Samsung may have quietly upgraded face unlock on the Galaxy S25 series

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series doesn't come with many major upgrades. However, there are quite a handful of little refinements, both in terms of the software and hardware. One of these small yet very handy upgrades appears to be the face unlock feature, which the users are reporting to be better than the last-gen lineup.

More specifically, users of the Galaxy S25 series are reporting that the face unlock on the new phones is faster. It's also said to be more reliable, working as it should even in not-so-ideal lighting conditions. Some users add that this biometric unlock feature works at wider angles than it did on the last-gen devices.

It's worth noting that none of the Samsung Galaxy S25 phones have dedicated face unlock hardware. So, this biometric unlock feature can't create a 3D depth map of the face, making it less reliable than what Apple's iPhone has to offer. Another thing that's worth noting is that the front camera of the entire S25 line is the same as the last-gen series.

If the reports hold true, Samsung may have tweaked the software to make the face unlock feature more reliable. This speculation is further backed up by a test carried out by Android Authority. Per the outlet, while setting up face unlock on the Galaxy S25 Ultra (512 GB curr. $1,299.99 on Amazon), One UI 7 asks to scan the user's face with the head titled upward.

That is something that the One UI 6.1 of the Galaxy S24 Ultra did not ask for during the setup process, and it could be the reason why the face unlock is better on the new Galaxy S25 series. So, it's possible that the last-gen lineup, and possibly the older flagships, may also deliver similar face unlock performance when they get the latest One UI 7 update.