Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S25 sound quality for gaming

Everything you need to know about gaming audio on the Samsung Galaxy S25

The Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy mobile platform, making the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S25 Edge, and Galaxy S25 Ultra excellent for gaming. The raw performance is there, but how do the smartphones sound? Gamers will notice that the entire Samsung Galaxy S25 series sports upgraded stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos support for the best in-game experience.

For those unfamiliar, Dolby Atmos adds “multidimensional sound” to Android phones like the Galaxy S25. In other words, enabling Dolby Atmos will add directional and spatial audio to your gaming experience, which is crucial in multiplayer games. You’ll be able to hear the exact direction footsteps nearby are coming from or where a gunshot off in the distance was fired. Paired with low-latency headphones, Dolby Atmos could give you the competitive edge in games.

However, Dolby Atmos isn’t turned on by default. To enable it, open the Settings app and navigate to Sounds and vibration > Sound quality and effects > Dolby Atmos. Flip the toggle to enable Dolby Atmos, and optionally tap to expand the available presets. Auto will be turned on by default, and there isn’t an option specifically for gaming.

We recommend either leaving your Galaxy S25’s Dolby Atmos setting on Auto or switching it to Movie, as this preset will prioritize the same immersive sounds you’ll want to hear in video games.

Aside from immersion, the most important audio feature while gaming is low latency. To get zero latency on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series for gaming, you can use the phone’s onboard speakers or connect a pair of wired headphones to the USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port. I’ve tested premium wired gaming headsets like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro while gaming with Samsung phones, and the audio experience is incredible.

Otherwise, the Samsung Galaxy S25 supports Bluetooth 5.4 with Bluetooth Low Energy, which is an upgrade over Bluetooth 5.3 on the Galaxy S24. There is limited support for low-latency audio codecs like the aforementioned Bluetooth LE Audio and AAC, but you won’t find support for better codecs such as LDHC or AptX LL/Adaptive on the Galaxy S25.

If you’re a gamer looking for the lowest-latency audio solution for the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup, your best bet may be to purchase the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Samsung’s own earbuds unlock an exclusive Gaming mode in the Galaxy Wearable app that “minimizes audio delay for vivid, synchronized gaming sound.”

Finally, you can create a custom Game mode to manage system sounds, volume, and audio sources while gaming using the Modes and routines section of the Settings app. After you’re in the Modes and routines tab, tap the Game mode preset to set it up. Here, you can customize things like what apps can play audio while gaming and whether calls and notifications are allowed through.

After the initial setup, Game mode can activate automatically when a game is being played on your Galaxy S25. It can also be a handy shortcut that sets preferred gaming volumes specific to whether you’re using your phone’s speaker, wired headphones, or Bluetooth audio device.

While the Samsung Galaxy S25 doesn’t have many gaming-specific audio features, options like Dolby Atmos and Game mode enhance the experience, and it gets even better when paired with Samsung earbuds.

Brady is a tech journalist for Android Central, with a focus on news, phones, tablets, audio, wearables, and software. He has spent the last three years reporting and commenting on all things related to consumer technology for various publications. Brady graduated from St. John’s University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. His work has been published in XDA, Android Police, Tech Advisor, iMore, Screen Rant, and Android Headlines. When he isn’t experimenting with the latest tech, you can find Brady running or watching Big East basketball.