Samsung has revealed its highly anticipated Galaxy S25 collection, which includes the compact, yet still comfortably flagship, Galaxy S25.
Promising to become a “true AI companion”, how does the Galaxy S25 compare to Xiaomi’s own flagship smartphone for 2025, the Xiaomi 15?
Although we haven’t yet reviewed either handset, we’ve compared the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S25 to the Xiaomi 15 and highlighted any key similarities and differences below.
Pricing and availability
Set to launch officially on the 7th February 2025, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is now available for pre-order with a starting RRP of £799/$799.99 for the 128GB model.
At the time of writing, the Xiaomi 15 is only available in China, but we expect the handset to launch globally in the coming weeks. Its current RRP starts at 4499 RMB, which roughly converts to just over £500/$617, though we expect it to match the Xiaomi 14’s £849 once it officially launches in the UK.
Both run on Snapdragon 8 Elite
One of the most notable features of both the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Xiaomi 15 is that they both feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite, or at least a variation of the processor.
The Galaxy S25 runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy which sports unique customisations and promises to fuel the entire S25 series’ ability to “process more AI experiences on-device without compromise”.
The fact the Galaxy S25 runs on the flagship processor is particularly noteworthy as last year’s entry-level Galaxy S24 saw a split. While US customers enjoyed the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset found in the premium S24 Ultra, the rest of the world had to make do with Samsung’s own Exynos 2400 processor instead.
Otherwise, the Xiaomi 15 runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite, which shares the same Oryon architecture as Qualcomm’s PC-focused Snapdragon X Elite, and offers 42% CPU and 44% GPU performance increase compared to its predecessor.
Although we haven’t yet reviewed either handset running the powerful chipset, we have reviewed others like the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Pro and were blown away by how powerful, efficient, and capable the chipset is.
In fact, in our benchmarking scores we saw the chip surpass even the A18 Pro of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is a promising sign for the Galaxy S25 and Xiaomi 15.
The Xiaomi 15 has a larger screen
At 6.36 inches, the Xiaomi 15 is marginally bigger than the Galaxy S25’s 6.2 inches. Also notably, the Xiaomi 15 also boasts an ultra-narrow 1.38mm bezel, made possible by Xiaomi’s LIPO three-dimensional packaging technology, for a more immersive viewing experience.
Otherwise, the Galaxy S25 sports a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which results in improved colour, depth and HDR performance compared to a standard AMOLED.
Both the Xiaomi 15 and Galaxy S25 have a variable refresh rate of 1-120Hz too, so games and content should appear smooth and lag-free while reserving energy whenever possible, a feature we still can’t believe is missing from the iPhone 16.
Hailed as “true AI companion”, the Galaxy S25 lineup boasts Samsung’s Galaxy AI toolkit which launched with the S24 series last year.
Alongside last year’s favourites, such as Circle to Search and Drawing Assist, the S25 will also see new tools such as the Now Bar and Now Brief. Similar to Apple’s Live Activites tech, the Now Bar allows you to quickly access your most used apps and controls directly from your lock screen, alongside personalised recommendations powered by AI.
You’ll also benefit from Google Gemini built into the device, which can be launched by simply pressing and holding the side button.
While the Xiaomi 15 does have some AI smarts, such as AI writing which lets users refine or extend text, and AI subtitles, which provide real-time translation and interpretation in meetings, it hasn’t been hailed as the star of the show.
The Xiaomi 15 has three 50MP rear lenses
Although both handsets have three rear lenses, the Xiaomi 15 has a higher overall resolution compared to the Galaxy S25, with all three clocking in at 50MP.
The three Leica lenses are ultra-high-speed and work with the Xiaomi AISP 2.0 platform, which Xiaomi explains is capable of computing up to 4.3 billion pixels per second, to speed up the “entire shooting process” and “capture complex scenes vividly”.
The Galaxy S25’s lenses remain unchanged from its predecessor and are made up of a 50MP main, 10MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide. While we found the handset “does produce some nice-looking shots”, we did note how it felt a shame that the optics were forgotten about last year.
The Xiaomi 15 has faster charging support
With a 5400mAh-sized cell, 90W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge support, the Xiaomi 15 boasts a solid battery setup, which should allow for much faster charging than the Galaxy S25. Fortunately, Xiaomi also includes a 90W compatible charger in the box, which Samsung fails to do with its Galaxy lineup.
The Galaxy S25 instead sports a much smaller than usual 4000mAh cell, which is surprising considering most Android phones are usually around the 5000mAh mark. Not only that, but with just 25W charging support, which Samsung claims will offer 50% charge in around 30 minutes, it undoubtedly falls short compared to the Xiaomi 15.
Having said that, we’ll need to test both handsets before jumping to conclusions.
Early verdict
Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Xiaomi 15 represent solid Android smartphone choices for 2025, as the two run Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and have solid camera setups, but differences in AI and battery life could sway your decision one way or the other.
We’ll update this article once we’ve reviewed both handsets, so be sure to check back to see our more conclusive report.
