Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: A Galaxy of AI, for better or worse

We’ve already had a couple of big new smartphones announced in 2025 but make no mistake, this year’s flagship race truly kicks off here, with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Following on from the Galaxy S24 Ultra – our favourite smartphone of last year and the current reigning champ in our best phone battery life stakes – the S25 Ultra has the largest of shoes to fill, especially considering its predecessor is still on sale and very much still a viable threat.

While it doesn’t completely wipe the floor with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is still about as impressive as a phone can get right now, with blistering performance, Herculean stamina and a versatile collection of cameras. Not everything is as good as last year, however, and a distinct lack of physical improvements for the sake of focusing on AI features takes some of the shine off.

It’s undoubtedly an outstanding flagship phone, and likely will prove to be one of the best of the year, but as things stand right now I’m not convinced that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is worth choosing over its predecessor.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: What you need to know

A couple of flagships have already debuted with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset here in the UK but the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be looking to prove itself a cut above with its modified “for Galaxy” variant of the processor, which has a slightly higher clock speed of 4.47GHz (versus 4.32GHz on the standard version). It’s joined by 12GB of RAM and either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage space.

Rounding out the internals is the same 5,000mAh lithium-ion battery as the S24 Ultra, once again supporting 45W wired charging and 25W wireless. You’ll need your own mains charger, however, as there isn’t one bundled in the box.

Thanks to 15% smaller bezels, the display is marginally larger than last year, now measuring 6.9in across the diagonal. Otherwise, the specs are identical. It has an Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a sharp 3,120 x 1,440 (QHD+) peak resolution and LTPO technology allowing for a dynamic refresh rate between 1 and 120Hz. Set in a hole punch notch at the top is the same 12-megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera that cropped up on the S24 Ultra.

The rear cameras feel quite familiar, too, once again led by the 200-megapixel (f/1.7) main shooter and the same two telephoto cameras; one 50-megapixel (f/3.4) lens for 5x optical zooms and a 10-megapixel (f/2.4) 3x optical zoom lens. Only the ultrawide camera is upgraded here, now a 50-megapixel lens with a wider f/1.9 aperture.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Price and competition

One of the first big ticks in the S25 Ultra’s column is that it doesn’t cost any more than its predecessor. Prices start at £1,249 for the 256GB version, with the 512GB at £1,349 and the 1TB model topping the range at £1,549.

The only competition, at least in terms of non-folding phones, is pretty limited. The most natural rival here is the iPhone 16 Pro Max which is currently a little cheaper, costing £1,149 for the 256GB model. Just below that is the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, with the 256GB model currently priced at the same £1,099 as the 128GB version.

Outside of the big three, we’ve had recent flagship releases from China, with the Honor Magic 7 Pro and Oppo Find X8 Pro both only offering a 512GB variant on these shores, costing £1,086 and £1,049, respectively. Even cheaper than those is the OnePlus 13, which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Elite processor as the Galaxy S25 Ultra but costs significantly less, at £899.

Lastly, it’s worth highlighting what is perhaps the biggest threat here: the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. With its own loadout of Galaxy AI features and software support until 2031, there’s an argument to be made for the value of hopping back a generation. At the time of writing, you can nab a 512GB model for £874.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Design and key features

At first glance, the Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t look all that different to its predecessor. The corners are more rounded than before and the long edges have been flattened, but otherwise there’s very little in it. The frame is once again robust titanium, but it’s a little thinner than last year, now measuring 78 x 8.2 x 163mm. It’s also lighter this time around, dropping from 232g to a breezier 218g.

The protective glass on the front and rear has been upgraded to Gorilla Armor 2, which offers the same anti-reflective properties as the first generation, along with improved durability. Samsung has kept the dust and water resistance at the same IP68 as last year, though. Compare that to recent flagships like the Honor Magic 7 Pro and OnePlus 13, both of which have upgraded to the more robust standard IP68/IP69, and it feels like Samsung is a step behind, for once.

There are seven colours to choose from this time around, with the Titanium Silverblue model pictured here, Titanium Black, Titanium Grey and Titanium Whitesilver variants available widely, while the Titanium Jetblack, Titanium Jadegreen and Titanium Pinkgold styles are exclusive to Samsung.com.

The S Pen stylus is once again tucked away in the bottom-left corner and although it’s still a useful little pointer, it is slightly downgraded this year. Bluetooth LE has been removed for this generation, meaning that you can no longer perform “Air actions”, the most popular of which is using the stylus’ button to capture photos on the phone.

The cynic in me wonders if this was done to encourage more people to adopt a Galaxy Watch, which offers similar functions, but Samsung claims it’s due to lack of interest from users. It does, at least, mean the stylus is a little lighter than before, helping to reduce the overall weight.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Display

I’m about to list a few technical test results that, in reality, are unlikely to hinder your experience using the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. For most people, this 6.9in AMOLED 2X display with its QHD+ resolution and peak refresh rate of 120Hz will be bright, colourful and wonderfully responsive. It’s excellent for watching movies and playing mobile games, as well as keeping your day-to-day web browsing and social media scrolling look vibrant and punchy.

However, after thoroughly testing the S25 Ultra, there are a couple of points that let the side down. First of all, the Natural profile did an excellent job reproducing the sRGB colour space, with 99.3% gamut coverage and a volume of 99.9%, but the average Delta E colour variance score came back at 2.38. The target value is one or under here, so that’s quite disappointing for a phone of this price. In general use, you’re unlikely to notice any colours looking out of place, especially if you stick to the default Vibrant profile, but in the battle of the flagships, these details matter.

I wasn’t massively impressed by the general levels of brightness, either. In manual mode, the S25 Ultra peaked at 425cd/m2, going up to 1,279cd/m2 on autobrightness with a torch shining on the light sensor and 1,288d/m2 when displaying HDR content. These figures are fine enough and, I reiterate, will serve most users just fine.

Look at the competition, however, and you’ll see that Samsung is on the back foot; the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is most impressive, with a ridiculously high peak of 1,901cd/m2 for HDR content. Is that a little over the top? Sure, but I’d prefer to see Samsung closer to that side of the spectrum.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Performance and battery life

Unsurprisingly, the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset is the most successful improvement here. In the Geekbench 6 CPU stress tests, the Galaxy S25 Ultra storms 36% ahead of its predecessor in the single-core test and 39% in the multi-core.

These blistering results bat away the rest of the competition, too – even besting the notoriously powerful iPhone 16 Pro Max in the multi-core results – with only the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite in the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Pro coming within sniffing distance of the Samsung.

The “for Galaxy” modification doesn’t yield the same results in the GFXBench GPU tests, however. The Honor Magic 7 Pro scored near-enough identically to the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the OnePlus 13 actually managed an additional 18fps in the offscreen portion.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is still one of the best phones you can game on, of course, hitting 120fps in the on-screen portion with the resolution at FHD+ and still managing a solid 90fps on QHD+. Running Genshin: Impact at peak graphical settings remained smooth and stutter-free and though the phone warmed up a little, it never got uncomfortably hot.

Despite the purported power efficiency improvements offered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, we don’t see the same kind of leap in the battery life as we do in performance. Don’t get me wrong, though, its result of 34hrs 34mins is still exceptional, and is pretty much dead level with the S24 Ultra, which itself has the best battery life we’ve ever recorded.

One area in which Samsung, Apple and Google lag behind the competition is charging speeds. Where plenty of rivals offer triple-digit speeds now, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is still chugging along with 45W wired charging. This still charged the battery to 50% in 19 minutes in my testing, however, and on to 100% in less than 50 minutes, so at least it’s not achingly slow.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Software and Galaxy AI

Out of the box, the Galaxy S25 Ultra runs on Android 15 with the OneUI 7 launcher pasted over the top. While not quite as fuss-free as the experience you get from Google’s Pixel phones, it’s fluid and accessible enough. I still don’t love the split notification bar and the fact that the app drawer isn’t organised alphabetically by default, but these are minor gripes in the grand scheme of things.

More importantly, Samsung is once again pledging a full seven years of software support, bringing new OS updates and security patches to the entire S25 series until 2032.

Samsung’s lockscreen-based Now Bar gets upgraded here, too. In addition to displaying information, such as currently playing songs, a running timer or the score of a sporting event you’re tracking, it’s now home to the Now Brief. Also found on the homescreen, this AI-driven report learns your routines and presents personalised “briefings” (or summaries) for you, including details of your upcoming schedule, the night’s data if you’re tracking your sleep, the weather forecast and it even recommends playlists based on your listening habits.

For me personally, this feels about as gimmicky as the rest of the Galaxy AI suite; the technology is interesting, but I can’t see myself using it on a daily basis. And I definitely wouldn’t consider it a reason to upgrade to the S25 series.

I was a little more impressed with the improvements to the camera editing suite’s AI Select feature. Object recognition for resizing and moving is still a little iffy but the eraser function is much more effective, cutting cars out of the above image with reasonably solid generative fill.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Cameras

Given that the setup isn’t all that different, it is perhaps unsurprising that the S25 Ultra’s cameras are about as good as the S24 Ultra’s. The 200-megapixel (f/1.7) main lens captures exquisite detail with gorgeous dynamic range and natural colouring, even in tricky light.

Night photography is excellent, too. Shadows are bold and relatively free from visual noise, there’s plenty of detail plucked out and, in the example image below, you’ll see that the colours in the buildings and water reflections are nicely punchy.

Both telephoto camera modules are as impressive here as they were last year, which amounts to saying that these are some of the best around. Detail capture and exposure balance are both outstanding with both, and dynamic range as good as it is on the main lens. The contrast is a little stronger but not to the point that it feels unnatural.

Once again, the hybrid zoom goes all the way up to 100x, with images getting progressively more smudgy after 30x. Between 10x and 30x, however, the hybrid shots are highly impressive, using that massive 200-megapixel main sensor to preserve finer details without drifting into artificial oversharpening territory.

As with most ultrawide cameras, the new 50-megapixel (f/1.9) lens here struggles to produce good details in the corner of the frame but, otherwise, it’s a solid improvement over last year, and produces bright images with bold colours and decent contrast.

Video once again shoots up to 8K at 30fps but there’s also a new feature aimed directly at the pros. LOG video captures video in a way that enables expert editors to eke more detail and a greater range of visible tonality from video.

The video files can’t be used straight out of the camera as they’re very low in contrast and need tuning in post, so it’s not a mode most users will ever interact with and therefore, its wide appeal is questionable. However, it’s a useful inclusion for those who want to use their phone to shoot video in a professional capacity.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Verdict

My first impression of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was that the emphasis was too much on AI and not enough on hardware advancements. After thoroughly testing it out, I feel vindicated in that assessment.

The new Snapdragon 8 Elite is a speedy performer and LOG video is useful enough for a handful of people but, otherwise, there’s not much that physically asserts the S25 Ultra as drastically superior to the S24 Ultra.

Ultimately, that means the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra falls short of feeling like the apex flagship. If you absolutely must have the fastest phone around, or the AI features excite you more than they do me, then the S25 Ultra may be for you. If you want a powerful phone with ridiculously good battery life, fantastic cameras and extensive software support, however, I’d save a few hundred quid and stick with the Galaxy S24 Ultra while it’s still on shelves.