I went hands-on with Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra - it's the AI phone to beat in 2025

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Kerry Wan/ZDNET

Samsung's Big Bad Galaxy phone has arrived, and it's almost everything I expected. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, which starts at a bold $1,299 price tag, remains the company's do-everything handset, with a more durable display than ever, an upgraded camera system with some useful editing tricks, and the infamous S Pen stylus. Oh, and yes, AI is everything, everywhere, all at once.

Also: Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy S25, Gemini AI, more

While last year's Galaxy S24 series ushered in Samsung's Galaxy AI era, this year feels more like the company cementing itself as the leader in the space, besting Apple and even Google (for now) on features and capabilities. Of course, how decorative that honor is ultimately depends on how invested you are in using AI.

I spent an intimate afternoon with the new Galaxy S25 phones, with a particular focus on the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra, and wasn't too surprised to find myself equal parts fascinated, equal parts bored. After all, this is now Samsung's fifth iteration of the S-series Ultra model, and the changes year-over-year have been modest, to be generous. But if even a part of you is considering upgrading to the latest Galaxy flagship, here are the changes you should know about.

1. A slimmer, more durable design

Samsung Galaxy S25 colors
Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The Galaxy S Ultra has always been a big-phone, two-handed affair, and that holds true this year. In the hand, the S25 Ultra feels like the fanciest calculator ever (and I say that in a nice way), with its squared-off edges and tall stature.

Fortunately, the device is not as top-heavy as I remember previous models being. In fact, the S25 Ultra is lighter than its predecessor by 16 grams, and Samsung says it's the company's thinnest-ever S-series device. So much for a Galaxy S25 Slim, I guess.

Also: I went hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S25 - and the AI features were surprisingly polished

The other notable design upgrade is the Corning Gorilla Armor 2 layered over the front display. It doesn't take away from the anti-reflection surface treatment that made headlines on last year's S24 Ultra, yet promises improved drop protection and scratch resistance. I remember my S24 Ultra having numerous micro-scratches after just a week of usage, so I'm hopeful that the S25 Ultra will hold up better this time around.

Now if only Samsung could bring back the glory days of psychedelic Aura Glow finishes. These S25 Ultra colors are not it.

2. The best AI phone by Samsung (and Google)

Samsung Galaxy S25 series
Kerry Wan/ZDNET

Under the hood is a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the same processor powering competing Android phones like the OnePlus 13 and Honor Magic 7 Pro. The most notable benefit of the chipset comes in the form of AI experiences -- specifically, a 40% increase in NPU performance compared to last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

In layman's terms, on-device AI features should take up less bandwidth and power to operate while also functioning quickly. I saw the results in person, placebo effect or not, as my S25 Ultra demo unit swiftly removed subjects (along with their shadows) from the background of photos via Generative Edit and pulled up Gemini search results in a matter of seconds. 

Also: This surprise Android phone gives the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a run for its money

You can also chalk up the performance to the enhanced Gemini app, which can now be fired up with a long press of the power button. Previously, Samsung phones were limited to Bixby -- or Google Assistant, if you made some higher-level, backend modifications. 

The new Gemini app can handle natural-sounding, conversational chains of actions, like telling the AI assistant to look up the upcoming schedule of your favorite sports team and adding the date(s) to your calendar. While the agent-like capability mainly works across Google and Samsung apps, some third-party services like Spotify are supported, too. 

Considering last year's S24 series introduced Google's Circle to Search feature, and this year's S25 series is doing the same for the enhanced Gemini experience, it wouldn't be farfetched to say that Samsung, not Google, makes the best AI phone for Android users right now.

3. Camera features fit for professionals 

Samsung Galaxy S25 series
Kerry Wan/ZDNET

One of the key reasons to buy a Galaxy Ultra phone is still the camera, though Samsung hasn't improved the specifications much this year -- at least on paper. The only hardware change this year is with the 50-megapixel ultrawide lens (up from 12MP), which yields greater detail and vividness, especially when capturing macro photos. The rest of the lenses, such as the 200MP wide, 50MP 5x telephoto, and 10MP 3x telephoto, are identical to last year's S24 Ultra. Boo.

Also: The best Android phones to buy in 2025

There's a bigger focus on the software side of things, with Samsung introducing helpful photo and video features like 10-bit HDR video recording by default to capture a wider dynamic range, a new Audio Eraser feature that lets you adjust the volumes of various frequencies (classified as audio subjects like voices, wind, and noises), and the ability to record in Galaxy Log mode. The latter feature allows you to better spot overexposed areas and adjust the dynamic range as you're recording videos, while also applying LUTs in post for better color and light control.

How all of these new features fare in the real world is what I'm most interested in seeing. I'll test the S25 Ultra over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for the updates. 

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is available for preorder today with a starting price of $1,299 for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage variant. You'll have a choice of Titanium SIlverblue, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Black if you're shopping through a major retailer or carrier, and have more colorful options if you buy directly from Samsung.

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