The Galaxy S25 Ultra, unveiled this week, moves further from its Note-era roots with a new design featuring rounded corners and flat edges that align it more closely with the rest of the S series. It introduces Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, an upgraded ultrawide camera, and a handful of software-centric upgrades, all while maintaining the same $1,299 starting price as last year’s model.
Read: Samsung launches Galaxy S25 and S25+: Incremental upgrades focus on AI
The shift to flat sides gives the S25 Ultra a bulkier appearance in photos — think Cybertruck as a phone — but it’s actually lighter and slightly smaller than its predecessor. This is despite its larger 6.9-inch display, made possible by slimmer bezels. The Snapdragon 8 Elite, custom-tuned for Galaxy devices, powers the S25 Ultra and every S25 model worldwide, ensuring consistent performance across regions. Samsung also delivers one of its standout commitments: seven years of OS updates and security patches.
Notably, Bixby is no longer the default virtual assistant. While Bixby remains accessible via its app, Google Gemini now takes over as the primary AI assistant, activated by long-pressing the power button.
One subtle downgrade is the S Pen. The once-innovative stylus loses Bluetooth functionality, meaning the air gestures offered by previous versions are no longer available. The S25 Ultra’s S Pen is now just a simple stylus — a disappointment for fans of its more advanced features.
In terms of camera hardware, the S25 Ultra keeps most of its setup unchanged, aside from a significant upgrade to the ultrawide sensor, which now boasts 50 megapixels, up from 12 megapixels. Samsung also touts improved image detail through algorithmic enhancements, particularly in zoomed photos. On the video side, the S25 Ultra now supports a Galaxy Log profile and custom LUTs for advanced video editing.
The most significant updates come from One UI 7.0, Samsung’s software layer, which emphasizes AI-driven functionality. Many of these features were previewed during the One UI 7.0 beta, but two stood out as particularly promising.
First, One UI 7.0 integrates AI across apps to perform contextual actions. For instance, you could snap a picture of a flyer, and Gemini could automatically add event dates to your calendar and send an email with the details. It’s a small but practical feature, especially for people juggling family schedules, work, and extracurricular activities. This functionality initially works across Google Workspace and Samsung apps, with plans to expand to third-party apps like WhatsApp and Spotify.
The second standout feature is suggested routines. The S25 Ultra can recognize patterns, such as enabling Bluetooth when you get in the car, and propose automating those actions through custom routines. This removes the hassle of manually setting up routines and could make everyday tasks more seamless.
However, these features won’t be exclusive to the S25 Ultra or even the S25 series. According to Samsung, many AI-driven updates will roll out to older Galaxy devices running One UI 7.0, though some features may eventually come with added costs.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra and its siblings will launch on February 7, marking Samsung’s latest attempt to deliver meaningful AI enhancements. Whether these updates truly transform the user experience remains to be seen.
