A quick takeaway from our first impression; the difference between Samsung Galaxy S25 series and the S24 series is that the S25 series has upgrades in the software and AI department. Meanwhile, the hardware and design of both series are almost identical.
So are internal upgrades interesting enough to make the flagship Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra the best outstanding smartphone of 2025?
Well, not exactly. If anything, the latest Galaxy AI features will actually be in older models late this 2025. As for everything else, we see Samsung keeping it safe with the S25 series' already-popular design.
Needless to say, at a glance the Galaxy S25 series is plain in updates. But, that doesn't mean you should skip it. In fact, it still has plenty of software upgrades to like, especially for users with older phone models.
Editor
Jodee Tan chevron_right
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Specifications
- Display: 6.7 inches, Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak), 1440 x 3120 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, octa-core
- RAM: 12GB
- Storage: 256GB / 512GB
- Rear Cameras: Triple camera setup (50mp wide, 12mp ultrawide, 10mp telephoto).
- Front Camera: 12MP.
- Battery: 4,900mAh with 45W wired and 15W wireless charging.
- Operating System: Android 15, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 7
- Dimensions: 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm
- Weight: 190g
Display and Body Hardware
Design
Compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 Ultra sports a similar look, but now with a slimmer body, curvier edge and different camera placement this time. It comes in 4 main colours: Silverblue, Gray, Whitesilver and Black, with 3 exclusive online colours: Pinkgold, Jadegreen and Jetblack.
Also, lacking in the Galaxy S25 and S25+, the Ultra variant is the only one in the series to utilise a titanium chassis, offering better durability with a touch of premium.
Screen
The phone also uses a Gorilla Armour 2 on front for extended protection to the screen. To add, the Galaxy S25 Ultra retains the same 6.9-inch size screen as its predecessor, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra maintaining bezels as slim as on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, hence watching videos on here is very satisfying.
Additional S Pen
A thing to note is that the the Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen does not have bluetooth/wireless features, so you can’t do special gestures for quick accessibility of its apps. Samsung has shared that in their consumer statistics, the S Pen's wireless features were hardly utilised. Still, this is a small downgrade in our eyes and that it minimises the unique factor to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Camera and Battery
Photography & Videography
As mentioned before in our first impression, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a tri-camera setup of 50MP Ultra Wide + 200MP Wide + 50MP telephoto lenses. This setup is a small boost in producing clearer landscape photos compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 12MP ultra-wide lens. Also, the front camera is the same at 12MP.
In terms of photos, results are well lit with lots of details, a natural colour tone and good separation between subjects and backgrounds. Photos also look good with a dynamic range that looks realistic as if taken on a lens reflex camera.
But the biggest improvement to the photography system were the generative AI aspects in editing photos. Samsung has said that this generation provides more realistic and accurate results. You also get to enjoy interesting generative AI features like "Best Face" and "Photo Assist".
There are also enhanced videography features such as 4K 10-bit Video Log, Audio Eraser and ProVisual Engine to handle removal of noise, contributing to clearer visuals overall in low light conditions. In short, the Audio Eraser works really well with natural results to expect. However, the quality for 10-bit Video Log fell short of what we were expecting.
Watch a video here to see our more in-depth photography and videography review on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Battery
Like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery capacity and supports both reverse wireless charging as well as Qi2 wireless charging. It also fast charges at 45W like the Galaxy S24 Ultra. You'd be able to charge the from 30% to 100% in just an hour.
While on paper the phones sports the same battery capacity, others have benchmarked it to be higher than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is a win. According to the phone's battery management, the phone with minimal usage on a full 100% bar will net you about 4 days worth of battery life.
Also, the Galaxy S25 Ultra now has magnetic charging much like Apple's trademarked MagSafe. Those interested for the magnetic features can look for covers from official third party Samsung accessories brands such as Spigen.
OS, Processor and Galaxy AI
For OS, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series will run on the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 software. Together with the Snapdragon Elite 8 chip optimised for Galaxy, are designed to provide enhanced, more realistic and accurate generative AI results. Besides that, the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with a starting 12GB RAM, and now comes with up to 1TB ROM for memory storage.
When it comes to Galaxy AI, Samsung shared that the Galaxy S25 series will have a much more personalised user experience, such as curating personalised schedules and reminders for you (Now Bar), look up searches quickly with Circle to Search (replacing AI Select) and even seamless AI actions working together across different apps. This means if you're looking up, say Google Maps, the AI can work with apps like Whatsapp to carry out your next action.
Note that Samsung says One UI 6.1 software update is required to use any Galaxy AI features. Availability of the latest AI software for Samsung in older devices will vary with the earliest ETA in late 2025.
Biggest takeaway: What we love about the Galaxy S25 series is the very clean and well-optimised One UI 7. You can choose to optimise widget placements better, and have a more straightforward experience with software accessibility. Compared to the One UI 6, settings and notification windows/bar are now activated differently, with settings activated from a top right-corner pull of the screen while notifications show when you pull down from top of the screen.
With the Snapdragon Elite 8 chip for Galaxy, it performed very well for most entertainment tasks including gaming, enjoyable especially with the smooth 120Hz frame rates. Another change to the Galaxy S25 Ultra here was that Samsung employed a larger vapour chamber to dissipate heat and control thermal aspects better than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Moreover, mentioned before for photography and videography, we found AI results to be especially more natural and accurate than previous Galaxy S models.
Who is this for?
Priced from RM5,999, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra remains a pricey but safe flagship to have, especially if you love the clean Samsung Galaxy UI and the great cameras, or its signature classic premium design. Oh and it's perfect to upgrade to if you have a phone older than 4 years. Plus it has a unique, improved Snapdragon Elite 8 chipset for Galaxy which provides better optimum operation of AI.
Although on paper, the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra seems to be the same, but there are minor improvements in terms of AI, photography and battery results. If you find yourself wanting to save extra RM700, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is pefectly good to go with. Otherwise, opt for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to enjoy another year of software and security updates.
Pros:
- Natural and high-quality camera results
- Realitic generative AI results
- Extended duration for software and operating system support (7 years)
- Elegant and timeless phone design
- Straightforward UI (easier and more straightforward to navigate)
Cons:
- Innovative hardware upgrades are lacking compared to competitors
- More expensive than competitors
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