Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in for review

Ivan, 27 January 2025

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is now on pre-order and expected to ship as early as February 4 (February 6 in stores) and we have the phone in for review.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

We've gone on at length on what's new, how its cameras compare to the Galaxy S24 Ultra (part 1, part 2), and what are our initial thoughts.

It's now time to focus on other things - how it feels, how it looks, and what's in the box, let's start with the last one.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in for review

The Galaxy S25 Ultra ships with a USB-C cable and a SIM ejector tool. You'd need to supply your own charging brick, such as the 45W one from Samsung (pictured below).

Unboxing the Galaxy S25 Ultra Unboxing the Galaxy S25 Ultra
Unboxing the Galaxy S25 Ultra

We have the Titanium Silveblue Galaxy S25 Ultra and it's refreshing after the black and grey-ish models we've been getting. It sits slightly lower than its predecessor and is a tad narrower. What's more noticeable is the reduction in weight - it's tangibly lighter.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra (left) and the Galaxy S24 Ultra The Galaxy S25 Ultra (left) and the Galaxy S24 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra (left) and the Galaxy S24 Ultra

Much of the size difference comes from the thinner display bezels. They're not immediately noticeable - you'd need to enter the macro level, but the difference is there.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in for review

The other tangible difference is the new 50MP ultrawide camera - it replaces the 12MP unit of old. You can see the difference in the lenses - the top one on the left is the ultrawide. Sadly, Samsung didn't improve on the 3x zoom, which is ingreasingly outgunned on the smartphone market of 2025 - that may be a key upgrade next year.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in for review

The display is slightly bigger at 6.9-inch but it has the same parameters underneath the new Gorilla Armor 2. The battery is the same size, though the new Snapdragon 8 Elite should affect its endurance. The charging speed is also the same (much to our disappointment). We're off to work now reviewing the Galaxy S25 Ultra!


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Reader comments

On the iPhone, yes. That ignores the terrible Dynamic Island, too. The difference when actually using your whole screen for something is pretty big, ironically

  • Luke
  • 18 hours ago
  • xIj

50% of "graphic design professionals" said 2 days ago that s24u pics are better than s25u ones. So, which 50% shall search for another job?! If we do blind test and put pics from 5 phones, including midrangers.... I'm sure 20% wil...

About your 3rd point, have you been living under a rock? Vivo, oppo and xiaomi have better cameras in their ultra phones than samsung has. 1 inch main sensor, big periscopes, 6000mah batteries.

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