Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Review: The Most Powerful Android Phone Ever Made

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the pinnacle of Android smartphone engineering in 2026. It packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor — the fastest mobile chip ever built — into a titanium chassis that feels like holding a precision instrument. After three weeks of daily testing, here is our full verdict.

Design & Build

Samsung has refined the S25 Ultra's design in subtle but meaningful ways. The corners are slightly rounder than the S24 Ultra, making it more comfortable to hold. The titanium frame is exceptionally rigid and the Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass is the most scratch-resistant we have ever tested. Available in Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Silverblue, and Titanium Whitesilver.

Display

The 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display runs at 1–120Hz and hits a peak brightness of 2,600 nits — the brightest we have measured on any smartphone. In direct summer sunlight, it remained perfectly readable. Colors are accurate out of the box and the anti-reflective coating is among the best available.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Elite paired with 12GB of RAM makes this phone feel faster than any device we have tested. Apps open instantly, multitasking is completely fluid, and gaming performance hit sustained frame rates that budget phones cannot dream of.

Camera System

The 200MP main sensor captures staggering detail in daylight. The 50MP 5x telephoto is excellent, and a new 10MP 3x lens bridges the gap between wide and tele. Night photography is class-leading — only the Google Pixel 9 Pro comes close.

• 200MP main: f/1.7, OIS, pixel-binning to 12MP or 50MP
• 50MP 5x periscope telephoto: f/3.4
• 10MP 3x telephoto: f/2.4
• 12MP ultrawide: f/2.2, 120° FOV
• 12MP front-facing: f/2.2

Battery & Charging

The 5,000mAh battery easily lasts a full day of heavy use. 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging speeds are unchanged from last year. A full charge takes about 65 minutes wired.