There is no question that Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra is the best phone of 2025. It was announced on January 22, 2025, along with the Galaxy S25 and S25+. The new phone comes with a ton of upgrades. You might be wondering if you should get this phone or not.
In this article, we have covered everything we know about the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
| Samsung Galaxy s25 Ultra Specs | |
| Display | A 6.9-inch QHD+ display (120Hz) |
| Price | Starting at $1,299 |
| RAM | 12GB |
| CPU | Galaxy S8 Elite with Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging | 45W |
| Colours | Titanium, Silverblue, Black, Gray and White Silver |
| Weight | 7.69 ounces |
| Dimensions | 6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Front Cameras | 12MP (f/2.2) |
| Rear Cameras | 200 MP main (f/1.7), 50MP telephoto (5x, f/3.4), 10MP telephoto(3x, f/2.4), 50MP Ultra wide (f/1.9) |
| Qi 2.0 | Yes with optional case |
| Video | 4K @120fps, 8K @ 30fps, HDR 10, Log |
Hardware and design of Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung has totally revamped the Galaxy S25 Ultra, giving it a fresh look. Instead of that boxy vibe from before, it’s now all about smooth curves. The corners are rounded, and the edges don’t seem sharp.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra sports a sleeker look with thinner bezels and a narrower frame than last year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. While the dimensions have changed slightly from the S24 Ultra to the S25 Ultra (162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm vs. 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm), the slimmer bezels mean you get more screen. As well, the screen-to-body ratio increased from 88.5% to 91.4%.
With these new updates, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is now the slimmest (8.2mm) and lightest (218 grams) top-tier flagship out there, beating the iPhone 16 Pro Max (8.3mm, 227 grams) and the Pixel 9 Pro XL (8.5mm, 221 grams). Just for comparison, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 8.6mm thickness and weighs 232 grams. Plus, the updated design has even slimmer bezels and camera rings than the iPhone.
It is pretty amazing how well Samsung’s latest flagship design fits the whole “paradigm” thing.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra display
Galaxy S25 Ultra maintains the flat screen we saw in 2024, moving away from the curved screen seen previously. Slim bezels make the screen seem larger. Galaxy S24 Ultra had a 6.8-inch screen, but Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch screen. With a QHD+ resolution (3120 x 1440 pixels), it features a high quality LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel.
It looks like Samsung has not upgraded the updated model to M14 OLED panels. However, it should have fixed some display problems that Galaxy S24 Ultra users complained about. The brightness still sits at 2,600 units, so that is not changing. There might be some tweaks for better color accuracy, but don’t expect brightness boosts.
With an AI image processor, this phone’s custom processor improves picture quality by 40%. Plus, Samsung’s ProScaler technology makes the screen super sharp.
Galaxy S25 Ultra specs and processor
The Galaxy S25 Ultra does not come with an Exynos processor. Instead, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor powers it. The processor is cranked up to 4.47GHz, providing insane performance boosts. Apart from this, there is a version at 4.32GHz, but this one has been overclocked to provide even more power.
It has two prime CPU cores that run fast on the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s octa-core design. Plus, there are a bunch of other cores that run at 3.53GHz, beating Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. With a 1+3+2+2 layout, this chip has one Cortex-X4 core at 3.39GHz, three Cortex-A720 cores at 3.1GHz, two more Cortex-A720 cores at 2.9GHz, and two Cortex-A520 efficiency processors at 2.2GHz.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite does not have any small cores, which some people might find worrying, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with better cooling features. When we compare it to the last model, the official benchmark scores show huge upgrades.
This Galaxy S25 Ultra promises better performance than the iPhone 16 Pro Max with its A18 Pro chipset. The Qualcomm mobile SoC lineup seems to benefit from the custom Oryon CPU cores Qualcomm used in its PC processors. Qualcomm did something amazing this year.
Galaxy S25 Ultra features and software
The Galaxy S25 Ultra rolled out with Samsung’s One UI 7, based on Android 15. They have really mixed things up since One UI 6 dropped on Android 14. You will notice some fresh looks in the Quick Panel, changes to system UI elements, and updated app icons, along with other tweaks. Plus, they have smoothed out the system animations, making everything feel better to use.
In the history of Samsung’s One UI, One UI 7 might just be the biggest update yet. When you combine it with the upgraded processor, it creates an amazing user experience on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Plus, it’s packed with lots of customization options. As Google’s Gemini gets integrated into a lot of stock apps, AI improvements are coming in. Plus, the Generative Edit feature is now processed right on the device instead of in the cloud.
Charging and battery life on the Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra packs 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, plus it has 4.5W reverse wireless charging and an extra 25W wireless charging option. Even with all that, the battery life is pretty much on par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, maybe just a bit better.
Thanks to the improved OLED display, smarter power management, and the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, it should help the battery last longer. The updates in One UI 7 could also help with power saving.
Wired charging is still at 45W (supporting 15V/3A), but it would be great to see it go up to 60W. Also, it is not clear if you can use reverse wireless charging with newer gadgets like the Galaxy Watch 7.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will undoubtedly be among the top smartphones of 2025. This phone is receiving attention from both techies and regular people due to its amazing camera and powerful specs.
As the release date approaches, more hands-on reviews will help us determine if it really works. When it comes to upgrading or getting a new phone in early 2025, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra delivers a top-notch experience that builds on the company’s reputation.