The Galaxy S25 Ultra is... misunderstood.

Nothing ever changes with new Samsung phones, right? Watching a lot of the reaction to the recent S25 Ultra launch, you could be forgiven for thinking Samsung had just taken the S24 Ultra, swapped out the chip, rounded off the corners and called it a day.

But honestly, after a week of using this S25 Ultra, I think it's one of the most misunderstood phones I've used lately. And while sure, there ARE things that I find disappointing about this phone, there's also a lot of hidden excellence just below the surface. So let's get into top 5 reasons to buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra after my first week with this phone... and also 3 reasons why you might want to pass.

0:00 Intro
0:39 Slimmer, Lighter, Better
3:04 Amazing battery life (no, really)
4:44 Still one of the best cameras
6:28 That display...
7:41 One UI is good again!
9:08 S Pen downgrade
10:14 Better cameras may exist (for you)
11:20 Countless cheaper rivals

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[moselcuk]

With all due respect, nothing you say in the video shows that it's misunderstood. Quite to the contrary, in fact.

[judenjilah]

That doesn't mean there were no rooms for upgrade.
It would cost Samsung nothing to put a 6, 000mAh battery
1 inch type sensor
Bluetooth S-pen

[ayejay]

as a customer that has an s25 Ultra on the way now, upgrading from an iPhone 13 pro max, most of the things in videos like this really dont apply and its hard to find any useful information on what to expect when i get the phone after using my iPhone for the past 4 years. I dont care how it compares to the s24, i dont care how little they changed this year, all i care about is whats different and how well theyve done the incremental changes. I always see videos every year saying phones never change year to year, and i dont know why people get so damn pissed that they change very little when thats all technology, small incremental changes until new tech comese out to make a bigger leap and then back to it. Phones, cars, TVs, headphones, everything. all small changes that add up over the years. I personally think this phone is going to be a massive change if youre uograding from either die after 2+ years like myself and MOST of the people buying a new phone are. Most people arent getting the newest phone every single year, time after time.

[rogenyourseth]

Making the rings around the camera modules bigger to fake having bigger lenses is so scummy. Similar to what google did with the black space around the cameras on the pixel 8 and 9 pro.

[Adamtendo_player_]

as someone who will be switching from a 16 Pro Max, to the S25 Ultra in May a lot of the complaints don’t apply to me because this will be my first ultra Samsung phone.

[robi]

Love mine. Big screen without feeling like a brick. Got loads of remarks from people, too. One ordered one there and then; they loved it so much. 😊

Out of all the Ultras I've had, this is definitely my favorite to use daily. I totally agree that you need to have it in your hands and use it daily to appreciate the difference

Used it all day and still at 72%😮

The AI picture editing is far more accurate. I removed some items in photos on both my 24u and 25u and the 25u was FLAWLESS, shadows and all.

[Szelle_]

I was looking for this phone to upgrade my s23 ultra. But after watching Jerry's review I'll use my phone another year.

[simp-slayer]

The only thing that changed is that they removed bluetooth from the S-Pen (which is a bad thing).

[DoctorMustafaSaad]

Dude.. i'm a loyal samsung user.. and after i saw this "misunderstood" new ultra, it's my first time (for quite many years) to stick to my. S24Ultra.. and with this downgrade, i'll keep my phone (and the whole ecosystem) for 2 years till changing to another one bcz samsung planning became clear now.. 0 innovation, 0 concern of user feedback etc.. disgraceful..

[engineering_guy]

You don't have to be different just for the sake of being different. This is cheap journalism.

[jknk]

Xda forums are dead, the custom ROM community is dead... I'm leaving

[otogiokami]

They keep making excuses. It's pretty incredible to watch.

[JonathanbradleyT]

I appreciate samsung for getting rid of the curved screen, i found out flat sceen is light years more durable than curved,

[desertnomad]

I was looking back at reviews between s23 ultra vs s24 ultra. Everyone in the comments was all complaining the same way.
How they’re going to keep the s23 ultra and s24 is not all that better… I think most people just want an excuse to keep their current phone… no one needs to switch their phones every 1-2 years.

[solarsky]

In a software&cloud 1st world there's no need for this annual smartphone rip-off any longer.

[sidha]

Cooments here are from the people who did not upgrade and comparing spec sheets and finding no drastic change.
I have just upgraded from S23U and have been using S25U for 5 days.

Here are my thoughts:
I use Pen to do document signs or video /photo editing where instead of zooming, i can point using the pen. I never in my life used any Bluetooth feature, only good one was remote shutter, but it was pain to get the pen out and than put it back in. Instead Showing your Open palm works everey single time and is soi easy to use.
So yes Spen all basic important functions are there.

2. I find the AI integration realy good, 7yrs update means i will move this phone within my family for atleast 5-6 yrs.
3. It is just overall faster and i have not touched S23U, gave to wife.
4. It is lighter and easier to handle, on specsheet it might seems bogus, but i can literally feel the difference. Including the screen, i loved that now i can use any screen protector.
5. As i slapped a protector so the non reflective screen Thing is useless for me.
6. Cpu is a very big upgrade and i dont know why peolle not finding it important? I'm a PC guy so for me motherboard and cpu/GPU are the most important parts and where most of the money goes. And S25 is giving u that.
7. I have used 8k and 4k video recording and did not saw the stutter, in S23 the small stutters were there now and then. As i use video extensively in 4k 60p and 8k so it was important for me. I use sony a6700 for photos.

8. The camera lens have anti flair coating, so less flairing under the sun.
9. I slap cases on phone so dont care about material but more toughness is always better not that i will test it lol

Overall i feel i did the right thing after upgrading. This phone feels very polished. If u r after numbers than wait for S26 ot 27. U will get new hard ware and will be used as test subjetcs.(Samsung track records says that) I will be buying S28 or S29 when everything will be polished like S25.

[S-I-R-E]

Reality translation:
"It's not the garbage you think it is, it is only misunderstood because it does not compete with any other brand in any aspect be it camera, software, battery, performance, value or features but it costs more than all of them while cutting features"

If anyone is willing to accept this gross display of greed and fact thay Samsung knows people are shills, they have no business gasping at Sony Xperia prices since they actually pack everything we used to get in a phone. Oh no wait, the plague has reached Japan, no more adapters in the box! Still better than Samsung.

[thecoryguy]

What about the Snapdragon Elite chip? It's a whole new series, with (supposedly) substantial upgrades. Buying a S24 versus an S25 would keep you from using that chip, which could be huge for Samsung DEX and mobile gamers, particularly those who use emulators. I've yet to see someone push that chip to it's limits.

[mickmoon]

Taking away S pen premium feature compared to previous S24 Ultra is definitely misunderstood feature sorry "afterthought" that consumers simply can't understand huh why even bother to lie?
This is the worst XDA video so far literally shill talking points, gaslighting truth, corporate speak no longer for dedicated tech enthusiasts and lying about features is the final nail in the coffin
Unsubbed from this channel 0 unique or truth from this channel

[horridohobbies]

Samsung's anti-reflective screen is pointless _if you use a screen protector._ Most users will use a screen protector.