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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Review: The AI Phone That Actually Makes Sense

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra takes last year’s winning formula and layers on faster Snapdragon 8 Elite performance, polished One UI 7 software, and more ambitious Galaxy AI features. It’s an excellent flagship with a gorgeous display, strong cameras and seven years of updates — but it also plays things safer than a $1,299 ‘Ultra’ phone probably should.

DevicePulse Editorial

February 9, 2026

8 min read

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The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra costs $1,299. It looks almost identical to last year's $1,299 Galaxy S24 Ultra. And yet, this might be the most important Android phone of 2025. Not because of what you can see, but because of what you cannot.

Samsung has been promising that AI would change how we use our phones for years now. With the S25 Ultra, that promise finally starts to feel real. The question is whether "starts to feel real" is worth the price of admission.

Device ID: e77512bd-c650-4760-827a-f3f8bad4a834

Design

Familiar, With Purpose Let me be direct: if you put the S25 Ultra next to the S24 Ultra, most people would struggle to tell them apart. The edges are slightly boxier. The bezels are marginally thinner. The screen has grown from 6.8 to 6.9 inches. As tech reviewer MKBHD put it in his review, "It's funny, it looks slightly thicker, but it is actually physically thinner."

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The titanium frame feels solid, the Gorilla Armor 2 glass is genuinely impressive for scratch resistance, and at 218 grams, the phone has a reassuring heft without feeling cumbersome. But none of these changes dramatically alter the user experience. What does matter is durability.

The phone carries IP68 certification for water and dust resistance, and reviewers who have put it through the wringer report surprisingly good resilience.

Mrwhosetheboss noted in his review that after rubbing his wedding ring against the display and even surviving a 1.5 meter drop onto concrete, the damage was far less severe than expected. Samsung has opted for evolution over revolution in design.

That is either comforting or disappointing, depending on what you expected from a phone called "Ultra."

Performance

The Snapdragon Difference The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the real story here, and it delivers. Samsung has finally moved all S25 models globally to Qualcomm silicon, ending the regional lottery where some customers got the superior Snapdragon while others were stuck with Exynos. Benchmark numbers are impressive.

The S25 Ultra scores around 2.2 million on AnTuTu v10, with GeekBench 6 numbers rivaling Apple's A18 Pro. Multi-core performance actually exceeds what Apple offers, though single-core remains slightly behind. But benchmarks are not the full picture. What matters is that the phone feels fast. Animations are crisp. Apps launch instantly.

Even heavy games run without thermal throttling becoming an issue, thanks to a vapor chamber that Samsung claims is 40% larger than the previous generation.

The catch, as MKBHD pointed out, this chip

is also gonna be true about basically every other flagship that comes out in the Android world for the next 10, 11 months.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is excellent, but it is not exclusive to Samsung.

One UI 7

Samsung's Best Software Yet. If you pick the S25 Ultra, it will not be because of the chip. It will be because of Samsung's software. And for the first time in years, that might actually be a compliment.

One UI 7 running on Android 15 represents Samsung's most polished software experience. The design language has evolved. The Settings app finally makes sense. Natural language search actually works, letting you find buried options by describing what you want rather than memorizing Samsung's exact terminology.

The new notification system splits quick controls and notifications into separate panels. Sound familiar? Yes, Apple has done this for years.

Samsung's implementation adds the ability to swipe between panels and customize which side triggers which menu. It is derivative but genuinely useful.

Lock screen customization has been overhauled with more clock styles and widget options than iOS offers.

The photo gallery uses on-device AI to make searching for old photos almost eerily accurate. Type "beach sunset with Sarah" and the phone actually understands what you mean.

Galaxy AI

What Works and What Does Not. This is where the S25 Ultra either justifies its existence or falls flat. Samsung has bet the entire marketing campaign on AI features, and the reality is nuanced.

What actually works

The Object Eraser in the photo app is best-in-class. Need to remove a photobomber or a power line from your vacation shot, The AI handles it cleanly, with better results than Google's similar tool. Circle to Search remains incredibly useful. Draw a circle around anything on your screen and get instant search results.

It is the rare AI feature that feels genuinely integrated rather than bolted on. AI Select offers quick ways to summarize text or create GIFs from video. It is not revolutionary, but it adds friction-free utility.

Gemini integration brings compound task capabilities. Ask it to look up your next meeting and add it to your calendar, and it handles both steps. Most of the time.

What needs work

Daily Briefs are borderline useless. As multiple reviewers noted, the morning summary essentially repeats information already visible on your home screen. Whether you already know. Calendar events you already scheduled. It feels like a feature designed for a demo rather than daily use. Cross-app actions remain half-baked.

The AI understands your request but lacks context awareness. It can add an event to your calendar, but cannot determine which ofthe four available days you meant to attend or what time you prefer.

The Now Bar, Samsung's answer to Apple's Dynamic Island, looks promising but lacks app support. Unless you are deeply invested in specific sports leagues, it rarely shows anything useful.

The elephant in the room

Samsung has confirmed that Galaxy AI features are free until the end of 2025. What happens after? Nobody knows, including, apparently, Samsung. This uncertainty hangs over every AI feature discussion.

How can you recommend a phone based on features that might require a subscription within months?

Camera

Iterative Excellence The 200MP main sensor returns, and the camera system has improved across the board. Ultra-wide shots are noticeably sharper with the new 50MP sensor. Zoom quality has improved. Skin tones look more natural. Shutter lag, Samsung's longtime weakness, has finally been addressed.

Video shooters get Log recording for professional color grading, and the 8K capabilities remain unique in the Android space. But here is the thing: most of these improvements come from software processing and AI enhancements.

The hardware is largely unchanged from the S24 Ultra. Samsung could theoretically bring many of these improvements to previous phones through updates. Whether they will is another question entirely.

The camera is excellent. It is not the best. iPhone captures more consistent images. The Vivo X200 Pro produces better results in many scenarios. The S25 Ultra sits comfortably in the top five, which is simultaneously impressive and disappointing for a $1,299 device.

Battery Life

No Complaints Here The 5000mAh battery combined with the efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers genuinely excellent longevity. Expect to end your day with 30-40% remaining under normal use, with screen-on time approaching 9 hours.

Charging remains 45W wired and 15W wireless. Not class-leading in a world of 100W+ charging, but fast enough for most users. The bigger frustration is what Samsung left out: no silicon carbide battery technology that competitors are adopting, no IP69 rating, no Qi2 magnetic alignment.

The S Pen Controversy

Samsung removed Bluetooth functionality from the S Pen. You can no longer use it as a camera shutter remote or media controller. The company's justification: less than 1% of users ever activated these features. That reasoning misses the point.

The Ultra exists for users who want every feature crammed into a single device. Removing capabilities, however niche, undermines the phone's identity.

As MKBHD observed, "It's supposed to be the phone for cramming in tons of extra features for the small number of people who will actually use them."

For note-taking and drawing, the S Pen remains excellent. But the removal feels like cost-cutting rather than refinement.

Value Proposition

The Real Question Here is the difficult truth: you can buy the Galaxy S24 Ultra today for around $800. It will receive One UI 7. It has the same camera hardware. It offers seven years of software support.