Every year, a new iteration of the Samsung Galaxy S Ultra series appears and practically every time, they manage to beat out the competition by sheer all-rounder performance. However, with a design that looks to follow the current trend of flat sides and rounded corners, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite X chipset and even more Galaxy AI features, is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra still worth its RM5999 and above asking price? Read on and find out in our review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Design - Copying the template, but not exactly
After years of resisting the template of flat sides and rounded corners, this year the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra finally relents and joins the bandwagon. Like other flagships of 2025, it has flat shiny metal sides mixed with titanium and slightly less rounded corners.
Despite a slimmer profile, the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra this year is actually larger at 6.9-inches
The titanium Silverblue colour is very subtle, you won't actually see the blue sheen unless it's from an angle
Can you see the silver blue now?
The sides of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are now flat with slightly rounded corners
Long-time Samsung Galaxy S Ultra users, especially those who have used the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will immediately notice that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is now noticeably lighter at 218g. Without any casing, the phone also feels slimmer, which is great for one-handed use.
The flat sides are super comfortable to grip with the standard power button and volume rocker on one side, while the speaker vent, USB Type C port, garaged S Pen and SIM tray are on the bottom.
The power and volume rocker buttons are on the side
Now, there are "floating" rings around the rear camera lenses
The S Pen, speaker vent, USB Type-C port and SIM card tray are on the bottom
The SIM Tray for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The bezels are super thin all around now
The flat back and front are matte and mostly fingerprint resistant with the 6.9-inch display now sporting Gorilla Armor 2 and anti-reflective coating. A single punch hole on the front is available for the 12MP front camera. Like other 2025 flagships, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has ultra-slim bezels.
On the back, the quad rear cameras use a "floating" or slightly raised individual raised ring design. This includes a 200MP wide-angle with 2x Optical Zoom, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto with 5x Optical zoom and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. Quite honestly, only this rear camera arrangement and the Samsung logo on the back now identify the Galaxy S25 Ultra at a glance.
Our review unit was Titanium Silverblue which is a subtle metallic blue. But there's also black, Titanium Whitesilver and grey. The Titanium Jetblack, Jadegreen and Pinkgold colours are only available online. The new S Pen stylus still looks the same, has the same ozone smell when removed and now can only be used on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Tech specs and features - More software changes than hardware
Here are the tech specs and features of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
- 12GB RAM | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage
- 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X (QHD+ 1440 x 3120 pixels, 1-120Hz refresh rate, 2600 nits brightness, Corning Gorilla Armor 2)
- Quad Rear Cameras: 200MP (wide), 50MP (ultra-wide), 10MP (3x telephoto), 50MP (5x periscope telephoto) | Front Camera: 12MP (wide)
- 5000mAh battery (45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging)
- Features: under display fingerprint sensor, IP68 dust and water resistance, up to 8K@30fps video recording, HDR10+, garaged S Pen stylus, titanium frame (grade 5)
- Supports: 5G, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, up to WiFi 7
- Android 15, One UI 7
- Measurements: 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm | 218g
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB
What's in the box of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra?
This time around the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra goes just a bit larger with a 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display, offering a QHD+ resolution and an adaptive refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz. The brightness reaches up to 2600 nits, making the screen visible even in bright conditions. A layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2 provides extra durability while the thinner bezels ensure that the phone is actually less wide than before.
Under the hood, the phone runs on the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, which is a significant leap in terms of performance from the previous Snapdragon. The chipset has been overclocked somewhat and there's now a larger vapour chamber to accommodate cooling this down. It comes with 12GB of RAM and offers storage options of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB.
Camera options for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra runs on OneUI 7 based on Android 15 along with Galaxy AI
Like before, the rear camera setup consists of a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP periscope lens with 5x optical zoom. The front camera features a 12MP sensor for selfies and video calls. The only new camera feature appears to be a better AI ProVisual Engine but more on that later in the performance section.
Powering the phone is a 5000mAh battery, supporting 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. It runs on Android 15 with One UI 7 right out of the box while other features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
On top of the existing Galaxy AI features like Circle to Search, Sketch to Image, Chat Assist and others, Samsung has added a whole slew of new AI features that seem to focus more on video. This includes LOG Video for video colour grading, Audio Eraser to focus or mute audio in the video and Auto Trim to automatically cut the video and focus on the highlights.
Circle to Search is still available on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Sketch to Image lets you Generate AI art from your sketches and drawings
You can now use the Now Bar to access the Now Brief and other active apps from the lock screen on your Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The most visible new Galaxy AI feature is Now Brief which acts as your personal scheduler/assistant. There's also the Now Bar which lets you access your active apps from the lock screen such as your music and so forth. It seems very Dynamic Island-like but on the bottom instead of the top.
One of the new features is that you can also long-press the power button to chat and speak with Google Gemini in practically any app. This allows you to ask it to grab details from a YouTube video into a Note and a lot more.
You can now long press the power button on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to call up Gemini across apps
For photography, Samsung says that they are using a new AI Pro Visual Engine for processing images which will improve stuff like macro and zoom shots. You can also automatically copy the same settings of a photo you like by adding it in the Filter section of the camera app, and then fine-tune it even further. There's also the Choose Best Face feature, which… lets you choose the best face for your photo, but you'll have to take the photo with Motion Photo mode turned on.
On top of Sketch to Image, Samsung has now added the ability to generate images from text prompts. However, you are limited to the 6 styles available in Drawing Assist. These are Watercolour, Illustration, Pop art, Sketch, 3D cartoon and Oil painting. Also, while it doesn't say it specifically, it doesn't seem able to generate people which is similar to how Gemini was previously.
With Drawing Assist you can now generate AI art using text prompts on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
While there are plenty of new AI features Samsung has seen fit to remove the Bluetooth connectivity of the S Pen stylus this time around. This means it can no longer be used like a conductor's baton or as a remote control shutter button for the phone's camera.
While I have to say that I did use the remote control feature, I don't think I've ever regularly used remote control Air commands after the testing period, so it's not really a big deal unless you were a remote control Air Command aficionado. In addition, Samsung has changed up the Air commands menu to now have an AI select feature where you can change whatever you've selected into either a generative AI image or a GIF and more.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen now has no Bluetooth connectivity but has a few new Galaxy AI features
You can now use the S Pen and the AI Select function to create GIFs from onscreen videos on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Performance - Significantly faster and still too many new Galaxy AI features
Geekbench results are much better than before
3DMark scores are also significantly better
Genshin Impact (Max Settings) playthrough on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
In our benchmarks, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra mostly beat out every other non-Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset phone, with capable scores in both 3DMark and Geekbench. Demanding games like Genshin Impact run ultra-smooth and lag-free, even on full settings. But it does get significantly hotter faster than before. We've yet to get it to overheat, but you may want to slap on a case to avoid toasting your fingers.
Perhaps due to the increased AI presence on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the battery life is also significantly improved. It can now last about 2 or 3 hours longer than before on heavy usage for almost 2 days. Recharging to 100% can take under an hour with a compatible fast charger. Unfortunately, we couldn't test this out fully since it didn't come bundled with the phone.
Battery life on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is pretty good even if it doesn't really last 4 days
The speakers are pretty loud, enough to fill up a room at least on max volume without any distortion or static noise. However, it feels as if they're not as loud as last year's model, which can be too loud at max volume. Quite obviously, watching movies on the 2600 nits brightness screen is nice and bright, with clear details throughout.
Talking more about the Galaxy AI features, I get the feeling there are almost too many new features. While the Galaxy AI menu in the Settings does explain what they do, there are no instructions on how to use them, so I had to check out the demo videos on Samsung's YouTube channel, which although friendly also doesn't cover everything.
While the Galaxy AI menu does mention what the new features do, there's no instructions on how to use them
You can now use Best Face to... choose the face you want on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra which is good for group photos where someone accidentally closes their eyes or makes a weird face
Audio Eraser works surprisingly well
While I do like the fact that the new video-centric features such as Audio Eraser and LOG Video can be plenty helpful and useful, I'm somewhat afraid I might not use them because I forgot about them. I feel that it'd definitely be better if the AI was actually smart enough to suggest these new features to use as and when they happen.
For example, if I'm editing or capturing video and it's noisy, this would be a great time for the Galaxy AI to pop up and say something like "Noise detected, use Audio Eraser?" or something along those lines. Or the Choose Better Face function should always be on, rather than only when Motion Mode is activated, as who knows when someone would blink or make a derpy face in a group photo.
The Now Brief feature is a good step in this direction in that it helps to suggest such things. But it is only as good as how much you feed it. In addition, older features like the Generative Edit in the Photo Gallery seem to have been upgraded, as it is now faster and a bit smarter in selecting objects to remove. While the S Pen has lost its remote control features it still draws and writes just as well as before, and with Drawing Assist and AI Select you can now easily generate AI art or make your own GIF with the S Pen.
With Drawing Assist from the Air commands menu, you can now make your own AI lineart or stickers from photos
This background was created using the Drawing Assist while the character was drawn using the S Pen of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
For photography, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra seems to take photos just as well as before but once in a while the new AI Pro Visual Engine delivers surprising results. For macro shots, we'd usually have to switch to the ultra-wide camera and then gradually lower the phone until it can get as close as possible while retaining focus. But this time around we can take shots of really small things on 12MP and crop them later while still getting sharp macro details.
It doesn't work all the time though, so perhaps there's a specific way to use it. It might be easier if there was a macro mode or a smart guide to help with macro photography tips when it recognises we're trying to take super close-up shots. But since there aren't, you may have to take several macro shots before it does kick in. Likewise, for zoom photos such as 100x zoom shots of the moon, we had to take several shots before the details really became sharp. Perhaps future updates might make the engine more precise hopefully. Check out our samples below.
You can see the zoom is quite clear in these 3 photos
Unfortunately, it's not as clear in this cropped zoomed-in photo
However, when it works, the zoom on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra can now capture all the details in the macro shot
Can you see the cell walls of the petals of this very small flower?
Normal photos at night turn out very well
This scene is actually a lot darker than it looks in the photo
While it took a couple of tries, this handheld 100x zoom shot of the moon clearly shows more details
Portrait shots are just as good as before
Low-light videos are significantly more steady and there's definitely less noise. The LOG Video feature also seems to help with automatic colour grading, especially if you need to combine several clips in one movie. The Audio Eraser is surprisingly good and versatile, allowing you to easily get rid of background noise while taking videos or when editing and it does work better than some professional video editing software. However, the Auto Trim doesn't really work that well as it not only got rid of most of the B roll but also some of the things we wanted to highlight, so it's a bit of a mixed bag with the new Galaxy AI features.
Conclusion - Another option for the latest Samsung Galaxy AI phone
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a solid flagship smartphone with a lot of new software or AI features and just a few hardware updates here and there. As such, it's rather hard to recommend it for those who have already bought the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. This is because we fully expect many of the software updates to trickle down to the rest of the Samsung Galaxy S series like the S24 series and S23 series.
Still a very good flagship smartphone even though it now looks like every other phone that uses the same template
However, if you've always wanted a lighter, thinner, slimmer and longer-lasting Galaxy S Ultra, then the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the one for you. Granted, it now looks like every other flagship with flat sides and less rounded corners, but it is now noticeably easier to carry about and use than all the other Galaxy S Ultra and Galaxy Note phones thus far.
If you're a Samsung Galaxy S23 Series or lower user, then the amount of upgrades like the better camera, more compact design and faster hardware in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are more compelling reasons to upgrade. The new Galaxy AI features that work well like Audio Eraser and Log Video really make the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a more competent videographers phone and should do the same for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra when they get updated there.
About Galaxy AI, we're fully expecting more new features to arrive in the coming months, perhaps Generative Fill to expand the canvas? A Green Screen or background change feature for video editing? Maybe even a much better AI-assisted zoom and macro mode? However, it feels like Samsung is still experimenting with the overall Galaxy AI experience, so we're also hoping for a more polished and seamlessly integrated experience in the upcoming updates. As it is, it's very likely that most people won't even use most of the new Galaxy AI features or might not even be aware of them.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on the left and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra on the right
While we appreciate the improved macro and zoom enhancement photography functions of the AI ProScaler Engine, it'd be much better if it was more reliable. We do like what we see when it does work, but it'd be great if it worked for all shots or at least more regularly than it does now.
In addition, the lack of specific modes like Light painting and Macro mode in the Honor Magic series or Pan shot and Long Exposure in the Google Pixel 9 series does make the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a bit less beginner-photographer-friendly. Perhaps, Samsung could include it in their next update and not as an additional app like Expert RAW?
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra on the top and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on the bottom
The loss of Bluetooth in the Samsung S Pen this time probably won't be missed by many, unless you're a hardcore presenter who has been actively using it as a remote control? Thankfully, the S Pen and Samsung Dex still make the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a solid productivity smartphone. As such, the closest contender for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra would have to be the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (it still has Bluetooth for its S Pen and has more or less the same hardware and AI as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra) which is also now more affordable.
What do you think? Is there a comparable non-Samsung device to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra? Are you thinking of upgrading to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from your Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or lower smartphone? Share your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com.
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