The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra marks a pivotal shift in Samsung's design philosophy, moving away from the "boxy" aesthetic toward a rounded, more pocket-friendly silhouette. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 4) and featuring a significantly upgraded 50MP secondary camera array, it remains the most versatile "everything" phone.

For years, the Ultra line was defined by its "Note-like" sharp corners. While they looked professional, they were notorious for digging into palms. The S25 Ultra finally addresses this. Holding it after a year, the most striking thing isn't the titanium—it’s the comfort. The corners are now slightly radiused, reminiscent of the S21 Ultra but with the modern flatness of the S24. The Grade 5 Titanium has aged gracefully; unlike the early iPhone titanium models, Samsung’s finish seems more resistant to the "oily" discoloration. The real star, however, remains the Gorilla Armor. A year of sliding across coffee tables and sharing pockets with keys has left my unit remarkably micro-scratch free. More importantly, the anti-reflective properties haven't worn off.

In daily use, the Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 4) feels less like a phone processor and more like a laptop chip. In my testing, thermal throttling is non-existent during 45-minute sessions of Zenless Zone Zero or Genshin Impact. Where you really feel the speed, though, is in the AI processing. Generative Edit on photos, which used to take 5-7 seconds on the S24, now feels almost instantaneous. Multitasking remains the Ultra’s superpower. I routinely run a YouTube window over a Slack thread while a browser is open in the background, and the 16GB RAM model handles it without refreshing any apps.

Samsung’s software has matured. One UI 8.0 (based on Android 16) is less about adding new features and more about refining the ones that exist. "Circle to Search" has become muscle memory for most users. If I see a pair of shoes in a video or a landmark in a photo, the S-Pen makes the selection process surgical. Speaking of the S-Pen, its latency is now so low that it feels like writing on paper.

One year in, the 5,000mAh battery has held up surprisingly well. I am still seeing roughly 7.5 to 8 hours of Screen-On Time (SOT) on a full charge, which is only a marginal drop from its launch performance. Samsung’s battery health management—capping the charge at 80% or 95%—actually works if you have the discipline to use it. Reliability also extends to the software. We’ve seen monthly security patches delivered on time, and the transition from Android 15 to 16 was the smoothest in Samsung's history.

Who is this phone for? After a year, three distinct use cases emerged

The 50MP 5x zoom lens has become my go-to for b-roll. It produces a natural bokeh that looks "expensive." Second, the Corporate Traveler: Using DeX mode, I have frequently left my laptop at home, connecting the S25 Ultra to a hotel TV via HDMI to catch up on emails and documents

Despite the controversy over "fake" moons in previous years, the 100x Space Zoom (aided by AI upscaling) remains the only way to get a usable photo of a performer from the nosebleed seats.

Browsing r/GalaxyS25Ultra or X (formerly Twitter) reveals a generally satisfied fan base. The "Grainy Display" drama that plagued the S24 launch was successfully avoided with the M14 panel on the S25. Most long-term feedback centers on the camera processing. While critics love the detail, some long-term users complain that Samsung’s "Nightography" makes the night look like day, losing the mood of the original scene. However, for the average user, the trade-off for 7 years of support and a reliable, high-resale-value device makes the S25 Ultra the safest "Pro" bet in 2026.