Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Smartphone Review – After a long wait, Samsung has introduced the Galaxy S25 Ultra alongside the standard S25 devices. The ultra variant equips a slightly slimmer, narrower, and smoother-textured design with a flat frame. Besides this, the company added a lot of interesting improvements under the hood. As compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, this device will bring lots of incremental updates, including the software and AI functions.
The last year’s Galaxy S24 series phones have already created new smartphone standards. Now, the S25 lineup is coming with the best software interface, advanced AI features, and higher performance. In fact, an improved camera setup. Apart from all of those upgrades, it’s sad that the company has removed the Charger. Still, let’s review and see what the Galaxy S25 Ultra has to offer!
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The phone obtains a slim 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2x display for impressive content consumption.
- It runs on the One UI 7 based on the Android 15, which combines the goodness of Samsung AI features.
- The hardware packs the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is designed to handle extreme performance.
- As for the camera setup, you will have a flagship quad camera packed with telephoto, ultra-wide, and periscope lenses.
- The 5000 mAh battery configuration ensures longer screen time and supports 45W wired/ 15W wireless charging.
Design and Display
Unlike the previous year’s variant, you will find a flat frame with a curved body on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It gives the phone a better grip and holding experience. Following this, the Gorilla Glass Victus is used on the back panel, while the side panel has a titanium frame. Not to forget, you can pick up this phone in more than four different variants. Alongside this, it has a thin and slim build.
The camera island design is pretty much the same. Yet, the IP68 rating is worth appreciating. On the front, you will receive a bezeless 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2x panel. It comes with astounding brightness that ensures higher color contrast. Furthermore, there’s a small punch-hole selfie camera, which is barely visible during normal usage.
In a typical condition, the phone will produce up to 2600 nits brightness. As for the resolution, the panel provides QHD+ resolution with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate support. With this, the screen also gives stunning colors and a remarkable viewing experience. All of the display specs are top-notch. But, it looks like the company didn’t add Dolby Vision video support this time. Still, the phone is compatible with the HDR10+ streaming.
The ultrasonic biometric scanner is present at the bottom, and you can utilize the optical ID to increase security. Moreover, the dynamic refresh rate can effortlessly adjust according to the user’s behavior. It’s a win-win situation for those who want a premium design with a powerful display. You will find dedicated Bluetooth connectivity with an S-pen.
Memory and Internal
There’s no doubt that the Samsung S series is just getting better every year. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra houses the brand-new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Unlike any other Qualcomm chipset, this chip can perform across the board, handle extreme throttling, and manage your activities precisely. The Elite chip comes in handy in practical usage whether it’s a long gaming session or performance throttling.
The hardware behaves like a true flagship without causing overheating issues. On the other hand, the Adreno 830 GPU will bring higher visual quality irrespective of mobile game settings. In terms of storage, the S25 Ultra has multiple storage options. It includes 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB UFS 4.0 space so that you never run out of space again. In addition, the phone offers 12 to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM supporting the overall performance.
One of the main reasons why you should choose a Samsung flagship over other top-end phones would be the quick software update policies. Typically, Google’s Pixels phones get 7 years of system updates. But with the S25 Ultra, you will obtain the same with a wider range of OneUI customization. Currently, the device runs on the Android 15 and OneUI 7 versions. The software also packs powerful AI features, Samsung Knox, Vault, and other useful features.
Camera
There’s no huge leap in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra camera processing, color correction, or any other aspect, except the new 50MP ultrawide lens. Like Apple, Samsung also upgrades its camera quality slowly. In the last few years, there haven’t been any significant changes that are worth noting, excluding some specs tweaks here and there. The S25 Ultra equips the same 200MP primary, 12MP telephoto, and 50MP telephoto lens as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The native camera app has been completely revamped in the OneUI 7 phones. Now, you can hold the shutter button to navigate through different lenses. It’s possible to choose even the 12MP selfie lens or the main lenses according to your needs. Apart from changing the camera app layout, there aren’t many differences in the image results. The primary lens captures accurate colors, sharp contrast, and controlled exposure photos.
The telephoto lens provides amazing zooming capabilities. You will notice clear images up to 3X zoom. It’s possible to zoom up to 10x without losing details. At the same time, the ultra-wide gives detailed dynamic range colors without compromising the exposure. Besides, the portrait mode gives brilliant photos, while the blur effect might feel extreme. But, you can reduce the background blur according to your liking.
The pro mode does give amazing results too. But, you might have to manually switch to Night mode during the lowlight condition. With this mode, the images come out a bit artificial without that much noise. Still, it’s good to see that the phone can take natural skin tones with the selfie camera.
As far as the video recording is concerned, the Galaxy S25 Ultra can easily go up to 4K at 60fps recording. Aside from this, 8K at 30fps recording options are also available with the primary, ultra-wide, and 5x telephoto lens. You can further choose the quality from the camera settings and prioritize the results you want. Moreover, video stabilization is feasible for almost every mode, while HDR video support is also present with an AI audio eraser feature.
Battery and Others
The Galaxy S25 ultra grants a 5000 mAh battery setup, and the battery capacity is more than sufficient. But let’s not forget that most of the flagship phones are switching to higher capacities. Yet, the users will receive better gaming sessions and battery sessions. Besides this, the phone can stay active for more than two use if you are using it in moderation. As for the charging speed, the device can charge up to 45W charger.
However, you won’t find a charger inside the box. An official Samsung charger would need roughly an hour to refill the rectangles from scratch. After 15 minutes, you will notice around 40% increase in the battery percentage. Despite providing a slower charging speed, the battery endurance isn’t that bad. On the same note, the device offers 15W wireless charging that follows the Qi 2.1 standards.
The sound output is quite good, and the lows and highs are also great. It’s practically the same configuration as the S24 Ultra with better low-end audio. Apart from an immersive audio experience, the phone didn’t lack top-tier connectivity sensors. Speaking of pricing, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s starting variant will cost $1195 (Rs 1,29,999 in India) approx.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Pros and Cons
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone.
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | January 2025 |
| SIM | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) – INT Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) – USA Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM – CN |
| Dimensions | 6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches |
| Weight | 218 g |
| Size | 6.9 inches |
| Display | Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X 120Hz HDR10+ 2600 nits brightness 19.5:9 ratio ~498 PPI density Always-on display |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 IP68 dust/water resistant Stylus |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3120 pixels |
| OS | Android 15, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 7 |
| Chipset | 3nm – Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| CPU | Octa-core 2×4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6×3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M |
| GPU | Adreno 830 |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 12GB, 16GB |
| Internal | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB UFS 4.0 |
| Camera | 200 MP (wide), multi-directional PDAF, OIS 10 MP (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 50 MP (periscope telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom 50 MP (120˚ultrawide), dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video Laser AF, Best Face, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama Max – 8K@24/30fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS |
| Selfie | 12 MP (wide), dual pixel PDAF HDR, HDR10+ Max – 4K@30/60fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.4, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, OTG |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support Circle to Search |
| Battery | Li-Ion 5000 mAh 45W wired, PD3.0 25W wireless (Qi2) 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Colors | Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium Black, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Gray, Titanium Jade Green, Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Pink Gold |
| Expected Price | $1195 (Rs 1,29,999 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t provide any groundbreaking upgrades compared to the previous model. To a certain level, the phone doesn’t feel like a downgrade. It provides a beautiful display, great performance, reasonable charging speed, and high battery endurance.
The overall build is enhanced with the new look is great. But Samsung compromises its true value to make an all-rounder phone. Except, the S25 Ultra is a feature-rich handset that delivers the greatness of a flagship phone. But, it is not an all-rounder phone for this year. More or less, the S24 Ultra is a bargain deal since it provides almost the same features, except for the upgraded design. You can check the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max for better battery life, iOS ecosystem capabilities, and an impressive display.
