Samsung's best phone retains its crown as... well, Samsung's best phone. But the argument for buying one rests very heavily on Galaxy AI rather than anything the Galaxy S25 Ultra brings to the table. That's because much of it was already brought to the table last year and the year before. It's still the fastest and slickest Android around but so is the S24 Ultra. And the S23 Ultra. The new edges and camera sensor are nice, though.
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Every one of Samsung’s headliners is better than the last, but we can’t get over the idea that the company is intentionally taking smaller steps than it could. That’s especially true of this year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra. Yes, it’s speedier than it was last year. Could it be quicker? Likely, but then what would Samsung do next year?
The focus for 2025 is on Samsung’s Galaxy AI, which could be a way of distracting us from the fact that very little has changed since about 2023. Those that have, have done so in very small increments — so much so that it’s hard to spot just what has altered. Galaxy AI, though? That’s something new to talk about, for all that it was featured in last year’s model.
Deja vu?
What else is new is the titanium band running around the edge of this phone. It’s flatter than the curves that have dominated recent years, leaving us with an almost iPhone-like appearance. It’s refreshing to see from Samsung until you take a look at what everyone else is using. Then it looks like it strapped on a uniform and lined up with the rest of the faceless devices roaming around the planet.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has plenty going for it. There’s no surprise beyond that flatter edge and a fractionally larger screen, facilitated by Samsung decreasing the size of the bezels here. The edges are populated with the same ports and keys we’ve seen since the days when this range was still called the Note. There’s a SIM tray, charge port, and slot for the S Pen stylus, as well as a speaker vent, on the base of the phone. The upper right features volume keys and the so-called ‘power’ button that doesn’t want to perform that function anymore.
The rear panel hasn’t changed much at all. There’s some alteration to how the Galaxy S25 Ultra presents the rear camera sensors, but it’s possible to pry the new rounded accents off and restore the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s look if you’re careful or careless about your money.
Internally Elite
Internally, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is not very dissimilar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The 6.9in AMOLED panel is incrementally larger (by 0.1in,) but it retains the same resolution as the previous incarnation. It still has Samsung’s signature vibrance, tucked away behind Corning’s next-generation Gorilla Armour 2 glass. The other features — brightness, resolution, HDR support — are also as they were last year. Technically, this year’s screen is a little less awesome, given that this is all in a larger panel. You’ll never see a difference, but… technically.
Last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 gives way to the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, with RAM and storage options unchanged. That’s the case in South Africa, anyway. There’s a 16GB RAM/1TB storage option available internationally, but we’ve only got 2024’s 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage choices on hand.
The remainder of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s features are a mix of up, down, and static. It’s still IP68-rated. It’s shed a little weight (14 grams) while shaving a few millimetres off the width and thickness of the casing. And the S Pen… well, that’s had Bluetooth features yanked from it, so it’s now a ‘dumb’ peripheral.
Despite the similarities to last year’s phone, this one is Samsung’s speediest yet. There’s no way to experience this in any practical way, but it is. Run the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the S24 equivalent side-by-side, and you’ll struggle mightily to see a performance difference. Run a benchmarking program, and 2025’s effort will give you a higher number. You can believe the number but in real-world situations, you’ll have to step back a few generations for anything visually different to appear.
Change for a 50
The ‘we saw this last year’ trend continues through the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera setup. Only, we also saw this the year before. Once again, Samsung swaps out one of its smaller sensors — the 12MP ultrawide — for a larger 50MP option. We’ve got no doubt that Samsung could have done this last year, but then what would they have done for 2025?
There’s no denying that the S25 Ultra’s camera setup is impressive, even if we’ve seen most of it before. The main 200MP sensor is a beast, capturing detailed shots in most lighting conditions. It’s getting on a bit, though, having headlined the S23 and S24 Ultra previously. The other two sensors from last year, the 10MP telephoto and the 50MP periscope telephoto (which constituted a step back for Samsung last year) perform exactly as they did in 2024. That’s good, as long as you don’t already own last year’s phone.
The new ultrawide lens offers improved performance both at a distance and up close. It’s not a big enough performance jump to make the camera the deciding factor in your purchase if you own a recent Ultra. If you’re coming from elsewhere in the Android ecosystem, it’ll all combine to lift your eyebrows, despite the hardware’s age.
Exploring Galaxy AI
What you’re supposed to get excited about from the Galaxy S25 Ultra is Galaxy AI. Specifically, the refinements Samsung has chucked our way. The arena is getting crowded, though, since Samsung keeps Bixby around, Google’s Gemini is also present, and then Galaxy AI puts its own spin on Google’s AI product.
Gemini’s natural language voice chat and the service’s various recognition abilities are baked further into the One UI 7 overlay on top of Android. These functions integrate better into the various apps you might be using (mostly) but it’s also (mostly) the same sort of stuff we saw last year. Only better. That seems to be the general theme for Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra so we’re not even mad about it.
There are one or two new functions — Now Brief is an AI-curated summary of the apps and information you gravitate toward daily. Think of it as a smarter version of your lock screen notifications and you’re most of the way there, but it could go deeper. Maybe next year.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra verdict
If you came upon this phone without seeing a Samsung Ultra device before, it would be the best Android smartphone you’ve ever seen. If, like us, you’ve been exposed to them year after year, it’s merely good. The Galaxy S25 Ultra faces its stiffest competition from its immediate predecessors, which retain the speed and looks to put this one in its place. That place is still in first, but the second and third places are separated by the thinnest of margins.
An upgrade from 2024’s phone isn’t essential — the revamped AI features here will doubtless be provided to the S24 Ultra (and probably further back) in a software update later in the year. The same goes for the S23 Ultra. Unless some component is failing, you needn’t trade up yet. Those with older devices or who are switching from other brands will reap the most benefits from the R31,000 Galaxy S25 Ultra. As is the case each year, this is Samsung’s best to date. It’s just that the lines dividing each ‘best’ are becoming ever thinner, Galaxy AI or not.
