Today at ITC, we are reviewing a smartphone from Samsung’s flagship lineup — Galaxy S25 Ultra. We’re going to look at the performance of the new Snapdragon Elite, touch on AI, and evaluate the camera capabilities. Of course, we’ll take the «guy to beat» — iPhone 15. Interested? Let’s go!
Content
| Display | 6.9 inches 19.5:9, 3120×1440 pixels. 498 ppi, LTPO AMOLED 2X, HDR10+, 120 Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite, 8-core (2×6) |
| Graphics adapter | Adreno 830 |
| Memory | 12/256, 12/512 GB, 12/1 TB, UFS 4.0 |
| Main camera | 200 megapixels, wide-angle, ƒ/1.7, OIS 10 megapixels, telephoto, ƒ/2.4, OIS 50 megapixel, periscopic, ƒ/3.4, OIS 50 megapixel, ultra-wide-angle, ƒ/1.9 |
| Front camera | 12 megapixels, 4K/60 fps |
| Modules and systems | 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC, aGPS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| OS | Android 15 / One UI 7 |
| Protection | YES, IP68 |
| Battery | 5000 mAh, 45W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, 4.5W reverse charging |
| Body | Front and back Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass, titanium sidewalls |
| Dimensions | 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm |
| Weight | 218 grams |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra comes in a small, thin black box.
Inside we find the hero of our review, documentation, a clip for the SIM card tray and a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable. You’ll have to buy the power supply, case, and screen protector separately, because none of this is included.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, although similar to its predecessor, differs in design elements. In the previous generation, the ends had a small, rounded shape. This time, the edges are completely flat. Because of this, the smartphone now fits more «into the palms of your hands, and some people may not like it. The solution is simple — choose and buy a case of the shape you need.
Another design feature of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the massive rings around each of the cameras. Thanks to them, the cameras seem much larger and thus add weight to themselves. At least visually. When you buy this smartphone, people will see that you do not have the previous generation or some mid-budget smartphone, but a new flagship — Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The display takes up almost the entire front of the smartphone. The bezels are small, and the front camera is located at the top of the screen with a 12-megapixel sensor. The display is protected from scratches by Corning Gorilla Armor 2. I haven’t tried to scratch it personally, it should be reliable. For those who are worried about the display, it is better to buy a protective film or glass.
On the back are five main camera modules and the Samsung logo. The main body is protected from scratches by Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass.
On the right side is the lock button and volume keys. There is nothing on the left side. On the top we see two microphones, and on the bottom there is another microphone, a speaker, a SIM card slot and a USB Type-C port.
As is now popular for flagship models, the smartphone’s bezels are made of titanium alloy. Not pure titanium, but an alloy. For those who have experienced and know that titanium dissipates heat worse than aluminum, I say — let’s see in trotting tests.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is not small by nature. The 6.9-inch display requires large dimensions for this class of device. The dimensions of the smartphone are 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm, and it weighs 218 grams.
Unfortunately, the ergonomics still suffer from the completely flat edges of the case. I can’t say that this is a big deal, but some people will definitely not like it. You just need to hold it more firmly in your hand. Most flagships now have this shape.
The glossy surface of both sides quickly collects traces of use. It’s good when these traces are not visible after wiping. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has IP68 protection. Accidental drops or short-term exposure to water should not cause any problems.
The color version of Titanium Silver-Blue is presented in the review. There is also Titanium Gray, Titanium Silver-White and Titanium Black. As for me, there is no clear favorite. All colors are worthy of attention.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is equipped with a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with LTPO support. The screen resolution is 3120×1440 pixels and the maximum brightness is 2600 nits. The display also has an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz.
The display supports the Always-On Display mode, which allows you to see the date and time, notification icons in the locked mode. The peculiarity is that in this mode, the image will repeat with the image on the locked screen. This is noticeably different from «normal dark» Always-On Display (enabled in the settings), but I had a problem with perception — I couldn’t understand why I was seeing the same image twice. In general, I don’t really need this feature, but I won’t speak for everyone.
The screen stands out for its rich colors and high detail. The display does not fade at different angles. In the settings you can change the color temperature, adjust the refresh rate for the entire system (automatic, 60 Hz, 120 Hz)
The smartphone has an under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which is located in the middle, between the bottom edge and the middle of the display. This is convenient because it allows you not to change your grip after taking the smartphone in your hands. I had no problems with its operation.
I tried to simulate another layer using a regular file — my finger was completely unrecognizable. Increasing the «Sensitivity» parameter in the settings did not help. I had to stick a film on the scanner to check it completely. The result is that the scanner works. Therefore, before buying a protective film or glass, ask about its thickness.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra supports stereo sound, which is realized through the main and earpiece speakers. The sound is loud and clear, nothing buzzes even at 100%. There were no problems with the sound during a phone call.
Bass and volume are quite noticeable, but detail and clarity are more important here, and they are at a good level. There is support for Dolby Atmos on both speakers. I didn’t hear much difference between the modes (Movie, Music or Voice). At 50% volume, the maximum volume was 79 decibels, and at maximum volume — 89 decibels. You will definitely hear an incoming call.
The vibration response performs its function properly. The basic average value did not seem strong enough to me, so I set it to the maximum. The smartphone is not small, so the vibration response should be good.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has four cameras. The main sensor is 200 megapixels (ƒ/1.7; 1/1.3″ sensor size) with optical stabilization and autofocus. The second module is an ultrawide-angle 50-megapixel shooter with a 120-degree viewing angle and ƒ/1.9 aperture. The third module is a 10-megapixel telephoto module (ƒ/2.4) with 3x optical zoom and optical stabilization. And the fourth is a 50-megapixel periscopic module (ƒ/3.4) with 5x optical zoom and optical stabilization.
Here are examples of photos of different objects on the same day. There will be photos in the modes of 0.6x, 1x, 5x (all three in 50 megapixels) and 200 megapixels (main camera). You can see the original photos at the link. Of course, you can take pictures in 12 megapixels, but it’s not very impressive for a flagship. The 10-megapixel telephoto module also works in this mode, but you need to manually swipe up to 3x. Also, the switching depends on the focus: if you close the telephoto module, the application turns on the main 200 megapixel camera with a digital 3x zoom.
I have no questions about the detail of the photo in the daytime. The snow has already begun to melt, so the grass and bushes are easier to find. You can see that they are still too green.
I’ll give an example of photos at night and compare it with the iPhone 15 (photo without watermark) and the result of the latter is still decent. But the iPhone 15 doesn’t have a single telephoto module, so if you want better photos with distant objects — then take a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Unlike the iPhone 15, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra supports RAW shooting. To do this, just download the Expert RAW app. You won’t need to search for it anywhere, because the Camera app will offer you to download it.
Video recording is supported at 8K/30 and 4K/60fps. You don’t have to worry about video during the day or night.
Some may think that 12 megapixels sounds like a small amount of pixels for a front-facing camera (ƒ/2.2) for a flagship smartphone in 2025. But I would like to point out that quantity — quality is not always the case. It will be enough for video calls or selfies.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with Adreno 830 graphics. The octa-core processor consists of two 4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix V cores and six 3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M cores. The memory comes in 12/256 GB (the variant under review), 12/512 GB and 12/1 TB. The permanent memory is in the ultra-fast UFS 4.0 format. Interfaces and modules are represented by Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO navigation services.
This processor is one of the best and most powerful chips available today. It will satisfy the needs of both mobile gamers and will support the system for excellent performance at 120 Hz. Yes, according to benchmarks, it starts to throttle after the first tests. In 3DMark, the drop was 48%. Unfortunately, this is the price for performance in smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra runs on Android version 15 with the proprietary One UI 7 shell. At the beginning, you need to go to Settings and enable/disable the necessary or unnecessary functions. No problems with smoothness or lag were found. Thanks to 120 Hz and modern «hardware,» works very smoothly.
The system doesn’t have many unnecessary applications, but they are there. There is no direct advertising in the OS (except for one application), although you need to be careful when you first set up the device. You will have to uncheck the box for personalized advertising specifically for the user.
For mobile gaming fans, I recorded fragments of Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Warzone on maximum settings. I did not encounter any performance problems. But the smartphone was quite hot.
Back in last year’s presentation of the previous generation S24, we were shown the application of AI in various situations and excellent results. Unfortunately, support for the Ukrainian language was never implemented. Such functions as Translator, Live Translate, and Transcript assist will help you if you already know a foreign language and travel to a country where you will not have any problems with English.
If anyone thinks that AI is omnipotent for creating or editing images, it is not. I have often received messages about the inability to generate an image. For example, when typing «RTX 5090» or other proper names.
Image editing still leaves much to be desired. In the image below you will see several video cards. It was created in Drawing assist and saved to your smartphone. The image of the second video card shows one cooler missing. I tried to draw it myself using the S Pen stylus (I’m not much of an artist). From the examples, you can see that the AI did not understand the context and drew what it imagined: flowers and car wheels.
Of course, AI didn’t solve my problem. So I selected the first cooler and tried to copy it to the place where it should be. But there is no key to copy selected items. As a result, I lost — the cooler moved to a new location, and the empty space was filled by the AI with a background next to it.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. It has 45W fast charging, 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reversible wireless charging. Connecting a 20W power adapter to the smartphone allows you to charge the battery up to 100% in 2 hours.
The PCMark test showed 14 hours and 9 minutes, and this is a good result. That is, the phone works quietly all day without the need for charging. However, it seemed to me that with the S Pen, the smartphone consumes even more battery power. AI consumes a lot of battery power. While I was trying to delete objects in the photos, the charge was disappearing before my eyes. Perhaps it was a coincidence that I lost 3% in 2 minutes.
In the settings of Game Booster (a specially created application for games), I found an interesting option. It says that you can choose not to charge the battery during the game, but to send electricity bypassing the battery. That is, this feature reduces the load on the battery. Unfortunately, I was unable to enable this option — you need to use a special power supply of 30 watts or more. I tried 15 W for a Samsung tablet and 30 W from a laptop, but the result was negative.
Experience from an Apple fan. What can I say as a longtime Apple user? I enjoyed using the new «Ultra». At first, I had doubts about some things (for example, the stylus), but I realized that it was not a problem to get used to them. If you try to open them, you think that’s what I was missing.
I used to think that it would be better to replace the stylus with a larger battery in the Ultra series. This way we would get more autonomy. But after using it, I wanted to raise the level of my writing so that my notes didn’t look like simple text typed on a keyboard. I wanted to leave a little bit of soul on the display and inside the device.
My old dream is to have a computer always in my pocket. You come to work, connect the little «rectangle» to the peripherals, and you work. When it’s time to go home, you take it with you and connect it at home. The new Ultra allows you to partially fulfill this dream with Samsung DeX. Of course, if you have specific software, you will have problems. However, time is running out and Windows emulators should soon be available as a more mass-produced product. You just need to adapt Windows 10/11 ARM to the user’s needs, and you’ll have a hit.
The Screen Split feature allows you to run multiple applications simultaneously on the same smartphone screen. I see that it is best implemented on Samsung. I was able not only to run three Chrome apps, but also to place them on the display. I’ll add a few more scenarios: launch two games at the same time and play one while the other is updating; launch the PENUP app for drawing, and then launch an already saved image to try to reproduce.
About AI. Maybe I didn’t understand something or clicked intuitively, but AI is still at an early stage of development. There is a lot of work to be done on the user interfaces and the AI itself.
Of course, I laughed a lot when it generated an object based on my «drawing». It’s really uplifting. But the question arises: what is all this on a smartphone for? I can use the browser to go to Image Creator and there make a description of the image, and after generating and selecting an image, you can draw something with a stylus.
About S Pen. At first, I was skeptical about the S Pen stylus. Who needs it in 2025? I had to test it for myself. What can I say? In some situations, it will help a lot. From the most obvious — highlighting and deleting unnecessary elements from pictures or writing something «by hand» on the image. The stylus gives you the same precision that you simply cannot achieve with your finger.
However, Android needs to be improved to work with the S Pen and other similar styluses. Some interface ideas are not very clear at first glance. Namely, parallel work with the touchpad and stylus. The system selects either the user’s finger or the stylus. So for a while, you may not understand why you press something on the screen and it doesn’t work. And it’s because of the stylus you’re holding in your other hand near the display. S Pen detection range to the screen is — 1 cm.
Of course, it’s sad that the S Pen has removed the function of remote camera shutter release. I hope that the new owners of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will not miss it.
What would I like to see? Versions with 16 GB of RAM. And to start with 16/512 GB. I’m not asking for a strange 24 GB, but for the flagship to feel like a flagship everywhere. The reason for the increase is trivial — AI needs more memory.
The official price of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is UAH 63999 for the 12/256 GB version. It’s a high price, but the sales started relatively recently. For this amount, you get a multifunctional smartphone with great cameras and a powerful processor.
The main competitor is, of course, the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It is sold for UAH 66999and informally — from UAH 49699. Of course, this smartphone has a lot, but it loses out on features like a stylus, a larger zoom, and AI capabilities. I still didn’t understand why I would buy a Pro Max, which is the same as a regular iPhone. Now my doubts are gone.
If you want to have an Ultra, but cheaper, then the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 12/512 GB is a good (and only) choice for 52999 UAH.
If you want a special experience, you can choose the Samsung Galaxy Fold6 12/512 GB for UAH 84999. It will definitely give you new sensations when using your smartphone.
