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So it’s that time of year again and Samsung has launched it new S25 Ultra. From first glances/readings, it seems like the changes are not significant and are more incremental. I am not overly surprised by this, as this is what we have seen with other flagship phones.
It does pose the question again, do we really need new models every year? But there are still some interesting changes that I think are worth talking about.
So is the Samsung S25 Ultra a bit more Ultra than last year? Is it worth considering upgrading?
Let’s dive straight in!
Design Changes:
This year there is a slight design change. The Samsung S25 Ultra has moved away from boxy/square edges from the S24 ultra and is sporting rounded corners similar to that of the iPhone and the Google Pixel 9 Series. I do enjoy the look of the rounded edges on phones, but more importantly I appreciate how much more comfortable round edges are in your hand.
The Samsung S24 Ultra although was comfortable enough for a short period of time, I found that after a while it would start to dig into fingers and become annoying. Moving to round edges for me will certainly make it feel so much better in hand. In terms of weights, the Samsung S25 Ultra is lighter at 218g compared to 232g from last year’s S24 Ultra. I am not sure how much difference this will make, but a lighter device would be welcomed.
Display:
In my opinion, there is not a lot, Samsung could do to make the screen better than the S24 Ultra, but they have made some small upgrades on the S25 Ultra that are worth a mention.
This year’s Samsung S25 Ultra see a tiny bump up in size and is now a whooping 6.9 inches from 6.8 inches, bringing it up to the same size as the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This year’s model also sports a thinner, more uniformed bezel compare to its predecessor. The display has seen an upgrade to Corning Gorilla Class Armor 2 which should make it more durable and more resistant to scratches.
One of the most popular upgrades to the screen from last year, The Anti-Reflective coating, has also seen slight improvements. As I said, this is not one of the areas that I would say needed improving, it was already leading its competitor for me here.
Cameras:
I have mixed feelings over Samsung’s Camera. There are times when you can get a great shot, but then there is what is referred to as the shutter lag. This for me is when I am trying to take a photo of a fast moving small human or not so fast but still moving dog. The shot will often come out blurry and miss the moment. Not something that I have encountered on the iPhone or the Pixel. So I am really hoping that this year’s model has fixed this issue.
Something that is interesting to see if that the Samsung S25 Ultra has the option for you to be able to shot in log. This is great for creatives and people that enjoy editing their videos, but I am not sure that the average consumer if going to be all that fussed. This maybe a feature that lures some of those video fan away from the iPhone, which is frequently lorded for its Video capabilities.
In terms of the cameras, the only camera that is getting an upgrade is the Ultra Wide Camera, which is getting bumped up from 12MP to 50 MP. The rest remain the same.
Galaxy AI:
And on to AI, which is what everyone seems to be focusing on, some better than others (come on Apple). I want AI to help me with more day-to-day things that are going to add value to my day and help make things easier. And from what I have been seeing is where Samsung are doing some really cool things in this space.
Samsung have introduced what they are calling Now Brief, which allows you to personalise your briefings throughout the day. For instance, in the morning you can set your briefing to tell you want the weather forecast for the day’s is, up-and-coming meetings etc. Now there are lots more crazy AI things that you can do but I for me, it should be something that enhances my day-to-day activities and workflow, which features like this do (in my opinion)
Final Thoughts:
I am not sure that you could say that Samsung have knocked it out of the park with the Samsung S25 Ultra. What they have done is made some incremental upgrades/additional to what was already a great phone in the S24 Ultra. Personally I don’t think that we will see big sweeping design innovation, more incremental changes which comes back to my point earlier should we see new phones every year? Of course, phone manufacturer are always going to launch phones yearly, it hit their bottom line at the end of the day.
We will see just enough to make us want to upgrade to the latest and greatest, and more and more of a focus on AI and software to enhance the user’s experience. So the question now is do I pre-order or not pre-order 😂