Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone has an AV ace up its sleeve. That’s right, the Galaxy S25 Ultra might look like an iterative update over its predecessor, but Samsung’s decision to put a spotlight on picture performance means that it immediately resonates with us, especially considering how its competitors have approached AV features in the past year.
Apple’s last batch of iPhones impressed, but picture and sound features were glossed over entirely in favour of AI features, while Sony opted to walk back on its movie-first approach by swapping out the 4K 21:9 display on the Xperia 1 VI for a more conventional screen. Samsung isn’t quite going for the completely dedicated AV angle that we’d like to see, but considering the wider smartphone market, we’ll take what we can get.
Now that we have the S25 Ultra in hand, does it live up to its promises? And more importantly, does it live up to our expectations?
Price
At £1249 / $1300 / AU$2199, there’s no getting away from the fact that the S25 Ultra is a pricey handset. It’s flanked by the iPhone 16 Pro (£1199 / $1199 / AU$2149) and Sony Xperia 1 VI (£1299 / $1700 approx / AU$2500), sitting squarely in the middle of these rivals.
That price will get you the 256GB model; however, there are larger storage options, including 512GB (£1349 / $1420 / AU$2349) and 1TB (£1549 / $1660 / AU$2749) for those who require more space for photos, music and apps.
There are also seven finishes to pick from, all of which look rather dashing and have slightly pretentious names; Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Grey and Titanium Silverblue are widely available, whereas Titanium Jadegreen, Titanium Jetblack and Titanium Pinkgold are exclusive to Samsung’s official store.
Build
While the genetic similarities to its predecessor are strong from a distance, the S25 Ultra features a design upgrade that makes it look slightly smarter and fit more comfortably in the hand. The titanium frame sandwiched between two layers of glass returns, though the edges have been rounded out this year, meaning the device doesn’t dig into our hands in the same way the S24 Ultra’s boxy corners did.
Screen size 6.9-inch
Screen type Dynamic AMOLED
Screen resolution 1440 x 3120 pixels (498 ppi)
Finishes Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Grey and Titanium Silverblue (widely available), Titanium Jadegreen, Titanium Jetblack and Titanium Pinkgold (Samsung store exclusive)
Operating system Android 15 (One UI 7)
Storage 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
RAM 12GB
Much like the S24 Ultra, the new handset sticks with a flat screen, marking an end to Samsung’s curved displays that melted over the frames of its smartphones of old – well, the mid to late 2010s. Speaking of which, the display on the S25 Ultra has grown by 0.1 inches, leaving us with a 6.9-inch screen – this is due to Samsung shrinking the bezels of this phone by 15 per cent.
On the rear of the handset, you’ll find a smooth, matte glass rear panel; our review unit is the Titanium Silverblue finish, and we think it looks rather suave. The scattered cluster of cameras and sensors also adorn the rear panel, this year with a contrasting ring around each sensor. It’s still not our favourite smartphone design, especially compared to the sleek iPhone 16 Pro, though it's a bit more interesting than the mundane Xperia 1 VI.
Turning to the edges of the phone, you’ll find the left edge unobstructed, while the right-hand side features the power and volume controls. There’s a USB-C charging socket, SIM tray, downward-firing speaker and the S-Pen on the bottom of the phone, which is an identical set-up to the S24 Ultra.
Ultimately, the S25 Ultra certainly looks a lot like its predecessor. However, there is enough here to make it feel like a new generation, unlike the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, which looks practically identical to its previous iteration.
Features
As this is Samsung’s premier handset, there is an expectedly exhaustive list of features, as was the case with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Inside the phone, you’ll find the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite for Galaxy processor backed by 12GB of RAM. As expected, this powerful combination ensures the phone is super responsive. That "for Galaxy" suffix hints towards the processor being an exclusive variant made by Qualcomm for Samsung, with a slightly higher clock speed.
The phone flies through the One UI 7 operating system, which runs on top of Android 15. It's worth noting that Samsung is promising seven years of software and security upgrades, so this phone should (theoretically) continue to receive updates through to 2032.
A major part of this device's software is the Galaxy AI system, which encompasses a wide array of AI tools and features. All the favourites from the S24 Ultra return, including the incredibly useful Circle to Search with Google, Generative Edit photo editing suite, Live Translation tools and Chat Assist feature, which can tweak the tone of your messages and emails for different scenarios. Samsung has upgraded this feature, however, by including a new on-device large language model (LLM), which will reportedly make the generative fill tools in the photo editor more reliable and accurate.
As for the AV features, the S25 Ultra sports a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz and a Quad HD+ resolution. This expansive and vivid screen is a joy to interact with thanks to the high refresh rate, while the claimed 2600 nits brightness – the same as last year's model – is plenty for indoor and outdoor visibility. Samsung has also included its impressive glare-reducing screen coating on this device, and it is reportedly even more effective than last year's model. In practice, we have no issues viewing the screen in a range of lighting conditions.
The biggest new AV upgrade is Samsung's new ProScaler feature, which is inspired by the company's flagship 4K and 8K TVs. It can reportedly improve image scaling quality by 40 per cent, meaning lower-resolution content streamed from the device will appear sharper and more detailed. In our minds, implementing a system to bring content up to the specification of the screen is a genius move by Samsung, as the mobile versions of our favourite services tend to be capped at 1080p. As we’ll come to find out in the picture section of this review, the ProScaler feature works wonders on a wide variety of streaming services.
As for the other AV features on this device, it supports HDR10 and HDR10+; the latter has had a recent boost as Disney Plus has agreed to support the format on a selection of its content, while the likes of Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Paramount Plus already support it. Dolby Atmos audio is also on board via the speakers and headphones, though Samsung's new Eclipsa Audio immersive format is, unfortunately, not supported. As expected, there is no headphone jack, so you will need to rely on a USB-C DAC or wireless audio peripherals; the 25 Ultra features Bluetooth 5.3 with the LE and A2DP codecs supported for the latter.
This latest Ultra device carries forth many of the staple features of past Galaxy phones. The S Pen returns for scribbling down notes, and the quadruple-stack camera system is back, too. Unfortunately, the S Pen gets a downgrade this year, as Samsung has stripped it of its Bluetooth capabilities, meaning you can no longer conduct air actions to remotely conduct functions on your device, nor can you use it as a remote camera shutter.
Camera-wise, Samsung has carried three of the lenses over from the S24 Ultra – the 200MP main sensor, 50MP telephoto lens, and 10MP secondary telephoto camera – but has upgraded the ultrawide lens to 50MP from 12MP. In practice, the S25 Ultra produces exceptional pictures, with crisp, vibrant colours, and the range of lens options to capture different scenarios is greatly appreciated.
Finally, the S25 Ultra has the same 5000mAh battery as its predecessor. Much like the S24 Ultra, we’ve struggled to completely drain this handset in a single day, even with heavy usage.
Picture
With a new picture-enhancing feature being a headlining aspect of this smartphone, our expectations regarding how it handles on-the-go movie watching are understandably high. We also need to remember that the last Samsung Galaxy smartphone that we reviewed, the Z Fold 6, delivered a five-star AV experience, so the heat is on for the S25 Ultra.
So, does it deliver the goods in the picture department? Simply put, yes, it does. We have no qualms with stating that this is one of the most impressive smartphone displays we’ve seen in a long while, especially considering how tough the competition has been. This is clearly in part due to the excellent ProScaler feature, which proves that when given the right attention, an AV feature on a phone can truly be the standout aspect.
We watch a range of content, including John Wick: Chapter 4, The Batman, and 1917 on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, with the Sony Xperia 1 VI on hand as a benchmark device.
The S25 Ultra wastes no time in showing us how capable its display is, with the John Wick scene in which Caine is recruited by the villainous Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont having an abundance of sharp details. This sequence takes place in a lavish palace interior, with each intricate fixture, chandelier and intricately etched pillar realised in impressively clear and crisp detail. Close-up shots of the characters reveal plenty of texture to skin and clothing, too.
What’s most striking about this picture is how solid and three-dimensional it appears. Actors in the foreground of the shot are clearly separated from the background, and the sense of space is truly impressive. This is an area where Sony has previously excelled, but we’re inclined to say that Samsung isn’t far behind. Moreover, the picture doesn’t seem overly etched or too bold. A scene taking place on the rooftop of the Osaka hotel looks fantastic, as the cherry blossom tree on the left-hand side of the shot is oozing with detail and three-dimensional depth.
Sticking with John Wick, we approve of how the S25 Ultra handles colours. For reference, we’ve opted for the natural screen mode, which can be found in the display settings, as the vivid mode that’s enabled as standard is a bit too poppy for our liking. Once that adjustment is made, the S25 Ultra delivers rich, bold colours that don’t stray into the realm of over-enthusiastic, and a range of skin tones all look healthy and natural too.
Switching to The Batman, we can study how this handset approaches dark details, as this grimy and murky movie is mostly played out under the cover of night. The consensus is that the S25 Ultra makes a strong effort, with a decent separation between the titular hero’s suit and the pitch black alleyway that he steps out of before dismantling a group of thugs at a train station. Furthermore, the henchmen’s all-black outfits have plenty of tangible detail (for instance, the clear separation between a black jacket over a black shirt).
We switch to Peep Show to see how the S25 Ultra handles older, lower-resolution content, and we’re pleased to say that the handset makes a solid attempt at cleaning up the image, boosting brightness and adding a touch of depth. It’s not perfect as there is still a touch of fuzz around the edges of subjects on screen, but it’s certainly an admirable effort nonetheless.
Rounding things out with 1917, here is where we come across an issue with the display that’s hard to ignore but thankfully doesn’t present itself too often. A panning shot through an outdoor barn structure that tracks an overhead dogfight is presented with a lot more judder than we tend to prefer, to the extent that we even tweak the motion settings to see if the adaptive refresh rate is causing this.
Unfortunately, regardless of whether it's turned on or off, the wooden slats of the barn seem to flicker quite noticeably – we check if this happens on the Xperia 1 VI and iPhone 16 and can confirm it’s also an issue on these devices, though it's more pronounced on the S25 Ultra. Furthermore, while motion itself is mostly well handled, it can look slightly oversmoothed at times.
Motion snags aside, the S25 Ultra’s fantastic detail levels, rich colours, and superb contrast are comparable to the five-star Samsung S95D OLED TV.
Sound
The audio performance of the S25 Ultra might not be quite as impressive as its picture credentials, but we still deem it to be a solid effort from Samsung overall. As we’ve established, the device supports Dolby Atmos via its stereo speakers (comprising the earpiece and downward-firing loudspeaker) and headphones (wired and wireless).
Starting with headphone audio, we plug a pair of wired cans into the device with the help of a USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter, and listen to a range of tracks on Tidal, including Taylor Swift’s The 1, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Luther, Charli XCX’s Sympathy Is A Knife and Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide.
There is plenty to praise here; the Samsung delivers a crisp and detailed audio performance with a focus on delivering clear vocals. Larger dynamic shifts, such as the electronic beat drop of Charli XCX and Ariana Grande’s Sympathy Is A Knife, are presented well, with an appreciated punch. The handset also delivers a spacious and open performance, with a clear sense of space established, especially with Dolby Atmos tracks.
However, we are left wanting more by way of low-level dynamics. The S25 Ultra just misses the emotive qualities of The 1 and Landslide, presenting the tracks more matter-of-factly rather than highlighting the subtle aspects, which is something we praised the iPhone 16 Pro for achieving. Furthermore, we’re not convinced that the S25 Ultra nails timing completely, as both the competing Apple and Sony smartphones have stronger and more precise rhythmic drives.
Ultimately, the S25 Ultra is still a good device for streaming music on the go, however, its Apple and Sony competitors are more talented at capturing the subtleties in the tracks we test.
Switching to the loudspeakers, this is where the Samsung hits its sonic stride. We’re certainly not endorsing blasting music directly from your phone’s speakers – Bluetooth speakers were invented for a reason – but they’re ideal for a spot of movie or TV watching.
The sheer size of the device means we get an impressive sense of stereo separation and, while Dolby Atmos understandably isn’t delivered in the same way we see in the world of home cinema, the S25 Ultra tracks the sound of cars rushing past the Batmobile in The Batman’s epic chase sequence to impressive effect by smartphone standards.
Verdict
Samsung’s new flagship handset is simply begging to be taken on a long-haul flight or lengthy train journey. Its big, bold screen, rich colours and crisp details liken it to a pocketable OLED TV, making it a great companion for portable movie watching. And, while we wish its musical performance had a touch more in the way of low-level dynamics, its clear and spacious sound should appease those looking to take their music library on the go.
SCORES
- Picture 5
- Sound 4
- Features 5
MORE:
Read our review of the iPhone 16 Pro
Also consider the Sony Xperia 1 VI
Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review
