Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is an impressive handset that offers incredible gaming performance, a stunning display, and overall, it’s a powerhouse of a phone. While it’s not as innovative as I hoped, and the camera software is disappointing still, I absolutely adore the S25 Ultra.
- Fantastic gaming performance
- Stunning and vibrant display
- Feels surprisingly light
- Camera software is still disappointing
- Pricey
It’s hard not to associate Android with Samsung. While there are plenty (and I mean plenty) of Android phones on the market, including Google’s own, Samsung is the long-time market share leader for devices using Google’s operating system – and none are as impactful in terms of performance (and on your wallet) than the Samsung S25 Ultra.
As the premium model in the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup, it’s no surprise the S25 Ultra is nothing short of impressive. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy delivers top-tier gaming performance, while some other small changes make this beast of a device one of the best gaming phones right now. Most gaming devices put a hefty focus on performance over everything else, but the S25 Ultra is a stellar all-rounder that just happens to be capable of bringing greatness out of the best Android games.
Is it perfect? No, not quite. There are some minor problems, including a lack of true innovation, but if you’re in the market for an upgrade and want the best of the best, I can’t see why you wouldn’t go for Samsung right now.
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Price and availability
Despite pre-launch rumors of a price rise, Samsung has stuck with the same cost for the S25 Ultra as it did with last year’s premium flagship. You can grab Samsung’s blockbuster phone starting from $1,299.99 / £1,249 for 256GB, with the handset going up to $1,659.99 / £1,549 for a 1TB model. That’s still expensive for a cell phone, but as with other recent Samsung phones, you’re getting seven years of Android OS and security updates, carrying you through until 2032.
The Samsung S25 Ultra comes in seven different colors, which is more than enough for you to pick and choose between. The options include Titanium Black, Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium Gray, and Titanium White Silver, plus Samsung online exclusives Titanium Pinkgold, Titanium Jadegreen, and Titanium Jetblack. You can either buy the phone outright from major retailers such as Amazon and Walmart or find a contract deal with plenty of different providers.
Specs
Performance and gaming
I could write this entire section in one sentence. The too long; didn’t read version of this performance evaluation is that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is ridiculously impressive, which shouldn’t be surprising to most people keeping up with Samsung’s flagship candy bar phones. The device’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest, powers through everything I throw at it, from emulation to the best mobile games.
Starting with simple titles such as a couple of entries from our guide to the best mobile card games – Balatro and Marvel Snap – the $,1200+ device has no issue playing these games for hours on end. I didn’t notice any overheating or even rising temperatures while battling it out with the game or other players.
However, moving on to one of the best gacha games, Zenless Zone Zero, I was a little worried. Hoyoverse’s latest title is a beautiful experience that pushes even the most powerful phones to their limits (my iPhone 13 Pro Max was getting hot to the touch with it). Once again, I was very impressed, as the S25 Ultra powered through the demanding mobile game with only minor heating after 30 minutes. I’m sure it’ll get hotter over time, but compared to other phones, I didn’t have any concerns.
While the entire S25 lineup offers the same chipset, the larger vapor chamber within the S25 Ultra gives it a huge advantage over the other S25 phones. It’s also a big improvement on the S24 Ultra’s chamber, 40% bigger, to be precise. This provides better cooling when the Snapdragon chip is doing intensive tasks, and it’s clear that it’s certainly working. Compared to my Pixel 9 Pro XL, which would overheat during more strenuous tasks over time, the S25 Ultra seems to breeze through most things.
The one thing I can’t overlook is Samsung sticking with 12GB of RAM instead of giving the expensive handset a 16GB minimum. As AI becomes Samsung’s biggest selling point for its latest Galaxy phones, requiring plenty of RAM, and while most gaming phones get more memory, Samsung is sticking with the 12GB. Is that enough? It seems like it, but more is almost certainly better, and with such an expensive device, I was hoping it would match the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and RedMagic 10 Pro come with 16GB out of the box.
Features and software
If you’ve seen or used a Samsung Galaxy Ultra cell phone before, most of the features and software on offer won’t shock you. The S25 lineup runs OneUI 7, a skin of Android 15, and it is arriving late to the party, considering the Pixel 9 family has been running the latest version of Android for a couple of months. OneUI is easily one of the most customizable Android interfaces, providing a solid, user-friendly experience without limiting you in the same way an iPhone does. That means it’s prone to looking ugly if you mess with it too much, but perhaps you’ll like it that way.
The S-Pen makes an unsurprising return, but it’s less useful than S24’s iteration. This year, Samsung’s Ultra pen is still intuitive for taking notes and using your handset as an almost PDA-style device. However, despite the lack of a price difference, the lack of Bluetooth now makes it a worse experience than even 2024’s premium flagship. Weirdly, the S-Pen also doesn’t sit fully flush with the device, making it look slightly odd from the side.
Samsung is making its innovations in artificial intelligence once again with the S25 family, with improvements across the board. The main one you’ll notice straight away is the Now Brief, a periodic briefing of your day, split between morning, afternoon, and evening. It collects data from calendar events to weather reports, but it takes a lot of adding to your existing apps to truly get the most out of it.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Gemini taking a strong position with my S25 Ultra. Gemini is Google’s AI assistant that offers a much better experience than Bixby, something that I praised in my Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review. After using the Pixel 9 for a few months, I also think Samsung’s AI photo-editing tools are much better than Google’s offering, even if some of Google’s general software is easier to use at first.
The biggest improvement I’ve found in a smartphone is the S25 Ultra’s display. The screen is Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which means it scratches easier than last year’s model but offers more resistance to shatters. However, that’s not the best part. The Gorilla Armour 2 is also anti-glare, much like the S24 Ultra’s screen, but even better. You’re out in broad daylight? Not even the sun can stop you from scrolling your social feeds or playing a bit of Honkai Star Rail.
Design
Much like last year’s model, the S25 Ultra boasts a Titanium frame, making it much more durable than aluminum phones. It’s also surprisingly light. Even compared to the slightly smaller Pixel 9 Pro XL I was recently using, there is a noticeable difference in weight. While the Pixel 9 Pro XL weighs 221g compared to the S25 Ultra’s 217g, a very marginal comparison, the sleek design and smaller camera bar make it a little more comfortable to hold.
There’s a slight difference in design to the S24 Ultra’s frame, with rounded corners rather than the straight rectangular look that replicates the classic Galaxy Note style that Samsung replaced with the Ultra lineup. It’s also slightly thinner and feels as premium as its price point in the hand, even if (once again) the S-Pen doesn’t look like it fits.
An annoying feature that you get with the S25 Ultra is the camera array. While not much has changed, it’s still the ‘floating there’ type of design, and there’s now a set of rings around each camera. While that sounds like solid protection for it in the unfortunate case of a drop, it’s raised enough that it has small gaps around it, meaning that it’s a great home for dust. This doesn’t match the otherwise luxury feel of the Ultra phones, and considering most people opt to put cases on their $1200+ phones, I think it’s fairly useless.
Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a large phone, which may feel uncomfortable in smaller hands. I’ve always preferred bigger phones for their displays and the higher battery life and it fits comfortably in one hand for me – and I’d say I have medium-sized hands. You’ve also got all the ports you could need, besides the sore lack of a headphone jack and a MicroSD slot – I’ll never forgive you, Samsung.
Display
Considering that Samsung’s displays have been some of the best on the market for years, it’s no surprise that the Samsung S25 Ultra delivers an equally impressive screen. It’s an AMOLED with an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz. I’m not a refresh rate snob; I typically enjoy games at 60Hz, but when it comes to using your games like Genshin Impact, I’m still happy that the best Android phones run at 120Hz, especially when the cheapest iPhone 16 maxes out at half of that.
There’s a negligible difference compared to 2024’s Ultra. The smaller bezel gives the S25 Ultra a 6.9-inch screen instead of the S24’s 6.8-inch. Is it a massive change? No. Is it noticeable? Also, no. Still, more display real estate on the same-size phone is always a benefit, so I’ll take it.
Samsung’s lack of anything like Apple’s Dynamic Island truly highlights how impressive the screen is. With just a small punch-hole front camera, Samsung’s S25 Ultra display enables colors to pop, offering beauty and speed, thanks to the impressive resolution and high refresh rate. You can save battery life by opting for 60Hz only, but the smoothness of 120Hz or the adaptive option is worth the small hit to your screen-on time.
I have no complaints about the S25 Ultra’s display. Samsung has made a fair few mistakes, including a lack of innovation in most departments, but the company always smashes the Ultra’s displays year-on-year. I’d argue it’s the best smartphone screen on the market right now, leading the market, and I’ve no doubt I’ll be saying the same thing this time next year about the S26 Ultra.
Cameras
Samsung has always had great cameras, but the software has often let them down. Unfortunately, this is still true. Capturing moments in motion with the S25 Ultra is a stressful and disappointing experience, and the software struggles in terms of performance. These are truly impressive cameras on paper, but Samsung’s inability to improve the technology behind them is a disappointment.
However, when it does work, the S25 Ultra’s cameras are a sight to behold. In my testing, the S25 Ultra offered warmer, yellowish images that still offer sharp detail and a great resolution, and though the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s post-processing software is still arguably the best on the market, the S25 Ultra’s hardware still delivers. You can see my comparison of the two phones below, but suffice it to say, I still think Samsung’s cameras will be great for 90% of the population out of the box.
Like many other companies, you can always finetune your camera controls to get the most out of them, from upping the default megapixels of an image to adjusting the focus and switching between various pre-set modes such as portrait, night, and more. Speaking of the night mode, I was incredibly impressed with this feature. I took an image of my daughter asleep, cuddling her favorite toy, and despite being very dark in her bedroom, the image came out as if I had taken it in broad daylight.
Unfortunately, the front camera is still a bit of a letdown. While it does better at brightening up shadows, the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s selfie camera offers much more detail, while Samsung’s offering gives a less realistic view of your face. Is that something you’d prefer? That’s up to you, but I’m still dispirited by the fact that Samsung’s camera software is behind most of the market.
Battery
Samsung hasn’t changed much with the battery this year, sticking with the 5,000mAh capacity. While most manufacturers are looking at lighter silicon-carbon batteries with more capacity, Samsung is sticking with the existing standard. The Snapdragon 8 Elite makes the latest cell phone more efficient than last year’s model, increasing battery life ever so slightly, but I wish there was a more significant change in the capacity department.
Despite that, the S25 Ultra is still an all-day phone, at the very least. Keeping all of the settings out of the box and sticking with the adaptive refresh rate, I can go until just before bed without charging my phone, and it’s still at 20%. For reference, I typically go on Reddit and play games often during the day, and I only charge at around 8 PM – so it’s truly impressive how long the battery lasts.
I hope that Samsung moves toward silicon-carbon batteries in the future, considering their benefits, but with the issue of Note 7’s exploding a few years back, it’s no surprise why the South Korean company is likely waiting for the opportune moment before attempting to introduce another battery innovation. They don’t need another controversy on their hands again.
As for the charging speeds, Samsung is sticking with a maximum of 45W speeds. That’s still impressive, especially compared to iPhone rates, but as more cell phone companies move to 65W charging, it’s a little behind. However, based on my own experiences, the S25 Ultra can go from practically dead (10%) to 100% in around an hour.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra?
Unless you’re already running an iPhone 16 Pro Max or S24 Ultra, the S25 Ultra is a formidable cell phone that is well worth the upgrade. Play Zenless Zone Zero for hours on end, watch hours of YouTube videos, catch up with your friends on video calls, and the S25 Ultra keeps chugging along. I’ve not had a single problem besides a lack of innovation, and while the S-Pen’s removal of Bluetooth is frustrating, I’m not going to say it’s worth avoiding solely for that.
Instead of innovating heavily on last year’s model, Samsung has continued making small adjustments that slightly improve on the S24 Ultra. That’s not enough for people who usually upgrade every year, but it should be a huge leap forward for anyone rocking an S23 Ultra or older. As someone who frequently upgrades thanks to my service provider, I can certainly see how much better the S25 Ultra is over the impressive S23.
Of course, if you’re running a recent premium flagship, you shouldn’t be in a rush to move to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. For all of my positive comments, there are only a few noticeable improvements over last year’s premium flagship, so unless you’re running an Exynos S24 model, you’ll have little reason to make the change.
However, that doesn’t negate how great the small upgrades truly feel – and when you’ve got the full package at hand, the S25 Ultra is a truly spectacular phone that only somewhat fumbles (very slightly) with certain changes. Or issues that it’s already had for years, annoyingly.
Alternatives
If you’re having second thoughts on buying the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, here’s a few of my recommendations:
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Google’s latest premium cell phone may have taken a few hits in my review, but it’s still an impressive piece of tech. Brilliant cameras, a great battery life, and superb software make for an excellent device, even if the Tensor chipset doesn’t impress as much as Qualcomm’s offerings. For more details on this option, check out our Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
If you’re not convinced of joining the Android ranks, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is still a fantastic smartphone. iOS is still a great operating system for a phone, and the Apple ecosystem is the prime example of smart tech connectivity. If you want the full lowdown on this alternative, see our iPhone 16 Pro Max review.
