Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review (early verdict): King Android the Great

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is now official – and very likely the best Android phone you'll get your hands on this year. Prior to its reveal at Samsung's first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, I was able to test out the phone at a pre-briefing session for this early first impressions review – with my full verdict to follow next week, as I'll then be a working week into using the device as my own.

I've been a long-time fan of Samsung's Galaxy flagships, having used the handsets for more than a decade now (among many, many other phones for comparison and as part of my role). The Galaxy's most recent predecessor, the S24 Ultra, was so impressive that it has long sat atop the best phones guide – and even won T3's Phone of the Year Award accolade. So is the Samsung Galaxy S25 destined for similar greatness – or is it too much of a marginal update?

This year Samsung has gone all-in on artificial intelligence, with AI embedded throughout the operating system to personalise and simplify your experience, with Google Gemini (Bixby has largely taken a backseat) on hand for conversational voice commands and control. But it's not all software: the S25 Ultra is clearly an exercise in refinement, with subtle yet stellar design tweaks to deliver greater comfort, an even larger display in a technically smaller footprint, plus further camera improvements.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price & Availability

Impressively, despite economic conditions, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will cost the same as the equivalent S24 Ultra did upon launch last year. That's a £1,249 / $/1,199 / AU$1,949 asking price for the 256GB storage model.

Get your pre-orders in up to and including the 6 February and those direct with Samsung will bag you double the storage for free. That'll mean 512GB on board at no extra cost – or spend more and nab the 1TB model for a tasty discount ahead of the 7 February on-sale date.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: What's New?

• One UI 7 brings personalised AI into whole operating system
• Wide-angle camera upgraded to 50-megapixel (from 12MP)
• Larger 6.9-inch display, owed to 15% bezel reduction
• Thinner (8.2mm thick) and lighter (218g) build

I'll admit that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is, in many ways, like its predecessor – but it does also present plenty of positive differences too. The most obvious at first glance is the newer handset's rounded corners – the S24 was much 'squarer' with more right-angled corners, that were less comfortable to hold and handle.

The S25 Ultra manages to squeeze in a marginally larger screen – it's 6.9-inch rather than the 6.8-inch of its predecessor – owed to shrinking the bezels by 15% around every edge of the device generation on generation. That helps to give the new handset a very symmetrical look with maximum focus on the screen itself. Not that the screen is any brighter or higher resolution for this generation.

Despite that minor rise in screen scale, the S25 Ultra is actually a tiny bit smaller than its predecessor. I don't think anyone will notice, realistically, but it's 15g lighter (owed to those trimmed corners, no doubt) and a scalpel's thickness less deep (yep, 0.4mm!). If anything it's the 'rolled' edges that make the grip and reach when using the device prevent it from feeling too super-massive.

While the camera system certainly isn't a full remaster – it's the same as before, but the wide-angle finally ups its game from 12-megapixels to 50MP – the four-lens rear arrangement caters of 0.6x to 5x optical zoom in a strong manner, while further AI feature improvements, such as Generative Edit, promise even better results. Helped along in part by the processor upgrade – now Snapdragon 8 Elite 'for Galaxy', tuned in collaboration with Qualcomm for Samsung specifcially.

A lot of the S25 Ultra's boost is dependent on new software look and feel and, of course, functionality – with One UI 7's full release promising Personalised AI, with a Personal Data Engine that will learn user habits through context patterns and preferences which are key to you specifically. Samsung's Post-Quantum Enhanced Data Security doubles-down on its Knox promise for secure data in the cloud, as needed, as well as on-device.

I should also mention the embedded S Pen stylus that's part of the S25 Ultra – and only the Ultra. It's a great tool for those who enjoy using a pen-like addition for their workflow, but I shan't focus on it in this preview as there's certainly nothing new about it for this generation. For some people, however, it's a defining reason to buy this phone, so just to make clear it's still present and correct and every bit as good as before.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design & Display

• Titanium finish: Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Grey, Titanium Black
• Flat 6.9-inch AMOLED panel, 2600 nits peak brightness
• QHD+ resolution, 1-120Hz refresh rate
• IP68 water/dust resistance

It was the previous Galaxy S24 Ultra that introduced the brand's Titanium finish, with colourways to suit, and the S25 continues that trend. There are no outlandish colours either, far as I can tell, with the silver-blue, silver, silver-grey and black all rather sensible. However, there are Titanium Pink Gold and Titanium Jade Green options direct from Samsung's store, which I'm certainly curious to look at. The model in my photographs here is the Titanium White Silver.

Visually, as I've said before, I feel that the style of the S25 pays respect to the now iconic look of this series. Sure, it cuts a very similar figure to its predecessor – especially considering the same-look camera arrangement – but still looks very contemporary. And I much prefer this camera layout to the 'giant circle' that many Chinese makers are opting for at present. Although I do still dislike the 'desk wobble' experienced by the S25 owed to the camera alignment – meaning it rocks about on surfaces when laid on its back.

The display, at 6.9-inches across its diagonal, is largely similar to its predecessor. It's an OLED panel capable of a maximum peak output of 2600 nits and 1-120Hz refresh variation across its QHD+ resolution (believed to be 1440 x 3120 pixels, as before, just arranged across a marginally larger panel). Samsung is also really pushing its new ProScaler technology, as promoted by the new Qualcomm chip's abilities, to upscale content – meaning you can use a lower resolution output by default to save battery life without really knowing the difference.

In addition to the tough Titanium finish, the S25 Ultra is also coated in Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2, which is said to be 29% "more durable" than its first-gen version, while a "next-gen DX anti-glare surface" further reduces reflections. Not that I've tried to bash this poor new handset to pieces yet – but it's always reassuring to have anti-dent, anti-scratch, anti-shatter and basically anti-everything protections in place.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Performance & Battery

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 12GB RAM
• 5,000mAh battery, 45W charging (15W wireless)
• Vapour Chamber is 40% larger year-on-year

Straight off the bat I can confirm that Samsung is using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite processor right across the board of its S25 devices, including the Ultra – and that's internationally, so there won't be any Exynos variations anywhere around the globe. The processor is an overclocked 'for Galaxy' version, though, so it's even more powerful than the stock off-the-shelf version going into other competitor devices. To further enhance that, the vapour chamber used for cooling is 40% larger than its predecessor – enabling a greater power push for longer.

This processor was made with AI at the forefront, so it should not only be more powerful but better at predicting and allocating resources for extending battery life. Which is good to know, as the S25 Ultra's battery remains the same 5,000mAh cell as its predecessor – even going back two generations. So there's no change there, with even the same USB-C charging at 45W – easily surpassed by many others now.

A big part of the experience is the integrated AI experiences. Circle to Search and AI Select have both been improved, as has conversational search – with Gemini integrated for easy press-and-hold of the side button to ask for on-device or search-based queries to be resolved. There's also Cross App Action which can use your permitted data across Samsung and Google apps (and some third-party ones, to be announced) to deliver personalised results and save you time. For example, say “find me a nearby vegetarian restaurant that’s highly rated and Mum will like”, and those components will pool contact information, location information, directions, booking possibilities and other useful, context-based and time-saving actions.

Beyond this, however, it's the Now Brief and Now Bar that are the two biggest Samsung-specific operating system additions. The former gives you a morning brief about your day – again, context-aware with cross-app information delivering personal results – and if, say, there's a train cancellation it'll let you know you need to leave earlier to make your first meeting, for example. The latter are cards which appear on the Lock Screen, providing real-time personalised prompts – whether sports results of your favourite teams or quick-glance directions for your next stop.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Cameras

• Main (24mm): 200-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture, 1/1.3in sensor size, optical stabilisation (OIS)
• Zoom (5x, 120mm): 50MP, f/3.4, 1/1.56in, OIS
• Zoom (3x, 70mm): 10MP, f/2.4, 1/3.52in, OIS
• Wide (13mm): 50MP, f/2.0, 1/1.57in

While the S25 Ultra's rear may look nigh-on identical to its predecessor's, certainly where the camera units are concerned, it's what's within that arrangement of lenses that's been upgraded. Well, in part. Samsung has finally boosted the wide-angle camera, raising its resolution from 12-megapixel to 50MP. That's been a long time coming – and means better macro photography use-cases too.

Otherwise the other optics remain the same, marrying a 5x optical zoom (also at 50MP) with an ultra-resolution 200MP main and an in-between 3x optical zoom at 10MP. It's that small camera addition that I'm slightly questioning the worth of now, however, as this could have been boosted too – and with Samsung having dropped the longer-reaching 10x zoom of the earlier S23 Ultra model, that step-between lens, in my mind, has less requirement to be here.

It's generally good news, though, with Samsung continuing to offer a broad scope of wide-angle through to long-distance capture, with camera versatility and consistency at the fore. As are the various Galaxy AI features, too, which I've experimented with on some shot-in-situ testers – the Generative Edit seemed to do a better job of object removal from shots than I've seen before, so I'm impressed. Knock, knock, Google, looks like Samsung is ramping up its computational AI photography status.

When I obtain an S25 Ultra for full review I'll be using it as my own device, day-in and day-out, so I'll be taking all manner of photographs in all conditions to see whether Samsung still stands up in the now even more competitive world of Android phone photography. With the likes of Xiaomi and Vivo, among others, really pushing what's on offer, some of those not-as-popular brands are really beginning to add stress on the more established brands.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review: Initial Impressions

Now I've tested out the Samsung Galaxy S25, I'm already besotted with this new Android flagship ahead of its 7 February launch date. Sure, it's largely similar to the S24 before it – but given that was T3's best premium phone of last year, and this one only improves on it from a design and software perspective, it's win upon win.

It's certainly still a pricey bit of kit, which is why I'm pleased there's been no year-on-year increase to the asking price – otherwise I might be more critical of the fairly subtle updates. Some of which, such as the personalised AI, I need to truly live with the device to get a genuine impression of how much they improve the day-to-day experience.

With its iconic looks, further camera improvement, integrated S Pen stylus for control like nothing else on the market, and a display that ekes even more out of a device at this scale, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra looks to be one of the star phones of 2025. Indeed, as the successor to last year's king, this model polishes its crown with even more eye-catching sheen...

Also consider

Year on year we see great Samsung updates, but that doesn't mean the previous S24 Ultra is to be overlooked – especially with a now much lower price to be had in deals. It's a very similar size and build, with almost as much power and ability, but with savings to be had – which might make it the better bet for you.

If the S Pen stylus isn't to your fancy then Google's top-end flagship, the Pixel 9 Pro XL, has a lot to shout about – especially when it comes to computational photography features. It's priced around the same, though, so may come down to design preference as to which floats your boat the most.