The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra does all of the things you want from a high-end smartphone, but its redesign annoys me.

One big highlight of the Galaxy S25 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip. It’s an upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy present in the Galaxy S23 and a powerful processor that promises snappy performance. It can handle almost anything you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

The answer is a resounding no, and it’s all down to the fact that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is one of the blandest upgrades I’ve seen over the past couple of years. Beaten only by the iPhone 14, which was essentially an iPhone 13 with some very minor upgrades.

It's becoming more and more clear that you simply cannot launch a new smartphone these days without paying loads of attention to the included AI assistant. This is as true as ever with today's launch of the Galaxy S25 series,

The Galaxy S25+ and S23+ are tied for durability, at least on paper. Both feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Samsung’s Armor Aluminum frame, and IP68 dust and water resistance that lets them survive a dip in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is an AI phone through and through, for better or worse. At a starting price of $1,300, does it still deserve a spot in your pocket?

The very best deals are dropping during the last week of pre-orders on Samsung's brand-new Galaxy S25 family of smartphones.