Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review – AI becomes your personal assistant

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is more than a flagship smartphone – it’s a personal AI companion that makes every day simpler.

This is thanks to its new Galaxy AI features which provide next-level convenience for everything from multitasking, to capturing stunning photos, to managing daily routines.

Alongside its extensive AI capabilities, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra packs potent performance, an exceptional display, and a stylish design.

These were our findings after Samsung sent us the S25 Ultra to review.

Watch our review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra below.

Galaxy AI takes the lead

While AI has become a popular feature on the Samsung S-series smartphones, several new Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S25 Ultra stand out. This includes the Now Brief and Now Bar.

Adopting the “carpe diem” mantra, the Now Brief is an essential addition to your mornings – giving you a personalised snapshot of your day.

It provides you with a morning brief when you wake up, which includes the weather forecast, a quick look at your schedule, and a wide range of other content that you can choose to include.

For example: When synced with your Galaxy smartwatch, the Now Brief will display your “energy score” for the day. It can also automatically open apps based on your routine, such as Google Maps for your morning commute.

The Now Brief is accessible from your Galaxy S25 Ultra’s home screen as well as through the Now Bar, which you can interact with from your lock screen.

The Now Bar gives you instant access to other active apps, too.

This is really handy for managing your Spotify music playback without unlocking your smartphone, while you can also set the Now Bar to provide you with real time sports updates, health snapshots, and more.

Seamless Actions Across Apps is another new Galaxy AI tool – powered by Google Gemini – that lets you get things done with a single voice command instead of constantly juggling between apps.

For instance, while chatting with friends to make plans, we asked Google Gemini to “Find me a nearby steakhouse?”

Galaxy AI instantly pulled up Google Maps with a selection of nearby steakhouses, without making us switch screens.

These new AI features were quick and seamless – like having a personal assistant at our fingertips.

Flagship performance

Even more AI benefits are available when using the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera.

This camera system is powered by the AI ProVisual Engine, which ensures superior quality images using its powerful 200MP sensor.

Whether we were facing dim lighting or fast-moving objects, the camera delivered crisp, detailed shots every time.

We also put features like Photo Assist to the test, which allows you to remove unwanted objects from your snapshots, and found that it produced a final image with almost unnoticeable edits.

This feature is powered by a flagship processor custom-built for Samsung – the Snapdragon 8 Elite – which delivered incredible performance.

From instant app launching to multitasking and gaming, the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivered without draining the battery too quickly.

Compared to the previous generation chips used in Samsung flagships, the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers 37% faster performance, 30% more powerful graphics, and 40% faster NPU for AI processing.

Its improved efficiency, combined with a 5,000mAh battery fitted in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, then ensured we enjoyed up to 31 hours of video playback on a single charge.

This is complemented by the stunning 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz display, which makes using the Galaxy S25 Ultra an absolute pleasure.

A smart choice

Galaxy AI and the AI ProVisual Engine make the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra more than an upgrade from your current smartphone – they transform how you interact with your day.

These new AI features save time and effort, while powerful hardware keeps everything running smoothly at all times.

Click here to learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.