The Galaxy S25 Ultra leads Samsung’s 2025 flagship smartphone. The device went official alongside the Galaxy S25 and S25+ on January 22, 2025. It brings a myriad of upgrades over the previous-gen model. If you are on the fence about whether to buy the phone, here’s a comprehensive guide to help you decide.
In this article, we have detailed everything we know about the Galaxy S25 Ultra. We have also provided the official links to buy the phone. We regularly update this article to reflect new offers. The last update was made on January 22, 2025.
Table of contents
- Design and Hardware
- Display
- Camera
- Processor and Specs
- Software and Features
- Battery and Charging
- Price, Colors, and Release Date
- FAQs
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design and Hardware
The Galaxy S25 Ultra brings a notable redesign to Samsung’s Ultra flagships. It gets rid of the boxy design and switches to a curved finish. The company made the corners rounded and the edges less sharp. You can see the new design in the official renders below.
If you noticed, Samsung has substantially reduced the bezel thickness and frame width on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. While it is narrower than last year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra — their dimensions are 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm and 162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm, respectively — you get a marginally larger screen thanks to slim bezels. We are talking about a 91.4% screen-to-body ratio, up from 88.5%.
With these changes, the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes out as the thinnest (8.2mm) and lightest (218 grams) top-tier flagship of its generation, outshining the likes of the iPhone 16 Pro Max (8.3mm, 227 grams) and Pixel 9 Pro XL (8.5mm, 221 grams). The Galaxy S24 Ultra is 8.6mm thick and weighs 232 grams. The upcoming flagship also has slimmer display bezels and camera rings than the latest iPhone. Samsung has done a remarkable job with its flagship design this time around, fitting to the Paradigm codename.
The titanium frame stays
Samsung switched from an aluminum to a titanium frame on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the S25 Ultra retains it. Some reviewers, and we ourselves found the titanium quality to be a a little cheap on last year’s model. A silicone cover left scratch marks on our Galaxy S24 Ultra’s frame after continuous use for about six months. Hopefully, Samsung has worked on it. We shall find out soon.
The frame on the new phone is completely flat, another departure from the slightly curved edges on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Overall, the 2025 Samsung flagship looks a lot different from the front. Not as much when looking from the back though, thanks to an unchanged camera array. The camera rings have been slightly redesigned but nothing big.
Strong build, solid protection
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s titanium frame is supported by strong Gorilla Armor 2 protective glass panels on the front and back. The phone also offers IP68 dust and water resistance, making it strong enough to survive a few drops on the floor or into the pool. Theoretically, you can keep the phone submerged in 1.5m deep water for 30 minutes without damage, though you shouldn’t try that for no reason.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Display
The Galaxy S25 Ultra retains a flat display that Samsung used on the 2024 model (the previous models had a curved display). As mentioned above, the screen is wider thanks to the narrow bezels. The display measures 6.9 inches diagonally, up from 6.8 inches on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is an LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a QHD+ (3120 x 1440 pixels) resolution.
While Samsung doesn’t seem to have upgraded the new model to M14 OLED panels, it is expected to have addressed some of the display issues reported by Galaxy S24 Ultra users. Unfortunately, this means the brightness remains unchanged at 2,600 nits. We could be getting color accuracy improvements but no brightness boost.
In fact, Samsung touts a 40% improvement in picture quality thanks to the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s customized processor (more on this later), which delivers efficient AI image processing. Coupled with Samsung’s ProScaler technology, the phone offers sharper visuals and brighter colors on the screen.
The upgraded Gorilla Armor 2 glass is said to offer enhanced anti-reflective properties. It substantially reduces the screen glare when in a bright environment, improving legibility. The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display visuals are more perceptible than screens twice the brightness when seen under bright light, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra further improves upon it.
Unfortunately, a slimmer and lighter build means Samsung removed Bluetooth functions from the S Pen — Bluetooth functions such as remote camera shutter and air gestures require a built-in battery and charging coil for the S Pen. It’s not a huge loss, but definitely a step down.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Camera
The Galaxy S25 Ultra features five cameras, and only one of them is new. Samsung now gives you a 50MP ultrawide lens instead of 12MP. It has an f/1.9 aperture and a 120-degree field of view. You also get dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) and enhanced stabilization.
The rest of the camera hardware is unchanged from the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The 200MP main shooter has an f/1.7 aperture and offers OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). The 1/1.3-inch sensor boasts 0.6µm pixels and supports multi-directional PDAF.
Coming to the zoom cameras, things once again remain completely unchanged. You get a 50MP 5x lens and a 10MP 3x lens. The latter, in particular, is starting to show its age but Samsung is sticking with it. Both zoom cameras support OIS. Finally, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s selfie shooter features a 12MP sensor with similar specs as the S24 Ultra.
New camera features and AI enhancements
Some might lament Samsung for not upgrading the main camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for anyone. Well, whether you should upgrade from the S24 Ultra is a completely different story. The gist is that it is still a capable sensor.
Moreover, it benefits from the upgraded software processing and algorithm, as well as new AI-powered camera features. While we won’t come to a conclusion until we have thoroughly tested the phone and its cameras, we are expecting smoother lens transitions, enhanced color accuracy, and brighter low-light videos among other things. Samsung said some really good things about the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera improvements at Unpacked.
The same goes for the 5x zoom camera and the selfie shooter. The ISP improvements introduced by the new processor and advanced camera algorithms should help improve the image quality. We have some doubts over how well the 3x zoom camera holds against the competition. Stay tuned for our full Galaxy S25 Ultra review.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Processor and Specs
Samsung exclusively uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra — there is no Exynos version anywhere. The new chip is a powerhouse, to say the least. We are looking at staggering performance gains thanks to custom Oryon CPU cores clocked at a whopping 4.47GHz — the new Samsung flagship features the overclocked version; the regular version operates at 4.32GHz max.
The octa-core chip has two prime CPU cores running at the maximum speed. The other six cores operate at 3.53GHz, which is still higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s peak speed. To look back, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s chipset has a 1+3+2+2 CPU arrangement with one Cortex-X4 prime core operating at 3.39GHz, three cortex-A720 mid-cores at 3.1GHz, two more Cortex-A720 cores at 2.9GHz, and two Cortex-A520 efficiency cores at 2.2GHz.
The lack of small cores on the Snapdragon 8 Elite could be a concern for some, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts enhanced cooling features to keep the temperature in check. Once again, we will reserve our final remark till our detailed review, but the new flagship scored impressive figures in Geekbench tests. Even the official benchmark scores hint at massive gains over its predecessor.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s chipset promises to deliver mouthwatering performance, superior to Apple’s A18 Pro that powers the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The introduction of Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU cores previously used in its X series PC processors to the mobile SoC lineup appears to have done wonders. Qualcomm has pulled off something amazing this year.
The chipset brings more upgrades
The Snapdragon 8 Elite features Qualcomm’s most advanced CPU, GPU, NPU, and ISP. It brings massive AI processing upgrades and enhancements for camera performance. Qualcomm has fundamentally changed how the chipset processes images captured by the camera. It introduced a first-of-its-kind solution that allows the NPU to access the native raw data from the sensor to enhance the image quality.
Additionally, it boasts Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7900 system with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, and UWB (Ultra-Wideband) support. The chip supports LPDDR5X DRAM and UFS 4.0 storage. It is also more efficient, thanks to the switch from 4nm to 3nm process technology. TSMC manufactured the chipset on its most advanced 3nm process node, which it also uses for Apple’s iPhone silicon.
RAM upgrade for some buyers
The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets a 16GB RAM variant in some markets. Buyers in those regions get 16GB RAM with 512GB and 1TB storage options and 12GB RAM with the 256GB model. In the US and some other markets, all storage options are limited to 12GB RAM. While it’s still LPRRD5X DRAM technology, Samsung has reportedly upgraded the RAM manufacturing process from 13nm to 12nm for performance and efficiency improvements.
The RAM boost is for AI more than anything. As mobile AI technologies get advanced, phones need more RAM for efficient on-device processing. UFS 4.0 storage chips ensure fast data read and write speeds, which eventually help improve the overall performance. The Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t support microSD cards for expandable storage.
The new Samsung flagship supports Wi-Fi 7 and boasts Bluetooth v5.4, NFC, GPS, Ultra Wideband (UWB), and USB Type-C 3.2 connectivity options. Additionally, you get AKG-tuned stereo speakers, an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, Samsung DeX, and Samsung Wireless DeX. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also offers a wide range of sensors that you normally expect on premium smartphones.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Software and Features
Samsung ships the Galaxy S25 Ultra with Android 15-based One UI 7. The new version brings a major UI overhaul from Android 14-based One UI 6. The company has revamped the Quick Panel, system UI elements, app icons, and more. It has also reworked system animations, making them smoother for a more fluid user experience.
One UI 7 could easily be the biggest update in Samsung’s One UI history. Coupled with the processor enhancements, it delivers an unmatched user experience on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The update feels much smoother while also being feature-rich and customizable. There are tons of new AI advancements, with Google’s Gemini integrated into several stock apps. An ultra-powerful chipset means some AI tools that previously ran via the cloud are now processed on-device, including Generative Edit.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Battery and Charging
For the past several years, Samsung’s Ultra flagships have packed a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy S25 Ultra upgrades to 25W wireless charging but everything else remains unchanged. Samsung’s focus on making the phone compact likely prevented a battery boost.
We wouldn’t complain as long as the Galaxy S25 Ultra delivers a battery life identical to the S24 Ultra, or maybe slightly better. The Snapdragon 8 Elite’s efficiency gains, a more efficient OLED display, and advanced AI-powered power management technologies should help improve the battery life. Even One UI 7’s enhanced power management capabilities and optimizations might extend the battery life.
As far as the wired charging speed is concerned, we are still looking at 45W, but with 15V/3A support. The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 45W charging supports 11V/4.05A. Higher voltage can potentially speed up charging, though not much, and this is disappointing. It feels a bit slow. We’d have liked a wired charging speed of around 60W.
We are still awaiting confirmation on the reverse-wireless charging situation. Samsung’s latest smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, bring some design changes making them incompatible with the reverse-charging solution on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and other existing devices. Maybe Samsung has addressed this issue on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, we shall find out soon.
Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price, Colors, and Release Date
Samsung increased the prices of the Galaxy S24 Ultra in most global markets last year, and there’s another price hike this year. Thankfully, it isn’t global. The Galaxy S25 Ultra costs more than its predecessor in select markets, but not in the US. Below is the full Galaxy S25 series pricing structure for the US (we’ll update the article to add the official prices for more markets as they become available).
| 12GB+128GB | 12GB+256GB | 12GB+512GB | 12GB+1TB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S25 | $799.99 | $859.99 | — | — |
| Galaxy S25+ | — | $999.99 | $1,119.99 | — |
| Galaxy S25 Ultra | — | $1,299.99 | $1,419.99 | $1,659.99 |
For a quick recap, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s base variant with 256GB storage costs $1,300 in the US. Its 512GB variant costs $1,420, while the 1TB variant costs $1,660. In Europe, the prices are €1,450, €1,570, and €1,810, respectively. The phone costs £1,250, £1,350, and £1,550 in the UK; C$1,800, C$1,960, and C$2,280 in Canada; A$2,200, A$2,400, and A$2,800 in Australia, ₹129,999, ₹139,999, and ₹159,999 in India.
A wide range of color options
As usual, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is available for pre-order in a wide range of colors, some exclusively sold through Samsung’s official website. The company offers the phone in Titanium Black, Titanium SilverBlue, Titanium WhiteSilver, and Titanium Gray as the four standard options globally. It keeps the Titanium JetBlack, Titanium JadeGreen, and Titanium PinkGold colors to itself.
Galaxy S25 Ultra Mystery Box
We at SammyGuru are offering our readers a chance to score exclusive gifts through our mystery box program. You can sign up here to get gifts when you pre-order the Galaxy S25 Ultra. You don’t have to pay any fees for signing up or being eligible for the gifts. Find more details about the pre-order and verification process here.
Once you sign up, we will deliver the official pre-order links for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to your inbox. Click on this link and complete your purchase in the same browser window to get your free mystery box. Each box contains a case, cleaning kit, and other accessories/goodies. Some lucky buyers will also get gift cards and exclusive tickets redeemable against various Galaxy products, including smartphones.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does the Galaxy S25 Ultra cost?
Samsung has priced the Galaxy S25 Ultra the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the US. It starts at $1,299 and goes over $1,600 depending on the storage variant.
When will the Galaxy S25 Ultra be released?
Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Ultra on January 22, 2025. Pre-orders began immediately after the launch event. Its market release and general sales begin on February 7.
Should I buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is one of the best Android flagships today. It offers the best of everything, including leading cameras, display, processor, and AI features. You may consider buying it if you want a powerful new phone.
Where can I buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra?
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is available to buy from all major retail chains globally, including Amazon, Best Buy, and others. Samsung also sells it through its official website and physical stores. Samsung’s official websites usually offer a few additional color options.
How much RAM and storage does the Galaxy S25 Ultra have?
Samsung has released the Galaxy S25 Ultra with 12GB and 16GB of RAM options, paired with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage variants. Some configurations aren’t available globally.
