Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra broke its cover at Unpacked today. Our first impression of this device is quite positive, in light of the changes made to its build. Samsung didn’t make much fuss over the hardware upgrades, but the new One UI 7 software for the Ultra has changed dramatically.
Design-wise, the first change is pretty obvious. The Ultra has swapped its pointy corners with the rounded ones, and Samsung was able to squeeze in a bigger screen because of it. This new S25 Ultra design is a mixed bag, though. Some might argue that it takes one step forward and two steps back since the rounded corners add comfort, but the sharpened flat edges aren’t as easy to grip with this massive handset.
Still, props to Samsung for making the phone thin and light. The old S24 Ultra was chunky at 8.6mm and 233g weight. S25 Ultra cuts it back to 8.2mm profile and 218g. This phone is also plenty durable with its Gorilla Glass Armor 2 and Titanium middle frame. That about sums up the new design.
Remember when we said it fits a bigger screen with the new design? The new Samsung 5G mobile is 6.9” QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, bigger than S24 Ultra’s 6.8” panel. Even though Samsung is the pioneer with no competition, its Anti-reflective tech seems to get an upgrade here. But, at this point, Samsung is just cementing its lead as a display maker.
1-120Hz Adaptive refresh rate is still here with stuff like HDR10+ Vision booster and Adaptive color tone. This screen also has an Ultrasonic Fingerprint and a 12 MP selfie camera on top that will record 4k 60FPS videos. Sadly, it’s the same old camera as the S24 Ultra, but we do have a bit of good news on the rear-side lenses. 
It is also the first Ultra phone with a 50 MP Ultrawide (up from last-gen 12MP). It’s a 120-degree FOV lens that even records super steady videos. 200 MP is still the overkill primary lens, with yesteryear’s new 50 MP 3X periscope telephoto. The second telephoto is a 10 MP 3x portrait shooter. The cameras even have an AI ProVisual engine, which should enhance the shots, viewport, and photo/video editing. 
The performance here is all taken care of with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite (For Galaxy) chip. It’s faster than the original 8 Elite (4.47GHz vs 4.32GHz). The SoC’s NPU that handles AI tasks is 40% faster, and that upgrade means speedy responses from Galaxy AI’s new features.
One UI 7 has a bunch of new AI abilities, like the “Now Brief” Samusng teased before. It shows the summary of your day, learns your routine, and makes suggestions based on what you might need ahead. “Now Briefs” sit on the lock screen to show you weather, events, and travel insights.
A 5000mAh battery on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gave a solid ~14 hours of active use backup. So, why mess with perfection? Samsung decided to go with the same 5000mAh cell and 45W charging for the S25 Ultra as well. This new model starts at $1299 for the 12/256 GB option, and the pre-orders have already begun in overseas markets from today.
