It has been under two months since Samsung released the S25 series of devices. This iteration, as expected, doubles down on refinements, mainly for the S25 Ultra, and the software bit, with a fresh coat of paint on One UI, aka One UI 7 on top of Android 15, plus a ton of AI enhancements that go a long way in making using a modern Samsung device a pleasurable experience.
The devices, which also launched on pre-order with nice perks, can now be purchased locally from a wide range of shops, some selling them at very competitive prices (you can get it for as low as KES 135,000 if you look around well). But before we get into that, it’s worth noting I’ve been using the S25 Ultra over the last few days, and the overall assessment is that this is an excellent device that honestly doesn’t have a match in the local, heck, the international market.
Galaxy AI, while still in its infancy, is fantastic on the Ultra. The S-Pen lives (kind of sad we no longer have the Note series anymore, which has unofficially been replaced by the Fold line), and is as useful as it has been in over a decade. No other phone manufacturer has been able to replicate its usefulness.
The cameras are also great because I consistently get great images with this device, and this is from a novice who just points and shoots. The Snapdragon 8 Elite also does the heavy lifting, which it does with expertise and speed any user can tell because this phone is fast! But let me not get ahead of myself…
The design doesn’t have many pitfalls
The S25 Ultra is a familiar phone for people who have used the Ultra line since the S22 Ultra. The camera placement hasn’t changed, save for some rings around the lenses. The S-Pen silo is still on the bottom left side. The power and volume buttons reside on the right side.
The bezels are now thinner, akin to what you would expect for a 2025 phone. The phone is also lighter than its predecessors, a very welcome decision that a lot of people are now appreciating.
Also gone are the sharp edges on its corners. They have been smoothened out, meaning you can use the S25 Ultra just fine without a case, and it won’t dig into your palms.
The design, while familiar, doesn’t bother me as much, although I feel some people expected a sharp change in how Samsung packages the S Ultra line since it is still a little too familiar. If you put the S25 in a case alongside the S24, S23 and S22 Ultras, you would have a hard time finding it. That’s how its design hasn’t been drastically tweaked, which makes sense because it is not broken yet.
The only issue I have with the S25 Ultra is that it is a tad heavy for my liking after years of using compact and lightweight phones (this is my first time using an Ultra). It reminds me of the Fold6, which I actually loved for its big tablet-like display but hated because of its weight.
I don’t know how the S25 handles with a case, which would make it even heavier. I wouldn’t put it in one, but that’s just me, and I won’t recommend it since accidents do happen, and repairing these devices is not cheap unless you have Samsung Care+.
The display is class-leading
We are at a point where speaking about how good Samsung displays are sounds kind of monotonous. The S25 is fantastic in that area, and just to stay ahead of the competition, it has made the display better, especially in brightly lit conditions. It now handles reflections better, following a tech that introduced some coating on the AMOLED panel, first seen on the S24 Ultra.
No one in the industry does this, and it is kind of sad that this tech is limited to the Ultra and not its smaller siblings, the S25 and S25 Plus. But as it gets mainstream, we sure hope to see more phones in the future adopting this feature.
Perhaps what I also expect is faster refresh rates. 120 Hz is now a little stale, so anything higher is very welcome. Perhaps 165 Hz in the future? Nonetheless, I understand why the 120 Hz has been the sweet spot for over 5 years now. Higher refresh rate screens consume more power, so 120 Hz strikes a good balance between fluidity and battery performance. I will take that for now.
Battery life that puts my primary phone to shame
The S Ultra series hasn’t seen a battery bump in over five years. The S25 packs the same 5000mAh cell that its predecessors did. Through some software optimizations and Snapdragon 8 Elite wizardry, the S25 performs very well. It runs for an entire day on average use and can last another day for those who use their phones frugally. This is more than enough in my books (and because my primary devices, which I will not name, have bottom-of-the-barre battery life).
Is it possible to see a bigger cell in future Ultras? I would think so since there is a new technology in town that makes smaller but more energy-dense batteries. Samsung hasn’t taken that direction, likely because it is weighing its options, but it would be great if the longevity I see in the S25 Ultra could be extended in future releases.
Part of the reason Samsung hasn’t expanded its batteries is that it has limited space in the device since it has to make room for the S-Pen. Some might argue that it is even admirable that Samsung still manages to squeeze a big cell into a phone that has so many features (S-Pen).
Can we get fast, I mean, seriously fast charging, Samsung? This time around, the entire set of the S25 series supports 45W charging, which was previously limited to the Ultras. While that is welcome, the competition is way much faster, with some offering up to 120W charging speeds. I wonder how long customers will have to wait.
What’s worse, Samsung stopped shipping phones with chargers, meaning that you have to spend more money on a 45W charging brick.
Software and Galaxy AI
One UI 7 looks a lot like One UI 6. It has the same icons, widgets, and wallpapers. The logic is familiar, too. You get your home screens, app drawer, gestures or buttons, and the usual drop-down area.
Android 15 adds a new trick. Notifications and quick toggles now live on separate pages, like iPhones. Swipe from the top left for notifications and the top right for quick settings. If that’s too much, you can still switch back to the old combo view, which I did.
AI features are baked in. You can summarize or translate text, clean up doodles, and convert voice to text. Google Gemini runs most of the AI work. You can throw random stuff at it, like photos of your fridge, and ask for recipe ideas. It even creates images.
Samsung still promotes its core apps, such as Gallery, My Files, Internet, Health, Calculator, Calendar, Wallet, Notes, and Bixby. You also get Google’s full suite and a handful of Microsoft apps, such as Office, OneDrive, Outlook, and LinkedIn.
The S Pen’s been stripped down. No battery, no Bluetooth, no fancy sensors. But you can still scribble, draw and write. It does Screen Write, Screen Off Memo, and Calendar notes.
What’s new is system-wide natural language input. AI Agents and Circle to Search now work better. You can tell your phone to pull out photos from a specific trip or ask it to enlarge the font if it feels small.
Cross-app Actions might be the wildest feature yet. You talk, it acts. You can search for a restaurant, get directions, share the location, book a calendar event, or set an alarm—all in one flow.
For now, it only works with Samsung and Google apps. Support for third-party apps like WhatsApp and Spotify is coming.
Gallery Generative Edit is solid. You can add or remove people or objects, shadows, and everything else. You can also sketch stuff and drop it into photos.
Now Brief and Now Bar bring more personalised AI. Now Brief gives daily updates like sleep stats, calendar, new podcast episodes. Now Bar sits on your lock screen with real-time stuff like music you’re playing, map directions, or live sports scores.
AI Select is another upgrade. It scans your screen, suggests actions, pulls GIFs from Instagram reels, or makes wallpapers on the fly.
Overall, One UI 7 packs useful AI but sticks to what already works.
Note: We are not sure how Samsung will handle updates in the future because it has been pretty mediocre with its Android 15/OneUI 7 updates. People who have the S24 series of phones have yet to receive the update, which makes it sad, considering the devices are supposed to get up to 7 years of major OS revamps. Will Samsung stick to this promise? Likely, but per the current trends, these updates will arrive late, possibly to push customers into buying newer phones].
Excellent but familiar cameras
The S25 Ultra doesn’t change much on camera hardware. Same story with the S24 Ultra and the S23 Ultra before it. Progress is slow but steady.
The main upgrade is the ultrawide. Samsung finally ditched the old 12MP sensor for a new 50MP one. Not much info on it yet but pixel size is 0.7µm, about the same as the old one.
Daylight shots from the main camera are solid. Sharp detail with a fine gritty texture that feels more like character than noise. Dynamic range is great, whites and colours stay in check without being too punchy.
Feels a lot like what Apple did with the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultrawide. Or when Samsung swapped the S22 Ultra’s 108MP sensor for a 200MP one that was basically the same size on the S23 Ultra.
The 200MP main sensor is still here. Same HP2 unit from last year. Telephotos are unchanged too. That rumoured 5x ALoP tech never showed up. Camera upgrades really do crawl.
Selfie cam is the same as last year. But no complaints, it is already good enough.
Here are some sample images:
Verdict
The S25 Ultra looks and feels premium with better handling, solid battery life, and the S Pen still pulling its weight for productivity. One UI 7 runs smooth, the cameras impress, and charging is now easier without needing special cables.
But it’s not perfect. The IP68 rating feels basic, the S Pen lost remote features, and the battery could be bigger. The display skips Dolby Vision, the Snapdragon 8 Elite dips under heavy load, and low-light photos could be better.
