Summary
- The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and a larger 6.9-inch display with thinner bezels.
- Not much else has changed compared to the S24 Ultra, but it does have an upgraded 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera.
- One UI 7 on the S25 series features new Galaxy AI features and Gemini integration.
At its recent Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 series, including the S25, S25+, and its premium flagship device, the S25 Ultra.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra closely resembles last year’s S24 Ultra, but there are a few key differences. Most notably, the phone’s design now features more rounded corners and a larger 6.9-inch display with thinner bezels reminiscent of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Under the hood, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Samsung collaborated with Qualcomm to enhance the chip’s performance and efficiency exclusively for the S25 series.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at $1,300 and is available for pre-order today, though it launches on February 7, 2025. It’s available in four colorways: titanium black, titanium grey, titanium whitesilver, and titanium silverblue. You can check out the full specifications below.
Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung’s latest high-end flagship smartphone. It has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, an upgraded 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and new Galaxy AI features.
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The Galaxy S25 series is very similar to the S24 – unless you’re into AI
As far as smartphone updates go, Samsung’s Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra are incredibly incremental.
The S25 Ultra gets a single camera upgrade
It also features enhanced Corning Gorilla Glass Armor
The Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, an upgrade from the S24 Ultra’s 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. This should improve the phone’s ability to take large landscape shots. The S25 Ultra’s three other cameras remain the same as last year: a 200-megapixel wide lens, a 10-megapixel lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel shooter capable of 5x optical zoom.
The S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, supports 45W fast charging, and has 12GB of RAM. Like in years past, the phone has three storage capacity models: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The S25 Ultra also features stronger Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2 with enhanced durability and scratch protection.
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AI is a central theme for the S25 series
Gemini is now integrated on the phones along with new Galaxy AI abilities
Samsung is marketing the S25 series as a “true AI companion” thanks to its One UI 7 update. By pressing and holding the phone’s side button, you can activate Google Gemini to perform tasks across Samsung and Google apps. For example, you can ask it to find a nearby restaurant and text the details to your friend.
The phone can also interact with third-party apps like Spotify and WhatsApp.
The South Korean tech giant is also touting its new Galaxy AI features, like Now Brief, which gives you a morning and evening brief of your day, featuring a summary of your sleep conditions, the weather forecast, calendar events, and news highlights.
Based on my hands-on experience in San Jose, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is undoubtedly a beautiful-looking and snappy smartphone. But if you have an S24 Ultra, there’s little here to entice an upgrade. However, if you have an S22 or S23 Ultra, it may be worth considering an upgrade to the S25 Ultra for its upgraded camera and chipset.
The Galaxy S25 series is available for pre-order now and launches on February 7.
