Review: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was released with software updates this year, mostly related to Galaxy AI.

The phone still looks the same as last year’s device so if you’re looking for something “different”, you’re not getting it from the S25 Ultra. The same can be said of other flagships like the iPhone 16 Pro, which hasn’t changed in the last few years.

We’ve reached a stage where smartphones sales are on the decline because people are holding onto devices for longer. But credit to the manufacturers who build phones to last, and include lengthy software support.

Samsung has long offered seven years of Android OS and security updates, but as of this year, there’s a new challenger to that offering: Honor, starting with its Magic7 Pro series, which we will be reviewing soon on Recharged. Back to the S25 Ultra.

Galaxy S25 Ultra Quick Look

• 6.9-inch OLED display(3120×1440)
• Snapdragon 8 Elite Octa-core
• 12GB RAM; 256GB storage
• 200MP+50MP+50MP+10MP camera
• 12MP selfie-camera
• 5000mAh battery
• R30 999

What’s new on the S25 Ultra?

On the hardware front, as expected the S25 Ultra has an upgraded chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, a 0.1 inch larger display that’s now 6.9-inches, which is rather massive.

I was afraid to put it in my bag because of the stuff scratching up against the display. And when reviewing smartphones, we don’t receive a cover or screen protector, if it’s not included in the box. Having such a large surface area in my handbag was risky because screens have gotten scratched before from my keys.

That said, the screen also now features a Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which according to Samsung can withstand drops from heights of up to 2.2m, but of course, this isn’t something I could test.

One of the camera lenses also received an upgrade from 12MP to 50MP ultra-wide lens, and other minor upgrades include a thinner bezel, a larger vapour chamber to manage heat better for intensive tasks, and of course, software/AI updates.

In a nutshell, the updates are incremental.

Updates to Galaxy AI

A lot of the marketing and launch presentation of the S25 series went into showing updated Galaxy AI features. More specifically, what Samsung calls “multimodal AI”, where the AI can read data from multiple sources, and not from a single source, like what we are familiar with. Example, it can process information from text, images, video and audio.

Samsung’s use of multimodal AI then lends itself to performing tasks like asking Google’s Gemini to find all the scheduled matches from the Springboks and add it to your calendar, or to ask it to find a vegan pet-friendly restaurant in a suburb near you and text it to a contact.

Sure, some of these examples were used in the demos, but I tested it myself on my review unit and it worked. Sometimes, it just depends on the phrasing of the words or sequencing, that may yield varied results, so I had to change up the wording to get my desired results.

But, in all honesty, these are features I tested for the purpose of the review, and it’s not how I interact with a smartphone. It’s great to see the capabilities of AI, and how it has advanced over the years, including the tighter integration of Gemini, which can be used as your default AI vs Samsung’s Bixby. But whether it’s practical and something you would use all the time, is another story.

I’m more than happy to test new technologies, it’s inherently my passion and job; it lets me push boundaries in a way, see what limits the technologies have, but then I go back to using my smartphones how I’ve always used them.

I’ve also been using Now Brief, another feature heavily punted by Samsung. But I didn’t seem to get my feed to populate with as much data as Samsung says it supports. I added calendar entries for my upcoming events, etc and I didn’t quite get traffic information or the way iOS works where it suggests what time I should leave home to make it to my next appointment.

I also was not getting news updates, but instead, got it from the Discover feed by swiping inward. I also should add, I don’t use Samsung apps by default, I prefer Google’s suite of apps but I know some AI features are tied to Samsung apps.

S25 Ultra camera updates

Another major reason people upgrade to the phones they do, is of course the camera. People have no issue switching operating systems to get the best camera. And understandably, why the S25 Ultra appeals to the likes of content creators.

There is a new interface where you can get into the settings that’s neat.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra takes good selfies, well better than my iPhone, and I’ve long been a fan of Samsung’s selfies, though I’m not a big selfie taker. The main shooter does a great job in most scenarios and lighting conditions.

However, I wasn’t fully satisfied with foodie pics I took at a restaurant where the light wasn’t bright. I found the food pics to be a bit noisy/grainy, while others insides the restaurant was acceptable.

Other scenarios like indoors with bright lights, or from the window seat on a plane, were great, while “focus enhancer” on macro shots looked unrealistic.

Here’s the AI object eraser results:

I also tried taking zoomed in shots at a conference, and while the photo looks fine, when you zoom in, the clarity is not as I’d like it to be. That said, I tested the zoom because I was testing the phone; I don’t typically like using zoom if it’s not an optical zoom.

I know there’s a lot of computing power going on in the background but I found that the phone heats up when taking photos for at least 3-5 minutes, you definitely notice it starts getting hot.

Samsung also introduced an Audio Eraser feature when taking videos. I tested it with my electric fence outside as it makes a sound when touching trees. It managed to remove that sound, but I could hear birds only faintly in the background, which I didn’t think was a big issue. If you’re using vlogging background music it would be a non-issue.

Overall performance

The S25 Ultra, without a doubt, as Samsung’s flagship, is a beast of a machine. It’s a pleasure to use it because for what I do on the daily, I don’t need ever find it stuttering or lagging. I consume a lot of video and multimedia content, which in itself is intense, but switching between these large apps is seamless. And as I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I kill apps in the background; it’s become a habit now, when I’m not clearing the cache with a widget on the home screen, built into Android.

Samsung’s display is crisp, most notable when watching YouTube videos in the highest resolution available to you. You can see every groove or pimple on someone’s face! But I also found the sound quality sufficient for watching YouTube or TikTok videos. It’s not like I was watching movies on the phone.

I also have a YouTube Premium subscription and found myself using pic-in-pic more often as I can second screen in one device by reading and doing other stuff while my videos are playing.

It’s almost hard to believe (or not) that I wrote so much about my experience with the S25 Ultra without mentioning the stylus. The stylus on the S25 Ultra was given a downgrade with Bluetooth Low Energy being removed because customers don’t use it. I think this was a bad move, rather keep it for the minority that use it.

Subsequently, Samsung took away the gestures and the remote camera shutter functionality this year because they’re not that popular. I almost forgot the Ultra comes with a stylus (a reimagined Note) because I don’t find it a natural interaction with the device. I’m sure there’s still a niche audience who loves it, but it’s not the majority and it’s certainly not me.

Stylus aside, the S25’s battery life is incredible and gave me two full days when I wasn’t pushing it to the max, so on a regular or what some might call an average day. This is a phone you can carry around without worrying about a power bank.

Final thoughts 

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a top of the range, premium Android flagship that ticks all the boxes a power user would want from a phone: ultra-fast processor, great camera, excellent battery life and the most advanced AI software. And it still comes with the 7 year promise of Android OS upgrades and security updates.

I felt let it down by the over heating from using the camera, which is most likely related to the processing that goes on when capturing high resolution photos and videos. And I mostly shot in 12MP.

But, this is a niche phone targeted at a niche audience that does, well, everything. It is too powerful for the average user and requires time to learn all the new features. I’d go as far as to say it is impossible to use every feature to its full potential.

But, it’s there, for the person who wants a beast of a smartphone, at a cost of R30 999. For everyone else, consider the base model Galaxy S25, starting at R20 999.