The Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn't feel very Ultra to me for these 5 reasons

Summary

Samsung unveiled its latest candy bar-style flagship phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, at an Unpacked keynote on January 22.
The S25 Ultra starts at $1,300 and releases to market on February 7.
I find the S25 Ultra to be an underwhelming hardware refresh — here are the main reasons why I’m disappointed in Samsung’s latest offering.

Samsung unveiled its latest top-of-the-line flagship smartphone, the S25 Ultra, at a Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22. The phone serves as the most premium of Samsung’s candy bar-style lineup, sitting directly above the standard S25 and its larger S25+ sibling.

The South Korean tech giant also teased the existence of a super-slim S25 Edge model at this same keynote, but it’s clear that the S25 Ultra is meant to be the most large-and-in-charge of the new product family.

Unfortunately, post-launch, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed by the S25 Ultra — as a hardware refresh, the handset leaves something to be desired. Here are the reasons why I feel that, overall, the S25 Ultra isn’t a worthwhile upgrade over last year’s S24 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The highest-end variant of Samsung’s flagship smartphone lineup for 2025, the S25 Ultra ships with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a massive 6.9-inch display, and a quad camera setup.

Despite minimal upgrades, the Galaxy S25 Ultra pushes impressive pre-order numbers

Early South Korean sales figures point to a massive preference for Samsung’s highest-end Galaxy S25 Ultra model.

1 The Galaxy S25 Ultra lacks ambition in the specs department

Samsung hasn’t endowed its latest flagship with cutting edge components

Galaxy S25 Ultra in someone's hand in a room with plants and shelving.

In some regards, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a tech powerhouse. The phone is one of the first to ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and it one-ups the competition with its bespoke ‘for Galaxy’ edition chip tuning. The S25 Ultra also comes with Corning Gorilla Armor 2, which offers anti-reflective properties not found on any other mainstream handset on the market.

However, for a commanding price of $1,300, I expect more from Samsung. In no particular order, here are some of the most glaring Galaxy S25 Ultra hardware omissions:

No silicon carbon battery tech for increased power pack density
No super speedy wired or wireless top-up speeds
No Qi2 Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) support for MagSafe compatibility
No IP69 ingress protection certification for assurance against extreme water conditions
No advancements in anti-flicker or pulse width modulation (PWM) display tech for eye comfort purposes

If the S25 Ultra were missing one or two of these features found in other high-end smartphones, it wouldn’t be the biggest deal in the world. However, Samsung appears to be stagnating on multiple fronts, which is disappointing for a company so dominant within the industry.

2:27

Galaxy S25 Ultra in hand above a table with a box of cases on it.

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2 Samsung has walked back the Ultra’s unique hardware identity

The S25 Ultra’s chassis is a prime example of smartphone homogenization

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung has dialed back the distinctive design language of its flagship phone model. Whereas the S24 Ultra was engineered with sharp, domineering corners, the S25 Ultra opts for a softer and more muted footprint.

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung has dialed back the distinctive design language of its flagship phone model.

The S25 Ultra’s less angular proportions are arguably more suitable for in-hand use. That being said, I can’t help but feel disappointed in Samsung’s decision to walk away from the design considerations that made its earlier handsets so unique from a physical standpoint.

Worse still is the rear camera module situation — in an effort to differentiate the S25 Ultra from its predecessor, Samsung has stapled tacky rings onto each individual sensor, which is an aesthetic downgrade in my opinion.

The fact that these camera rings can be detached from the S25 Ultra’s chassis doesn’t bother me quite so much, but it certainly is amusing. Here’s hoping that Samsung sticks exclusively to wearable rings in the future, rather than gluing them onto its handsets.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra with an S Pen on it.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen features an unexpected downgrade

Samsung has removed Bluetooth from the Galaxy S25’s stylus, which means it no longer supports Air Actions.

3 The Ultra’s iconic S Pen stylus has been neutered

The lack of Bluetooth in this year’s S Pen is a demonstrable year-on-year downgrade

Believe it or not, Samsung has actually removed a feature with this year’s S25 Ultra: the included S Pen stylus no longer comes with built-in Bluetooth support.

The S Pen, which harkens back to the days of the Galaxy Note line, has included Bluetooth since the release of the Note 9 in 2018. The addition of this tech allows the stylus to be used as a remote control shutter button, as well as a makeshift wand for various Air Actions.

…it’s never a great sign when a company cuts costs by removing previously available hardware features.

It can be argued that the addition of Bluetooth within the S Pen experience is a superfluous one, with somewhat dubious utility. Nevertheless, it’s never a great sign when a company cuts costs by removing previously available hardware features.

The Galaxy S25 series is still missing this one charging feature

The Galaxy S25 series technically supports Qi2 charging — but there is a catch.

4 The Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t live in a vacuum

The OnePlus 13, the Pixel 9 Pro, and many others are all vying for flagship Android supremacy

A person holding the OnePlus 13 against a wooded area.

Even with all these complaints in mind, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is an excellent and well-refined smartphone. Its titanium frame is high-end, its chipset is best-in-class, and its display is amazingly anti-reflective.

However, Samsung isn’t shipping its latest Ultra handset in a vacuum. In the world of flagship Android smartphones, survival of the fittest is the name of the game. The recently released OnePlus 13 offers a complete hardware package, while undercutting the Ultra by a whopping $400. Google, meanwhile, continues to climb the hardware ranks, with its Pixel 9 series growing in popularity.

In the world of flagship Android smartphones, survival of the fittest is the name of the game.

Early sales figures for the Galaxy S25 Ultra point to a successful launch, but the company will have to do more next year if it wants to continue to justify its yearly Ultra hype cycle.