronger sharpening applied, but that's about all. There's a bit more of a difference in low-light shooting. The S26 Plus's main camera clips are slightly sharper. But oddly enough, it's the old model that does better when zooming. With the ultrawide, the S26 Plus is again on top. So, there you have it, guys. The Galaxy S26 Plus and S25 Plus. Let's do a quick recap of what you get with either phone.
Both phones have the same premium design, the same display, and once the One UI update rolls out, the same interface. The wired charging is basically identical, and the camera experience is quite close between these phones. The S26 Plus packs the newer chipset, though, and we measured better battery life. The speakers sound better and there's upgraded 20-W wireless charging. Selfies are wider and you get Horizon Lock mode and log mode lookup tables for video recording. The S25 Plus doesn't bring particular benefits in itself, but it provides a nearly identical user experience for less money. In the end, the S26 Plus and S25 Plus
are quite close. In fact, unless the better battery life and slightly better chipset are important to you, it might be better to go for the older model for the savings. Thanks for watching and I'll see you on the next one.
