Samsung unveiledits latest top-of-the-line flagship smartphone, the S25 Ultra, at a Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22. The phone serves as the most premium of Samsung’s candy bar-style lineup, sitting directly above the standard S25 and its larger S25+ sibling.
The South Korean tech giant alsoteased the existence ofa super-slim S25 Edge model at this same keynote, but it’s clear that the S25 Ultra is meant to be the most large-and-in-charge of the new product family.
Unfortunately, post-launch, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed by the S25 Ultra – as a hardware refresh, the handsetleaves something to be desired. Here are the reasons why I feel that, overall, the S25 Ultra isn’t a worthwhile upgrade over last year’sS24 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The highest-end variant of Samsung’s flagship smartphone lineup for 2025, the S25 Ultra ships with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a massive 6.9-inch display, and a quad camera setup.
Despite minimal upgrades, the Galaxy S25 Ultra pushes impressive pre-order numbers
Early South Korean sales figures point to a massive preference for Samsung’s highest-end Galaxy S25 Ultra model.
1The Galaxy S25 Ultra lacks ambition in the specs department
Samsung hasn’t endowed its latest flagship with cutting edge components
In some regards, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a tech powerhouse. The phone is one of the first to ship with theQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Eliteprocessor, and it one-ups the competition with its bespoke ‘for Galaxy’ edition chip tuning. The S25 Ultra also comes withCorning Gorilla Armor 2, which offers anti-reflective properties not found on any other mainstream handset on the market.
However, for a commanding price of $1,300, I expect more from Samsung. In no particular order, here are some of the most glaring Galaxy S25 Ultra hardware omissions:
If the S25 Ultra were missing one or two of these features found in other high-end smartphones, it wouldn’t be the biggest deal in the world. However, Samsung appears to be stagnating on multiple fronts, which is disappointing for a company so dominant within the industry.
Galaxy S25 Ultra’s Now Brief has glaring issues but holds potential
Now Brief was one of the features that caught our eye when the new Galaxy S25 series was unveiled, but testing the feature ourselves pointed to some noticeable issues.
2Samsung has walked back the Ultra’s unique hardware identity
The S25 Ultra’s chassis is a prime example of smartphone homogenization
With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung has dialed back the distinctive design language of its flagship phone model. Whereas the S24 Ultra was engineered with sharp, domineering corners, the S25 Ultra opts for a softer and more muted footprint.
With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung has dialed back the distinctive design language of its flagship phone model.
The S25 Ultra’s less angular proportions are arguably more suitable for in-hand use. That being said, I can’t help but feel disappointed in Samsung’s decision to walk away from the design considerations that made its earlier handsets so unique from a physical standpoint.
Worse still is the rear camera module situation – in an effort to differentiate the S25 Ultra from its predecessor, Samsung has stapled tacky rings onto each individual sensor, which is an aesthetic downgrade in my opinion.
The fact that these camera rings can be detached from the S25 Ultra’s chassis doesn’t bother me quite so much, but it certainly is amusing. Here’s hoping that Samsung sticks exclusivelyto wearable ringsin the future, rather than gluing them onto its handsets.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen features an unexpected downgrade
Samsung has removed Bluetooth from the Galaxy S25’s stylus, which means it no longer supports Air Actions.
3The Ultra’s iconic S Pen stylus has been neutered
The lack of Bluetooth in this year’s S Pen is a demonstrable year-on-year downgrade
Believe it or not, Samsunghas actually removed a featurewith this year’s S25 Ultra: the included S Pen stylus no longer comes with built-in Bluetooth support.
The S Pen, which harkens back to the days of the Galaxy Note line, has included Bluetooth since the release of theNote 9 in 2018. The addition of this tech allows the stylus to be used as a remote control shutter button, as well as a makeshift wand for variousAir Actions.
…it’s never a great sign when a company cuts costs by removing previously available hardware features.
It can be argued that the addition of Bluetooth within the S Pen experience is a superfluous one, with somewhat dubious utility. Nevertheless, it’s never a great sign when a company cuts costs by removing previously available hardware features.
The Galaxy S25 series is still missing this one charging feature
The Galaxy S25 series technically supports Qi2 charging – but there is a catch.
4The Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t live in a vacuum
The OnePlus 13, the Pixel 9 Pro, and many others are all vying for flagship Android supremacy
Even with all these complaints in mind, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is an excellent and well-refined smartphone. Its titanium frame is high-end, its chipset is best-in-class, and its display is amazingly anti-reflective.
However, Samsung isn’t shipping its latest Ultra handset in a vacuum. In the world of flagship Android smartphones, survival of the fittest is the name of the game. The recently releasedOnePlus 13offers a complete hardware package, while undercutting the Ultra by a whopping $400. Google, meanwhile,continues to climb the hardware ranks, with itsPixel 9series growing in popularity.
In the world of flagship Android smartphones, survival of the fittest is the name of the game.
Early sales figures for the Galaxy S25 Ultrapoint to a successful launch, but the company will have to do more next year if it wants to continue to justify its yearly Ultra hype cycle.
Samsung officially teases its much-hyped Galaxy S25 Slim edition
After months of hype surrounding a possible Galaxy S25 Slim model, Samsung has officially teased the S25 Edge.
