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Reasons to upgrade to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, one reason not to

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Last updated: January 27th, 2025 at 14:14 UTC+01:00

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, like all Galaxy S Ultra smartphones, is jam-packed with cutting edge specs and features, and there's no shortage of reasons for why you may want to upgrade to it from your existing device.

There is also at least one reason for why you may want to skip this phone, so if the Galaxy S25 Ultra is on your radar and you need help deciding if you should go ahead with the purchase, you have come to the right place.

Reasons to upgrade to Galaxy S25 Ultra

A new Snapdragon chip that's more than a generational leap

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that powers the Galaxy S25 Ultra brings massive performance improvements over the already fantastic Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The improvements are tangible, with the the Galaxy S25 Ultra being considerably faster at tasks like exporting and saving edited videos.

To keep things running cool when the chip is being pushed to its limits, the Galaxy S25 features a 40% larger vapor chamber compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Thanks to a 3nm manufacturing process, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is also more efficient than its predecessors.

New 50MP ultra-wide camera

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung is finally giving some love to the ultra-wide camera. The S25 Ultra boasts a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera that brings several refinements and enables new features that weren't possible before.

In low-light conditions, the new ultrawide sensor captures photos and videos with better detail and lower noise. You can also record 8K videos with the ultrawide camera (in addition to the 200MP main and 50MP super telephoto cameras). Macro shots also benefit from the increased resolution.

Log video recording for professional content creators

Log (short for logarithmic) video recording is a new feature that targets professional content creators. These videos capture a higher amount of detail and have a wider dynamic range. While they look flat and dull in their unedited state (see the leaves in the photo above), they give you more scope for color correction and color grading in post-production.

The best part is that log video recording works at every resolution, including 8K. Check out our detailed explainer on log video recording to learn all about the feature.

Useful design refinements

The Galaxy S25 Ultra brings several refinements to the design. It retains features such as a titanium frame found on the Galaxy S24 Ultra but is noticeably lighter in the hand and slightly thinner. As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S25 Ultra boasts a large vapor chamber for improved cooling despite the reduction in weight and thickness.

Galaxy S21 Ultra owners will also appreciate the rounded corners, which, combined with the flat sides, make the phone more comfortable to hold and use for longer periods of time compared to the boxy shape of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, S23 Ultra, and S24 Ultra.

New Galaxy AI features

The Galaxy S25 series comes with new Galaxy AI features, and you would be right to assume that those features will eventually be ported to older Galaxy S devices. However, while we can't confirm this, we think that some features may remain exclusive to the Galaxy S25 lineup because they require the capabilities of the new Snapdragon chip to work.

Audio Eraser, which lets you remove different kinds of sounds and noise from recorded videos, is an example of such a feature. The Snapdragon 8 Elite may also be the reason why the Galaxy S25 series supports processing some AI features, such as Generative Edit, locally on the device.

One reason not to get the Galaxy S25 Ultra

Owners of Galaxy S Ultra smartphones with a built-in S Pen and even those who are still rocking a Galaxy Note smartphone probably saw this coming: If you upgrade to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you lose Air Actions, which is functionality enabled by Bluetooth connectivity.

Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen Air Command

You can't use the S25 Ultra S Pen as a remote control for clicking pictures, controlling presentations and media, or remotely launching apps. And contrary to some prevalent rumors, Samsung seems to have no plans to sell a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen as an optional accessory.

Now, Bluetooth connectivity is unlikely to return to the S Pen with future Galaxy S Ultra models, so you will eventually have to give up all the related functionality. But if you're not ready to do that just yet, you are better off steering clear of the S25 Ultra.

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