I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro with the Galaxy S25 Ultra – and it’s good news for Samsung

Samsung’s Massive Unhealthy Galaxy telephone is right here, and it is virtually every thing I anticipated. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, which begins on the identical daring value as final 12 months, $1,299, stays the corporate’s do-everything handset. This premium Android phone is now Samsung’s best phone overall. It has a extra sturdy show, an upgraded digicam lens with some helpful enhancing methods, and the most recent Qualcomm processor preserving issues operating. Oh, and sure, AI is every thing, all over the place, suddenly.

Additionally: I’ve tested every Samsung Galaxy S25 model – and my favorite isn’t the Ultra

Whereas final 12 months’s Galaxy S24 collection ushered in Samsung’s Galaxy AI period, this 12 months feels extra like the corporate cementing itself because the leader in the smartphone space, besting Apple and even Google (for now) on options and capabilities. After all, how ornamental that honor is in the end is dependent upon how invested you’re in utilizing AI.

I’ve spent the final 10 days testing the S25 Extremely and wasn’t too stunned to search out myself each fascinated and bored. In spite of everything, that is now Samsung’s fifth iteration of the S-series Extremely mannequin, and the modifications year-over-year have been modest, to be beneficiant. However when you’re at the moment utilizing a three- to four-year-old handset and contemplating an improve, take this first-hand testimonial to coronary heart. (And when you’re an fanatic, it will matter simply as a lot to you.)

The Galaxy S Extremely has all the time been a big-phone, two-handed affair, and that holds this 12 months. After I first unboxed the S25 Extremely, it felt just like the fanciest calculator ever (and I imply that in a pleasant means), with its spherical edges and tall stature. Coming from the OnePlus 13 I recently reviewed — which, on paper, is comparatively related in measurement — the S25 Extremely had a bolder and extra placing presence.

Thankfully, the system isn’t as top-heavy as I keep in mind earlier fashions being, despite the fact that Samsung encased the 4 rear cameras with thicker rings this time round. Actually, the S25 Extremely is lighter than its predecessor by 16 grams, incomes it the title of the thinnest Galaxy S Extremely ever. It is best to nonetheless go for the slimmer S25 and S25 Plus if that is the shape issue you are after, and you may seemingly hear extra concerning the “thinnification” of phones later this 12 months. Moreover, if small telephones are your fashion, check with our roundup on the best small phones of 2025.

Additionally: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. OnePlus 13: I tested both, and the winner surprised me

The opposite notable design improve with the S25 Extremely is the Corning Gorilla Armor 2 layered over the entrance show. It does not take away from the anti-reflection floor remedy that made headlines on last year’s S24 Ultra, but guarantees improved drop safety and scratch resistance. I consider it. My S24 Extremely final 12 months had quite a few micro scratches after simply days of testing, whereas my S25 Extremely evaluation unit has remained pristine up to now.

Now if solely Samsung might deliver again the glory days of psychedelic Aura Glow finishes, as a result of these S25 Ultra colors are uninspiring. Maybe it is the character of titanium finishes or the cruel actuality that customers usually tend to go for safer colours with black, white, and silver hues than poppy and shiny. Regardless, you will wish to slap on a case to present your S25 Extremely even a contact of persona.

Beneath the hood is a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for Galaxy, which is an overclocked variant of the processor powering competing Android telephones in 2025 just like the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Pro. Probably the most notable good thing about the chipset comes within the type of AI experiences — particularly, a 40% enhance in NPU efficiency in comparison with final 12 months’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Additionally: The Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen is losing its Bluetooth superpowers – and Samsung won’t fix it

In layman’s phrases, on-device AI options ought to take up much less bandwidth and energy to function whereas additionally functioning rapidly. I noticed the ends in particular person, placebo impact or not, as my S25 Extremely can swiftly take away topics (together with their shadows) from the background of images by way of Generative Edit and pull up Gemini search ends in a matter of seconds. I ran a few response exams with the iPhone 16 Pro (operating Siri and ChatGPT) and Google Pixel 9 Pro (operating Gemini), and the Galaxy S25 Extremely was the clear front-runner.

It’s also possible to chalk up the efficiency to the improved Gemini app, which might now be fired up with a protracted press of the ability button. Beforehand, Samsung telephones had been restricted to Bixby — or Google Assistant, when you made some sketchy, backend modifications — so this modification is a breath of contemporary air. It makes transitioning from another Android telephone that makes use of Gemini because the default assistant rather more burdenless.

Talking of which, the brand new Gemini-Bixby hybrid AI agent, as Samsung confusingly places it, can deal with natural-sounding, conversational chains of actions, comparable to trying up the upcoming schedule of your favourite sports activities group and including the date(s) to your calendar. Whereas the agent-like functionality primarily works throughout Google and Samsung apps, some third-party companies like Spotify are supported, too.

Additionally: I may finally ditch my Google Pixel for a Samsung Galaxy phone in 2025. Here’s why

The necessary factor is figuring out the best way to phrase your instructions. For instance, once I requested the AI agent to create a Spotify playlist for highway journeys and ship it to my spouse, it responded that it was unable to take action. When, as an alternative, I requested it to discover songs that had been good for highway journeys, it curated the listing and drafted a modifiable textual content message. My AI recommendation: if a immediate does not work, try to attempt once more.

Contemplating final 12 months’s S24 collection launched Google’s Circle to Search characteristic, and this 12 months’s S25 collection is doing the identical for the improved Gemini-Bixby expertise, it would not be farfetched to say that Samsung, not Google, makes the most effective AI telephone in the marketplace proper now. 

Another new Galaxy AI instruments like AI Choose and Now Temporary solely reinforce that assertion, with the previous being an adaptive, context-aware display choice software, and the latter providing you with every day summaries of the climate, calendar occasions, and information. 

Additionally: These useful One UI 7 features are coming to the Galaxy S25 series – and older models too

I simply want Now Temporary confirmed me extra than simply political information; even with my subject preferences inside my Samsung Information app set to expertise and sports activities, the app nonetheless handled my weekend mornings with the generic “Uplifting Morning Prep” Spotify playlist and newest scoop on the US president signing govt orders.

One of many key causes to purchase a Galaxy Extremely telephone continues to be the digicam, although Samsung hasn’t improved the specs a lot this 12 months — at the very least on paper. The one {hardware} change is the 50-megapixel ultrawide lens (up from 12MP), which, from my preliminary photographs, yields better element and vividness, particularly when capturing macro images. The remainder of the lenses, such because the 200MP vast, 50MP 5x telephoto, and 10MP 3x telephoto, are similar to final 12 months’s S24 Extremely.

Additionally: The best camera phones of 2025: Over 1,000 photos and videos taken by experts

There is a larger concentrate on the software program aspect of issues, with Samsung introducing useful photograph and video options like 10-bit HDR video recording by default to seize a wider dynamic vary, a brand new Audio Eraser characteristic that permits you to modify the volumes of assorted frequencies (categorized as audio topics like voices, wind, and noises), and the power to file in Galaxy Log mode. 

The latter characteristic permits you to higher spot overexposed areas and modify the dynamic vary as you are recording movies, whereas additionally making use of LUTs in put up for higher colour and lightweight management. I will be testing the capturing mode extra within the coming days.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

My first 10 days of testing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra confirms a number of issues for me. Whereas most points of the telephone, comparable to the colourful, glare-free show and flexibility throughout the cameras and AI options, are simple to understand, the upgrades this 12 months really feel iterative and secure. 

In methods, Samsung has even taken just a few steps again, with the S Pen stylus not supporting Bluetooth controls and gestures, and the corporate choosing Qi2-ready cases as an alternative of embedding the precise expertise inside its telephones. Samsung might purpose the absence of magnets with added weight and bulk, nevertheless it’s inexcusable when Apple continues to make the iPhone slimmer whereas providing related performance.

Additionally: The best Google Pixels of 2025

It is comprehensible that early adopters and tech lovers may really feel underwhelmed by the S25 Extremely. However once I think about shoppers who’re coming from an S21 collection, Pixel 6 or 7, and even an older iPhone, Samsung’s new flagship handset checks virtually each field you may consider. And chances are you’ll even rating a generous trade-in deal by means of your native service or retailer.