Samsung has just unveiled its flagship phones for 2025, and I was lucky enough to take the brand-new Galaxy S25 Ultra for a quick spin ahead of the Unpacked launch to bring you some hands-on impressions.
The brand’s top phone has a number of new features, but the most immediately obvious change is the new shape. So let’s start there.
Galaxy S25 Ultra design changes
The sharp squared-off corners are gone, and they’ve been replaced with soft curves that are much more friendly to your palms. I’m in two minds about this move. I understand the decision, plenty of people have moaned about the S24 Ultra’s uncomfortable shape.
The sharp boxy shape of the S24 Ultra gave it some personality, however, and I can’t help but feel the S25 Ultra looks a little more generic.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is still more boxy than its more affordable siblings, at least. So even if it’s not as iconic as it once was, it does still stand out from the lineup.
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Luke Baker / Foundry
Around the back, the cameras are now outlined by chunky black bezels, just like the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The side rails are still infused with titanium and there’s still an S-Pen nestled inside. The phone has been on a diet and it’s now around 15g lighter than its predecessor, with a slightly slimmer body, too, at 8.2mm.
It’s available in four colours as standard: Silverblue, Whitesilver, Grey and Black. To be honest, aside from the black one, they all look very similar. They all have a matt finish and are mostly just slightly different hues of silvery-grey. That said, they do all look very nice.
If you buy from Samsung’s website, there are three extra colours, Jadegreen, Pinkgold and Jetblack. These are a little more lively than the standard colour options, with the exception of Jetblack, which is just very black – as you may have guessed.
Galaxy S25 Ultra hardware upgrades
So, what’s new? Well, we get the obligatory upgrade to the latest Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and as usual, it’s a customised “for Galaxy” version with an overclock applied.
This year, the whole lineup is running on the same chip, there are no Exynos variants to be found. To keep it running smoothly, the vapour chamber has been super-sized, and it’s now 40% larger than the one in the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung hasn’t really pushed the boat out with the hardware
Luke Baker / Foundry
There’s also a brand-new ultrawide camera, with a 50Mp resolution and macro focusing capabilities. It should prove to be a big upgrade over the 12Mp unit of its predecessor, but at this stage, I haven’t fully explored its capabilities.
I snapped a few pictures at Samsung’s Kings Cross store, and for now, I can confirm that it focuses extremely close and looks decent. I’ll need to try it in some different lighting conditions to get a real feel for it.
Otherwise, the hardware is mostly unchanged from the last generation. The screen is a teeny bit bigger at 6.9-inch, with 15% slimmer bezels, and it has a newer version of its anti-reflective Gorilla Armor glass.
The other display specs remain unchanged, and the rest of the cameras are all the same. You still get a 5000mAh battery, and it still only charges at 45W with a wire and 15W wirelessly. It’s pretty sluggish compared to the competition.
Luke Baker / Foundry
Samsung is now offering MagSafe / Qi2 compatible charging, but the phone itself doesn’t have these magnets. So, if you want to get involved in some Apple-style magnetic accessorising, you now have the option, but only if you shell out for one of the official cases.
We saw the brand go all-in on Galaxy AI features with the Galaxy S24 series, and Samsung is doubling down for the S25 series.
Galaxy S25 Ultra software features
As you’ve probably gathered, Samsung hasn’t really pushed the boat out with the hardware. Instead, it heavily relies on software features to drum up interest. We saw the brand go all-in on Galaxy AI features with the Galaxy S24 series, and Samsung is doubling down for the S25 series.
AI features are woven into just about every part of the operating system, and there are so many that it’s almost impossible to mention all of them. The biggest change is what the AI can do on your device.
Rather than just answering questions like digital assistants we’re already used to, the AI will actually be able to perform actions on your phone across different apps. Samsung is calling it a “human-like AI agent.”
Luke Baker / Foundry
As an example, there’s a general-purpose search bar on the phone, the kind you’d normally use to quickly find an app or search the web. You can ask anything in this search bar, and the AI agent will try to help.
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Using normal conversational language, you can ask things like “Show me beach pictures from when I was last in Spain” and it’ll magically do it. You can also adjust system settings using natural language. So, if you say “I can’t read the text, can you make it bigger?” the AI agent can adjust the font size system-wide.
The AI can perform these actions across multiple apps, too. In theory, it should be able to text a friend with a plan for a meetup, find restaurant information and add it to your calendar, all in one action.
It has the potential to be extremely powerful and convenient, the only problem is, since the phone I tried wasn’t fully set up, I haven’t seen this in full action yet so stay tuned for a final review soon.
Luke Baker / Foundry
If you opt-in, the S25 Ultra’s AI assistant will also generate Morning, Midday and Evening Briefs. These are automatically delivered to your lock screen and will provide relevant information at a glance.
You can expect things like calendar events, traffic, weather information and more. It also works for specific Events, like a holiday or work trip, and you’ll get a brief with things like boarding passes, terminal info, traffic updates, and reminders. Pretty handy!
The select tool has been turbo-charged with AI, too. It can still capture screenshots, videos and GIFs like it always has, but it’ll now suggest actions based on the context. So, if you select an address, it’ll suggest opening Maps, and if you select a phone number, it’ll suggest Phone or WhatsApp.
Luke Baker / Foundry
One thing I found slightly odd is that there’s a lot of overlap with Google’s Circle to Search, I can imagine users being confused about which tool to use, but regardless, they’re both extremely convenient. Circle to Search debuted on the S24 series, and it’s arriving with enhanced features on the S25 series. It now works with on-screen videos and music, so you aren’t just limited to images and text. It’ll even find you a song if you hum the tune.
Aside from all the AI stuff, Samsung has a very welcome addition for keen video shooters. There’s now a proper Log profile available in the camera app, so you’ll be able to match your colours with professional video cameras more easily, or just give your footage a more cinematic look.
For photographers, ExpertRAW now has a virtual aperture control tool, so you can add some artificial depth to your RAW images, too.
Luke Baker / Foundry
Galaxy S25 Ultra early verdict
I’ll need to spend a lot more time with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra before reaching any firm conclusions. There’s a lot to explore here, and if it all works as advertised, it has the potential to change how we interact with our phones on a daily basis with its new layers of AI software.
As a tech enthusiast, I’m definitely disappointed by the lack of hardware upgrades, and with Samsung so committed to software support, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of the new AI features land on the S24 series, and earlier phones too.
That means the main things this phone has to offer are a speedier processor, a new ultrawide camera and a smoother design with curved corners. Is that enough to warrant an upgrade? I’m not totally convinced if you’re using an S24 Ultra, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
Our full review is coming soon so hang tight though you can pre-order now if you’re confident. In the meantime, check out what we rank as the best phones money can buy.
