Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Review
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra offers top-tier performance, a stunning 6.9-inch display, and powerful cameras for an exceptional experience.
Is there such a thing as the perfect phone design? That’s what I wondered when I first held the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. It has moved away from its Galaxy Note roots, now looking more like other S25 models—and even a bit like an iPhone. Despite this change, Samsung has impressively kept the S Pen while making the phone slimmer and lighter.
Beyond the design, the real game-changer is AI. Samsung has merged Galaxy AI, Bixby and Google’s Gemini, making AI more useful throughout the system. Phone also learns from your habits and wearables like Galaxy Watch to provide personalized insights through widgets.
Photography sees AI-driven improvements rather than major hardware upgrades. Ultrawide camera is now 50MP and Pro Visual Engine enhances overall image quality. AI tools can also improve photos, generate images and even recognize or clean up audio in videos.
With a faster processor, smarter AI, and a longer battery life, the S25 Ultra is Samsung’s best Ultra phone yet. And at $1,299.99, it maintains the same price as its predecessor, making it a strong choice for Android users.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Specification
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| 📅 Release Date | February 03, 2025 |
| 📏 Dimensions | 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm (6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 in) |
| ⚖️ Weight | 218 g (7.69 oz) |
| 🔨 Build | Glass front & back (Corning Gorilla Armor 2), titanium frame (grade 5) |
| 📱 SIM | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) – INT, Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) – USA |
| 🌊 Water Resistance | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) |
| 🖥️ Display | 6.9″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak) |
| 🔧 Resolution | 1440 x 3120 pixels (~498 ppi density) |
| 🛡️ Protection | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
| 📱 OS | Android 15, One UI 7 (up to 7 major upgrades) |
| ⚡ Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm) |
| 💻 CPU | Octa-core (2×4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6×3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M) |
| 🎮 GPU | Adreno 830 |
| 💾 Internal Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB (12GB/16GB RAM) |
| 📷 Main Camera | Quad: 200 MP, 10 MP, 50 MP (periscope), 50 MP (ultrawide) |
| 📸 Camera Features | Laser AF, Best Face, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| 🎬 Video Recording | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+ |
| 🤳 Selfie Camera | 12 MP, HDR, HDR10+, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
| 🔊 Audio | Stereo speakers, 32-bit/384kHz, tuned by AKG, no 3.5mm jack |
| 📶 Comms | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, Bluetooth 5.4, GPS, NFC, USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, OTG |
| 🔋 Battery | Li-Ion 5000 mAh, 45W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless |
| ⚡ Charging Speed | 65% in 30 min (45W), 15W wireless charging |
| 🔒 Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| 🌈 Colors | Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium Black, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Gray, Titanium Jade Green, Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Pink Gold |
| 💵 Price | ₹ 129,999 / $ 1,299.99 / £ 1,249.00 / € 1,449.00 |
| 🧪 SAR | 1.26 W/kg (head), 0.64 W/kg (body) |
| 📊 Performance | AnTuTu: 2207809, GeekBench: 9846, 3DMark: 6687 (Wild Life Extreme) |
| 🌟 Display Brightness | 1417 nits max brightness |
| ⏳ Battery Life (Active) | 15:08 hours |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Price and availability
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was revealed at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22 and is now available for pre-order in a range of colors. You can choose from Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Grey and Titanium Black, with exclusive options available only at the Samsung store, including Titanium Jadegreen, Titanium Pinkgold, and Titanium Jetblack.
The phone comes with three storage options: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB, and all versions come with 12GB of RAM. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will begin shipping on February 7, with the following prices:
- 256GB: $1,299 (US), £1,249 (UK), AU$2,149 (AU)
- 512GB: $1,419 (US), £1,349 (UK), AU$2,349 (AU)
- 1TB: $1,659 (US), £1,549 (UK), AU$2,749 (AU)
In Australia, the price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra is slightly lower than previous models, but it’s mostly the same in other regions. Samsung also has great deals, including up to $900 in trade-in credit and up to $300 store credit for unlocked and carrier devices. The trade-in offer is excellent, and the $300 store credit can be used for accessories at Samsung Store, making it a great chance to upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Design
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a design that blends the Galaxy S series look, though it’s not an exact match with other S25 models. The phone has a flat titanium band around the body, and the corners are a bit squarer compared to the S25 and S25 Plus.
It’s slightly taller than the S24 Ultra but narrower and thinner. At 218 grams, it’s lighter than the S24 Ultra (232 grams) and even lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max (227 grams). Despite being lighter, it still includes a 5,000mAh battery and the S Pen.
The design has some small changes. The volume rocker and power button are in similar spots, but the antenna cutout has moved to the top edge. The bottom still features a USB-C port, speaker slot, S Pen slot, and SIM card slot. The S25 Ultra offers both standard SIM and eSIM support, unlike the iPhone in the US, which only offers eSIM.
The body is made of titanium, and it’s rated IP68 for water and dust resistance. The front and back are protected with Gorilla Glass Armor 2, which includes ceramic for extra strength. However, while it helps prevent drops, it’s not scratch-proof, and you may notice minor scratches over time.
Galaxy S25 Ultra feels great to hold, and I like the new design, even though it moves away from the classic Note look. It’s a big-screen phone that’s easy to enjoy using.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Display
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has the largest screen yet in the Galaxy Ultra series. The 6.9-inch display is 0.1 inches larger than the S24 Ultra’s screen, thanks to a 15% smaller bezel around it.
It still features a Quad HD+ resolution (3120 x 1440 pixels), which is higher than the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s resolution. However, the phone uses FHD+ resolution (2340 x 1080) by default, and this is fine for most situations. If you want better battery life, it’s best to keep it at FHD+.
The display is adaptive, switching between 1Hz and 120Hz to save battery when needed. You can also set it to 60Hz if you prefer, but the smooth 120Hz motion is great for watching videos and gaming.
One upgrade is the ProScaler technology, which improves the quality of lower-resolution content, like old videos or games, making them look better on the high-resolution screen.
The screen is flat and has a small circular cutout for the 12MP front camera which is not distracting. There’s no large notch like on iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Under the screen, there’s an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. It works well but I had some issues with my dry skin. After adding multiple fingers, it worked better. You can also unlock the phone using a PIN or your face.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra S pen
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra still comes with the S Pen, which is small but effective. It looks and works similarly to the one in the S24 Ultra, but it no longer supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). This means you can’t use the pen’s button for remote control features, like advancing slides. Samsung removed BLE because it wasn’t widely used, and I didn’t miss it during testing.
I really like the S Pen. It’s thin and compact, but great for drawing or taking notes. I tested it in apps like Notes and Sketchbook, and I was impressed by how easily Samsung Notes could convert my handwriting into text.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Camera
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a powerful camera setup with several lens options. The camera system looks similar to the S24 Ultra’s but with a visual upgrade where the lenses appear to float above the body. Here are main camera specs:
- Main camera: 200MP
- 5x telephoto: 50MP (with 10x zoom using a sensor crop)
- 3x optical: 10MP
- Ultra-wide: 50MP
- Front camera: 12MP
50MP ultra-wide camera is ideal for low-light and macro pictures. 200MP main camera captures additional detail by shooting in 12MP with pixel binning. The colors are rich, but sometimes too vibrant. The zoom works well, especially with 5x and 10x zoom, but the 30x and 100x options aren’t as useful.
There may be slight color bleeding in some images, but it’s rare. Samsung’s camera improvements focus on software, like the Export RAW app with virtual aperture settings, though it’s not as realistic as a physical aperture.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra software and AI
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has smart AI that works with different systems like Galaxy AI, Google Gemini and Bixby. These systems help with tasks like finding recipes, making lists and organizing apps. The AI can also recognize photos and videos, like counting calories in a meal or suggesting recipes based on ingredients. It learns about you over time and gives helpful updates, like weather and sleep info, if you use Samsung wearables.
The “Now Brief” widget shows personalized updates about your day. The phone’s AI also helps with creating images like adding objects to photos and identifying songs or removing background noise in videos. It’s powerful, but still needs some improvements for easier use.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Performance
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra offers outstanding battery life, lasting over 30 hours with mixed use & up to 31 hours of video playback. It has 5000mAh battery that can be fully charged in about hour using a 65W charger.
In tests, it lasted 18 hours and 35 minutes at 60Hz and 17 hours and 15 minutes with adaptive refresh rate. iPhone 16 Pro Max lasted 17 hours and 35 minutes in the same test. Phone supports 5W wireless charging and works with Qi2 chargers but not the faster 15W charging.
Sasmung Galaxy S25 Ultra Battery
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra offers impressive battery life, lasting over 30 hours with mixed use and up to 31 hours of video playback. It has a 5000mAh battery, and it fully charges in about an hour with the 65W charger.
In tests, it lasted 18 hours and 35 minutes with a 60Hz refresh rate, and 17 hours and 15 minutes with the adaptive refresh rate. The iPhone 16 Pro Max lasted 17 hours and 35 minutes in the same tests. The phone also supports 5W wireless charging and works with Qi2 chargers, but it doesn’t support the faster 15W charging.
Pros and Cons of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
| 🟢Pros | 🔴Cons |
|---|---|
| 🖥️ Unified design with Ultra features | 🤖 Generative AI isn’t always accurate |
| 📱 Largest screen in the lineup | 📸 Photos aren’t completely realistic |
| 🤖 Strong AI capabilities | 🔴 |
| 🔋 Great battery life | 🔴 |
Conclusion📊
Samsung S25 Ultra combines the classic Galaxy S design with features from past Ultras, like the S Pen. What sets it apart is its powerful generative AI, making it unique. This blend will appeal to Android, Samsung, and Google Gemini fans alike.
