Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 5G

Description

Introduction
The best remote shooter in the world is gone, but the best Galaxy in the world is back! Headlining the new series, the Galaxy S25 Ultra brings numerous design, performance, camera, and, of course, AI updates, but takes away arguably the most loved S-Pen feature – the Bluetooth connectivity.

Samsung has finally struck gold with the Galaxy S25 Ultra design – now there is a flat frame with rounded corners, which should improve both looks and handling experience. The phone’s front is even tougher this time with second-generation Gorilla Glass Armor and grade 5 titanium frame.

The S25 Ultra has gotten thinner, narrower, and lighter than the S24 Ultra, but thanks to the shrunken bezels, there is now a larger 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with 1440p resolution.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite powers all S25 models, Ultra included, which is the most welcome generational upgrade this year. The most powerful Android chip to date is “for Galaxy” version, which means it features a boosted CPU, because that is what Samsung and Qualcomm do.

All cameras across all Galaxy S25 models stay the same as on their S24 counterparts except for the ultrawide unit in the S25 Ultra, which now has a 50MP sensor with an f/1.9 aperture (and autofocus, still). The 200MP primary, the 10MP 3x and 50MP 5x telephoto cameras, as well as the 12MP selfie shooter, are all without hardware upgrades. Samsung is relying on the power of the new Snapdragon chipset’s ISP to improve the photo and video quality across the board.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is powered by a 5,000mAh battery capable of 45W fast wired charging. Qi2 wireless charging is also on the menu.

The S-Pen is still part of the Ultra, but it no longer supports Bluetooth. This means no more air actions and no more remote camera shutter. Why?!

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra specs at a glance:
Body: 162.8×77.6×8.2mm, 218g; Glass front (Corning Gorilla Armor 2), glass back (Corning Gorilla Victus 2), titanium frame (grade 5); IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), Stylus.
Display: 6.90″ Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1440x3120px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 498ppi; Always-on display.
Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2×4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6×3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
OS/Software: Android 15, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 7.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 200 MP, f/1.7, 24mm, 1/1.3″, 0.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.52″, 1.12µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.4, 111mm, 1/2.52″, 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/1.9, 120˚, 0.7µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video.
Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2″, 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF.
Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 5000mAh; 45W wired, PD3.0, 65% in 30 min, 25W wireless (Qi2), 4.5W reverse wireless.
Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4; NFC.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, Circle to Search.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra brings a lot of incremental updates, but none of them can be considered big compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It appears that Samsung is relying more on the software and AI functions to sell the new models, as opposed to hardware and camera updates.

Unboxing the Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra arrives inside a thin black box, which contains the phone, a USB-C cable, and a SIM ejection tool.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review
The bundled cable is the DN980 model – a black 1m cable with a 3A rating, which, as of this year, can still get you more or less the maximum charging speed. Formerly, if you wanted to achieve the full 45W rated power (or thereabouts), you would have needed a 5A-rated cable. You can read more about this development in the charging section.

Design, build quality, handling
The Galaxy S25 Ultra, unlike the previous generation, has a matching shape to the S25 and S25+. And that’s great! Samsung has decided to go for a flat frame and rounded corners, which not only makes for a nicer looking phone, a more refined one if you will, but also improves the grip and handling experience.

Galaxy S25 Ultra next to the Galaxy S24 UltraGalaxy S25 Ultra next to the Galaxy S24 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra features a slightly larger screen, but it hasn’t grown in physical size. On the contrary – it’s less wide than the S24 Ultra, a hair thinner, and it’s even 14 grams lighter!

Galaxy S25 Ultra next to the Galaxy S24 UltraGalaxy S25 Ultra next to the Galaxy S24 Ultra
The front panels is made from the new Gorilla Armor 2 – “the industry’s first anti-reflective glass ceramic”. The new material (the second generation Armor, also missing the word ‘glass’ from the name) has been shown to survive drops onto concrete from as high as 2.2m, though you’d still be best advised not to throw your Galaxy around just to check.

The screen glass surface is also extra anti-reflective courtesy of the second-gen DX anti-reflective treatment the glass has gotten. We’re not sure we can spot a difference between the S25 Ultra and the S24 Ultra in this respect, but we won’t argue there’s a dramatic decrease in reflections when compared to any other display glass material on the market.

Update, 18 Feb: The back of the phone is made out of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, a fact we missed at the time this review was published.

Galaxy S25 Ultra on top of the S24 Ultra
The frame is still made of titanium, only this time it’s grade 5 for what that’s worth. It is flat, which we think is for the better, and has the same shimmery surface as before.

Galaxy S25 Ultra on top of the S24 UltraGalaxy S25 Ultra on top of the S24 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is IP68-rated for bog standard dust and water resistance. While we do appreciate having it, we are hoping Samsung makes strides to improve the ingress protection like Apple (6m deep) or OnePlus (IP69, high-temperature water jets).

There are four widely available color options – Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium White Silver and Titanium Silver Blue (ours). Exclusive to the official Samsung stores are the Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Jade Green, and Titanium Pink Gold.

The new 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen has impressively thin bezels, among the thinnest we have encountered. It has a small perforation for the 12MP selfie camera – that’s more in the ordinary observations category.

The earpiece above the screen is close to invisible, but it is still there. And it doubles as a speaker to form the stereo pair, as usual.

The S25 Ultra features an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, just like the S24 Ultra and many other older generations of Galaxy flagships. It does not need a flash like the optical ones, and it is fast and reliable, but may not play well with glass screen protectors if you fancy them.

The minimalistic camera housing is here to stay, and this is among the traits we love in the recent Galaxy series. There are five standalone rings on the back – one for each camera and one for the laser emitter and receiver system. Compared to the S24 Ultra, these islands stick out a bit more, probably because of the thinner S25 Ultra body.

The S Pen holder is at the same spot as before – bottom left corner. Its design hasn’t changed one bit – it is thin and lightweight, with a single button and a clicker. Unfortunately, it no longer supports Bluetooth connectivity, there is no capacitor inside it, and it cannot be used for camera shutter or air actions.

We do not know why Samsung decided on downgrading the S Pen this way. Budget cuts is the obvious answer, and maybe it was a niche feature, too. But we can imagine quite a few people being furious that their favorite features have gone missing.

The S25 Ultra can take two physical nano-SIM cards, but there is support for eSIM, too.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has one of the most premium builds on the market, undeniably. It also offers an impressively secure grip and is comfortable to hold and operate, no matter the task or phone’s orientation. Everything that has been changed design-wise is for the better and we would not change one bit.