Ok, so the Galaxy S25 Ultra has been out for a couple weeks now and as you would expect, Samsung has dished out another solid offering. It’s fast, has a killer camera setup and delivers the overall polished experience you would come to expect from a Samsung flagship. But after spending some time with the device—from a friend mind you, because Samsung wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet with review units—I can’t help but feel like I’m holding the same phone from last year. And the year before that. The only thing that’s changed seems to be smartphone brands appetite for real innovation.
Design: A lot of the same just a different year
Let’s start with the design because, well, it’s the first sign that not much has changed. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is basically a carbon copy of its predecessor, the S24 Ultra. Samsung’s design language has settled into something sleek and all too familiar—curved glass, sharp edges, and of course that iconic camera bump. It’s premium, no doubt, but just shouts “playing it safe”. The matte finish resists fingerprints well enough , and the screen is as slick as ever. But at a R29,999 starting price, shouldn’t we expect something a little more… exciting? The S25 Ultra just doesn’t feel fresh. It’s the same design Samsung’s been peddling since the S22 Ultra. Functional? Absolutely. Groundbreaking? Not even close. Maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit, Samsung.
Galaxy AI: An update that lacks substance
So its 2025 and like every other smartphone brand out there, Samsung is betting big on AI for the S25 Ultra, and it’s hard to ignore that Galaxy AI is the central talking point of the marketing. However, remove the clever marketing for a bit and yet again you can’t help but feel, I’ve seen this before. That’s not to say the AI experience isn’t good. Far from it. For the most part, the AI can perform some neat tricks, like pulling text from a screenshot to set reminders or adding events based on on-screen info- Its well integrated across Samsung’s apps which certainly makes for a refined and intuitive experience – But it somehow lacks substance. Surely this could have been an OTA update, couldn’t it? It sure as hell feels like one.
Now I do believe AI is making massive in-roads, and is everywhere in tech right now, but that’s exactly the problem. Everyone is doing the same thing- AI is being shoved down our throats under the guise of “innovation” while the industry seems to be stuck for ideas. In fact, one of the biggest takeaways from my brief time with the Galaxy S25 Ultra is how stagnant the smartphone space feels in general. AI is being treated as the next big thing, but is it enough to make me rush out and upgrade from the S24 Ultra? or any other flagship for that matter. What happened to the times when manufacturers were really pushing boundaries and breaking new ground, it all seems somewhat flat and disappointing.
Everything You Expect, but Not Much More
Listen, there’s no denying the Galaxy 25 Ultra is a phenomenal piece of technology. The performance is top-tier, the camera setup is still one of the best you can get, and the overall quality and experience screams premium. In fact, there’s very little if any that this phone can’t handle. But here’s my gripe – you can find that same greatness in the S24 Ultra.
This is not in any way to crap out on the S25 Ultra – The phone definitely isn’t bad—it’s just a slightly more polished version of a phone that already did everything right. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, for example, is solid, but the performance gains are so minimal that the average user probably won’t notice a difference.
The camera setup is another example of being solid-but ultimately unspectacular. Sure, there’s a new 50-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, which does deliver better low-light shots and Samsung’s portrait mode is still one of the best in the business – But, it’s not like anyone was complaining about the S24 Ultra’s camera in the first place.
The GeekVerdict: Keep Your S24 Ultra
The bottom line is, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a flagship in the truest sense of the word. It’s fast, it’s sleek, and it’s packed with features. It’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-end phone that delivers everything you’d expect from a top-tier device. But it doesn’t offer enough of an upgrade to make it worth the switch from the S24 Ultra. The S25 Ultra is a fantastic flagship, just like last year’s version. But it’s not much more than that.
