SamsungsmartphoneLast featured Apr 2026
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Worth it if…Worth it, with caveats.
A delightful, tough and fast phone with a much improved camera, but he says most people should hold off because the AI pricing is unknown and the S24 Ultra is far cheaper.
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- Price when I covered it
- $1,300
- Featured in
- 17 videos · 2025–2026
- Category
- Phones · Flagship
What I liked
- Looks as bright as phone claiming 6,000 nits
- Was a great phone for battery life
- Better viewing angles than the S26 Ultra
- Well-rounded
- 86% battery after an hour of gaming
- much less damage in drop test
What I didn't
- Beaten by the S26 Ultra and several rivals
- Chip and battery outclassed
- Smaller battery than the Xiaomi
- Slower than the new Snapdragon chip
- Inconsistent colour between lenses
- Less detail in photos
In my words
Straight from the video. Tap a timestamp to hear me say it.
“the S26 Ultra's viewing angles look quite a bit worse than the S25 Ultra.”
“Okay, so phones have been on for an hour, so the real Galaxy S25 Ultra is on 86%.”
“I think Samsung's photo is a mile better here”
“Samsung just isn't as consistent when it comes to color”
“this s25 Ultra literally is as good as it gets on a mobile phone today”
“there are phones that simply are just better at everything and if you have the budget for them then it's very much worth spending that extra”
Every time I covered it
Most recent first, so you can see if my view has changed.
20:58How Tech Companies Lie to You.With a 2,600 nit peak claim, it looks just as bright as the Honor Magic 8 Pro in everyday use.
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0:20The Ultimate 2026 Battery TestPrevious-gen Ultra, a great battery phone last year that now ranks sixth, showing how far rivals have come.
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2:27Samsung S26 Ultra Hands on - What's ACTUALLY New?Used as the baseline; it has better viewing angles than the S26 Ultra and the same 5,000 mAh battery.
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6:42The BEST Smartphones of 2025!Well rounded and good at everything, but its chip and battery are now outclassed.
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0:00REAL vs FAKE TechThe real phone beat the fake on battery life and survived the drop test with far less damage.
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2:14Xiaomi 17 Pro Max review - Apple are you seeing this!?Mentioned as a battery and performance comparison that the Xiaomi comfortably beats.
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0:26iPhone 17 Ultimate Battery Test!Posted a monstrous 11 hours 58 in the test, placing third.
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0:00iPhone 17 Pro vs Samsung S25 Ultra Camera Comparison!Still excellent for zoom, vibrant colour, night dynamic range and 8K, but less consistent on colour and detail than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
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1:21iPhone 17/Air/Pro Unboxing - What Apple didn't tell you!Cuts reflections far better than the new iPhones' anti-reflective coating.
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0:05Samsung S25 Edge Hands on - What were they Thinking?The fuller-featured phone that now costs the same as the Edge, so you get everything for the same money.
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13:25CMF Phone 2 Pro Review - Next-Gen Modular Phone!Mentioned only as a camera benchmark that the CMF Phone 2 Pro cannot match.
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0:06Cheap vs Midrange vs Expensive Phone - Should you spend more?Clearly the best at nearly everything, with a top display, zoom and battery life, and worth it if you have the budget.
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25:56I tested the FIRST EVER limited Edition iPhone!Used as the benchmark flagship in the stress test against the Red Magic.
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1:55The 2 Best Phone Cameras in the World.Used as the zoom benchmark; its 100x shot is decent but loses clearly to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.
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0:00Samsung S25 Ultra Review - Things just got Messy.A delightful, tough and fast phone with a much improved camera, but he says most people should hold off because the AI pricing is unknown and the S24 Ultra is far cheaper.
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0:00Samsung S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera BattleBig camera improvements, winning zoom, editing, selfies and portraits, but it still trails the iPhone at night and in video.
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0:00Samsung S25 Ultra Hands On - The New EraA slicker, faster phone with a big software and AI step forward, though colours, comfort and unproven AI and camera claims hold it back for now.
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Why it's on these shelves
- Built to last
“this Flagship s25 Ultra gets 7 years of full Android updates”
▶ 7:51 - Built to last
“this is one tough phone”
▶ 0:19 - Iterative
“most of the best things about it are already on that phone coming to that phone or should be coming to that phone”
▶ 3:45 - Camera nerd
“the s25 ultra wins on all fronts when it comes to zoom”
▶ 6:23
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