At first glance, the S25 Ultra is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor. The frame is still made of sturdy titanium, a 12 MP selfie front camera is installed in the centre of the display’s top edge as usual; the extremely practical S-Pen is at the bottom of the device; and the various lenses of the main camera are still arranged on the back.
On closer inspection, however, Galaxy connoisseurs will notice various improvements. The first is that the side edges are no longer curved, but completely flat. This makes the S25 Ultra fit even better in your hand. Samsung has also modified the corners. They’re now rounded off, as on Apple’s iPhone 16 or Google Pixel 9, which makes the smartphone look more elegant.
Lighter, sturdier and IP68 certified
It’s also nice that the S25 Ultra is 0.4 millimetres thinner and weighs 14 grams less (at 218 grams) than the previous model but still features a slightly enlarged display. It has a screen diagonal of 6.9 inches and is so robust, thanks to Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass, that the manufacturer claims it can survive drops from up to 2.20 metres. What’s more, there’s a new coating that reduces light reflections to a minimum. In addition, the S25 Ultra is IP68 certified, meaning it’s both dust-resistant and waterproof. This lasts for around 30 minutes if the device is immersed in fresh water at a depth of up to 1.50 metres. It will therefore survive being dropped into a bathtub without any problems.
As with the previous model, the colourful and contrasting OLED display has a resolution of 3120 x 1440 pixels, a pixel density of 505 ppi and supports dynamic image refresh rates of between 1 and 120 Hz, which is great for energy efficiency. The peak brightness of up to 2600 nits is also worth mentioning, but it’s not quite as high as Google’s Pixel 9 Pro, for example.
Optimised ultra wide-angle camera
When it comes to cameras, Samsung has equipped the S25 Ultra with an improved ultra wide-angle sensor, offering 50 megapixels instead of the 12 megapixels on the previous model. The result? Significantly better macro shots. As with the S24 Ultra, there’s also a 200 MP main camera with 2x optical zoom, a 50 megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a 10 megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. If you use the digital zoom, you can even achieve magnification of up to 100 times.
All in all, this set-up produces very good photos on a par with those of the previous model. Videos even look a bit better, especially night shots, which now have less noise thanks to AI optimisation and a better image-processing chip. Regular clips can now be transformed into slow-motion videos at the press of a button. Thumbs up also for the implementation of the log profile, which opens up even more extensive options for content creators to post-edit videos. The «Audio Eraser» is also handy, as it uses AI to remove annoying background noise from videos recorded by the device in up to 8K resolution at 30 fps.
Significantly more power under the bonnet
But probably the most important upgrade on the S25 Ultra is the new 3-nanometer system-on-a-chip from Qualcomm. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was still used as the control centre of the S24 Ultra, this task is now performed by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy – supported by 12 GB of RAM. Samsung itself promises up to 37 per cent better CPU performance, up to 30 per cent more graphics power and up to 40 per cent faster AI calculations than the S24 Ultra. Tests show that the South Koreans deliver what they promise. Whether it’s Geekbench 6, 3DMark or the AnTuTu Benchmark – in these and other comparison tests, the S25 Ultra outperforms the previous model by a significant margin.
Accordingly, graphically demanding Android games like «Genshin Impact», «Call of Duty Mobile», «PUBG Mobile» and «Asphalt Legends Unite» run at the highest settings and with stunning frame rates. But there can also be no doubting the everyday performance when you browse the Internet, open PDF documents, etc. Thanks to its powerful processor, the device’s numerous new AI functions are also a real delight.
A helping hand from Google’s Gemini AI
It’s all about artificial intelligence: Google’s new assistant, Gemini, has been integrated seamlessly into the user interface via the «Now Bar», making everyday tasks much easier. Whether you want to summarise scanned documents or the content of YouTube videos, whether you want to add multiple appointments to your calendar one after another with a voice command, or tell Gemini to come up with a fairytale for the children – Google’s AI has plenty to offer. On top of that, Gemini now performs cross-app actions. For example, you can instruct Gemini to find your favourite artist’s next concert date and then send it via WhatsApp to different people in your address book. Other handy AI features include identifying songs playing in the background, identifying objects in photos or generating images based on keywords.
The S25 Ultra also impresses with its remarkable battery life. When it's fully charged, the 5,000 mAh battery will last between 15 and 19 hours of continuous use. If you then need to recharge the device fully, you should expect it to take around 70 minutes. A shorter, 15-minute charging procedure will get the battery up to about 37 per cent capacity.
Samsung 25 with pop-up stand cover
Conclusion
To sum up, with the S25 Ultra Samsung offers one of the best Android devices available on the market right now. From its high-contrast, barely reflective 6.9-inch display to the extremely fast Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and the powerful AI functions, the long-lasting battery and the IP68 certification, it really does offer a great deal. The camera is also very good, but it can’t trump the ones on the top smartphones from Apple and Google. It’s also a shame that the included S-Pen no longer has a Bluetooth module – so it’s no longer possible to use it as a remote shutter release for the camera.