Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Good Stuff
- New premium design
- Still includes S Pen
- Excellent battery life
- Superb Android One UI experience
- Better camera experience
- Excellent performance
The Bad Stuff
- Heat management not so good
- Expensive
Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
“Samsung’s S25 Ultra is, without a doubt, a powerful, beautiful and a versatile smartphone. It’s got the looks, the brains, and the brawn. But at this high price, it feels like Samsung could have done even better.”
Is the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra the best top-tier premium smartphone in 2025? To help you decide, we bought the smartphone and tested it to see if it’s worth the buy. Samsung has done a great job in releasing the S25 series smartphones that includes the latest performing Snapdragon chip this year. However, with other great top brand smartphones in the same price range using the same chip, it’s gonna be an uphill battle for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to reach top position. To learn of our outcomes, here’s our review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Overview – Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is back, and it’s looking sharper than ever. Samsung has ditched the boxy look for sleeker curved edges, making it better to handle and also looking it more attractive.
It’s also tougher and more durable than before, thanks to stronger Corning Gorilla Armor glass (front and back) and a titanium frame.
Under the hood, the new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip is a beast, promising blazing-fast performance. It also comes with memory for a smoother user experience and more storage apps and media.
While the camera setup mostly carries over from the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the new ultrawide lens is a major upgrade.
As much as there Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with great features, there’s also things to note. Samsung has included the S Pen, however, sadly they ditched the S-Pen’s Bluetooth capabilities. No more waving your stylus around to control your camera or navigate through presentations.
Overall, the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a powerful and stylish phone with impressive upgrades. However, the loss of Bluetooth S-Pen functionality will be a blow for some users.
Specs
- Display: 6.90″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1440 x 3120px resolution
- CPU: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm)
- Memory: 12GB/16GB
- Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB
- Battery: 5000mAh; 45W wired, 25W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless.
- Primary Camera: 200 MP wide | 10 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom | 50 MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom | 50 MP ultrawide
- Selfie Camera: 12 MP wide
- Video: Up to 8K video recording at 30fps
- Other: 5G | eSIM | Wi-Fi 7 | Bluetooth 5.4 | NFC | Fingerprint reader (under display); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX, Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
Excellent Display
The 6.9-inch display is a visual treat. It comes with vibrant colors and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate that makes everything feel smooth. And let’s not forget the powerful speakers – they’re loud enough to fill a room and deliver clear, crisp audio.
Unlocking the phone is a breeze with the reliable in-display fingerprint scanner or fast facial recognition from the front tear drop camera.
However, the S25 Ultra feels somewhat predictable. Yes. It’s a fantastic phone, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t exactly break new ground. Samsung’s competition is pushing the boundaries with better innovative designs and groundbreaking features, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra wants to keep things normal, and safe, but feels a bit boring.
At least the included S-Pen is still around. A unique feature, but the loss of Bluetooth functionality takes some of the magic away. And while DeX is a cool feature, it’s not exactly exclusive to Samsung anymore.
Overall, the Galaxy S25 Ultra may come with a fantastic OLED display but it’s not groundbreaking anymore. Yet let’s look at it tis way – stick to what works. Although the display is as good as its predecessor, the other is a fantastic phone, but it lacks the “wow” factor we’ve come to expect from a flagship device. It’s a solid performer, but it doesn’t truly stand out from the crowd.
New Premium Design
Samsung’s S25 Ultra boasts a “refined” design with curved corners and flat sides, but let’s be honest, it’s still a big, rectangular slab. Gone are the days of vibrant back panels; this year, Samsung opted for muted colors and a rather plain aesthetic. While durability is key, the design feels a bit…safe.
The camera bump at back, which looks like small pipes sticking out, is a curious design choice. It looks interesting, but I can already imagine dust collecting in those crevices. The S-Pen is still there, thankfully, but the loss of Bluetooth functionality is a real disappointment. It was a handy feature, and its absence feels like a step back.
While the S25 Ultra is undoubtedly a powerful phone, it lacks the “wow” factor we’ve come to expect from Samsung. The S25 Ultra looks good, but it doesn’t truly stand out from the crowd in terms of design or innovation.
Excellent Performance on Moderate Use
Samsung boasts about the ‘for Galaxy’ version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, bragging about those extra-fast cores. And honestly? They’re not lying. In the initial testing, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s performance is excellent. The benchmarks scores are off the charts, blasting past the competition.
However, the S25 Ultra starts strong, but quickly starts to overheat if you’re push it to its limits, resulting in performance drops like a falling rock. And it seems to get hot faster than the competition.
While it’s still a powerful phone for everyday use, its gaming prowess might be slightly overhyped. It’s great for casual gaming, but once it heats up, you might notice some performance hiccups.
Overall, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the power, but they seem to be overcautious with their heat management. It’s like they’re trying to keep the phone cool at all costs, even if it means sacrificing peak performance. It’s better to use it for everyday or moderate tasks like making calls, internet browsing, but not for gaming as it starts to heat the phone.
Superb Battery Life
Moving on to the battery life. First, the battery life is better than the older Galaxy S24 Ultra. Second, there are no changes to battery size as they both have 5000mAh. And third. the charging speed is a little faster than the S24 Ultra using the same 45W charger. The overall battery life, and charging speed surpasses its predecessor, yet they both use the same battery.
Compared to other top brand rivals such as OnePlus 13 (which includes a 6000mAh battery) and Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (that comes with a 5200mAh), they come with bigger batteries and better charging speeds. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra taking an hour to full charge, OnePlus takes 35mins whereas the Pura 70 Ultra takes 50mins, using a 100W charger, which the S25 Ultra does not support.
In conclusion, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead in overall battery life and charging speed than the older S24 Ultra smartphone, but lacking behind with the other rival smartphone brands.
Minor Camera Upgrade
The Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts an impressive camera system on paper, but in practice, it feels a bit underwhelming. While the main 200 MP wide sensor captures sharp, detailed images, the overall color profile feels a bit muted and lacks the punchy vibrancy seen on other rival smartphones.
The improved 50 MP ultrawide camera, despite its high resolution, introduces noticeable distortions. The telephoto camera, with its impressive 5x and 3x optical zooming capabilities doesn’t quite surpass the previous generation’s 10x capabilities, which was the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphones.
The selfie camera captures decent pictures, but it doesn’t quite match the quality of rivals like top tier brands Huawei and OnePlus.
Again. In the end, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera excels in technical specs, and takes great pictures, it lacks that “wow” factor that makes it truly groundbreaking, lacking that excitement to make it a great camera experience.
Software & AI
The Galaxy S25 Ultra runs the latest Android 15 with Samsung’s One UI 7 on top, promising seven years of software updates and support – a serious commitment from Samsung. One UI 7 brings a refined look and feel, but also a slight sense of Samsung’s grip on the Android experience.
While Samsung offers a ton of customization options, you’ll notice they often favor their own apps over Google’s. This can be frustrating if you prefer Google’s ecosystem. Then there’s Galaxy AI, which comes with a slew of exciting AI-powered features, such as:
- Hello, AI: One UI 7 introduces powerful AI features like Now Brief and Now Bar, providing personalized information and insights throughout the day.
- Enhanced Camera AI: The camera system leverages AI to enhance photo and video quality, with features like Generative Edit allowing you to creatively manipulate your images.
- Security First: Samsung prioritizes user privacy with robust security measures, ensuring your personal data remains safe and secure.
Overall, the S25 Ultra is a fantastic phone, but Samsung’s desire to create a tightly integrated ecosystem might not sit well with all Android users. And the AI features makes the smartphone look like an intelligent assistant that learns and adapts to your needs, offering a truly personalized mobile experience.
Verdict
After all tests done, there’s only one thing to say – Samsung’s S25 Ultra is, without a doubt, a powerful, beautiful and a versatile smartphone. It’s got the looks, the brains, and the brawn. But at this high price, it feels like Samsung could have done even better.
The display, once Samsung’s crown jewel, now looks and feels ordinary. The competition is fierce, and the S25 Ultra’s screen, while gorgeous and excellent, doesn’t quite stand out from the crowd anymore.
The phone’s performance is top-notch at first, but lacks sustainability. From using phone we noticed dips in performance, which is surprising for a phone at this price. And while the cameras are technically impressive, they lack that one thing that made it so unique that you’d fall in love with your photos.
Don’t get me wrong, the S25 Ultra is still a fantastic phone. But at this price, it feels like Samsung could have delivered something truly groundbreaking, something that would leave its competitors in the dust.
That ends our review of the S25 Ultra smartphone. If you have any comments or wish to express yourself, please do so at the comments section below. And lastly, make sure to click HERE for instant access to purchasing the new S25 Ultra (should you desire) so that you see what more is in store 😀
LGMadyibi 
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