So, the numbers are finally in. You’ve probably seen the headlines screaming about how the new Samsung flagships are basically pocket-sized supercomputers. Honestly? They kind of are. But if you’re just looking at a single number on a chart and thinking you know the whole story, you’re missing the most interesting parts of how these phones actually behave under pressure.
The galaxy s25 benchmark scores we’re seeing for 2026 aren't just a small step up from last year. We are looking at a massive architectural shift. Qualcomm ditched the old ARM cores for their own custom "Oryon" design in the Snapdragon 8 Elite (the chip powering the S25 series), and the result is a bit of a monster.
But here’s the thing: a benchmark is a sprint. Real life is a marathon. Let’s break down what these scores actually mean for your pocket.
The Raw Data: Galaxy S25 Benchmark Scores Explained
If you’re a spec-head, the Geekbench 6 results for the S25 Ultra are the ones everyone is obsessing over. We are seeing single-core scores hitting around 3,000 to 3,200 and multi-core scores comfortably clearing the 10,000 mark.
To put that in perspective, the Galaxy S24 Ultra from 2024 usually hovered around 2,200 for single-core. That’s a roughly 35% jump. That is huge. Usually, we're lucky to get 10% or 15% year-over-year.
Why the Base S25 is the Sleeper Hit
Interestingly, the base Galaxy S25—the small one—is putting up numbers that are nearly identical to the Ultra. In some Geekbench runs (like the SM-S931 series), the standard S25 scored 3,175 in single-core and 10,050 in multi-core.
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- S25 Ultra: ~3,148 (Single) / ~10,236 (Multi)
- S25 Plus: ~3,136 (Single) / ~9,957 (Multi)
- Standard S25: ~3,087 (Single) / ~9,691 (Multi)
You’re basically getting the same "Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy" engine regardless of which size you buy. Samsung also finally bumped the base RAM to 12GB across the entire lineup. Why? Because Galaxy AI is a resource hog. You need that memory overhead just to keep the AI features from stuttering while you’re trying to use the phone for, you know, phone stuff.
The GPU Gap: It’s Not Even a Fair Fight Anymore
For years, the iPhone was the undisputed king of mobile gaming. Not anymore. The Adreno 830 GPU inside the S25 series is absolutely shredding benchmarks. In 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is pulling about 34.42 FPS.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max? It’s sitting around 22.4 FPS.
That is a 53% lead for Samsung in raw graphical power. If you’re playing Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero, the S25 is going to feel significantly smoother, especially when it comes to ray tracing. Samsung claims a 40% improvement in ray tracing alone. Shadows look better, reflections look realer, and the frame rate stays pinned.
But there's a catch (there's always a catch)
Heat. These chips are clocked incredibly high. The Snapdragon 8 Elite in the "For Galaxy" variant has two prime cores running at 4.47GHz. That is desktop-level frequency.
While the initial galaxy s25 benchmark scores are sky-high, the phone starts to throttle after about 10 or 15 minutes of heavy gaming. Samsung added a 40% larger vapor chamber this year to fight this, but physics is a stubborn thing. In long stress tests, performance can drop by 20% to 30% to keep the phone from melting your hand. It’s still faster than the S24, but don't expect those "peak" scores to last forever during a three-hour gaming session.
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The Exynos vs. Snapdragon Drama (2026 Edition)
If you're in Europe or parts of Asia, you might be looking at the Exynos 2500 instead of the Snapdragon. Samsung’s in-house chip has actually made some strides, but the benchmarks tell a story of "close, but no cigar."
Recent leaks and early tests show the Exynos 2500 trailing the Snapdragon 8 Elite by about 15-18% in multi-core CPU tasks. However, the AMD-based Xclipse 950 GPU is actually quite good. It trades blows with Qualcomm in some ray-tracing tests.
But let's be real: most power users are still going to hunt for the Snapdragon version. It has better driver support for games and generally handles sustained workloads with fewer "hiccups." If you’re just scrolling TikTok and sending emails, you won't notice. If you’re a power user, the distinction still matters.
What This Actually Means for You
Numbers are fun, but they can be misleading. Here is the reality of using a phone with these kinds of scores:
- AI is Instant: Tasks like "Circle to Search" or real-time voice translation don't have that awkward 1-second lag anymore. The NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is 40% faster, meaning the AI lives on the device, not in the cloud.
- Longevity: A phone that scores 10,000+ in multi-core today is going to feel fast in 2030. Samsung is promising 7 years of updates, and for the first time, the hardware actually feels like it can keep up with that promise.
- Video Processing: This is the one area where benchmarks don't tell the whole story. Despite the S25 Ultra having a faster chip, the iPhone 16 Pro Max still exports 4K video faster in apps like Adobe Premiere Rush. Apple’s hardware encoders are just better optimized for that specific task.
Final Verdict on Performance
The galaxy s25 benchmark scores prove that Samsung has finally closed the gap with Apple in CPU performance and completely leaped over them in GPU power. It’s a beast of a phone.
If you're sitting on an S23 Ultra or older, the jump in snappiness is going to be immediately obvious. If you have an S24, you're mostly upgrading for the better thermal management and the extra RAM.
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Next Steps for You:
If you're planning to buy based on performance, check your local listings to confirm which chipset your region is getting. If you're a gamer, prioritize the S25 Ultra or the S25 Plus, as the larger chassis allows for better heat dissipation than the base model. Once you get the device, run a "Stress Test" in 3DMark—not just a single run—to see how your specific unit handles the heat. That'll give you a much more honest picture than a single Geekbench score ever could.