Living With Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra and One UI 7: Technically Great, but Uninspiring

Spec-wise, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra is a winner. It has a blazing-fast custom Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, an even larger take on the S24 Ultra’s low-glare display, and a more robust camera system with 48-megapixel ultra-wide shots. One UI 7 is welcome, too, with a fresh overall look as well as genuinely useful feature upgrades whether or not you care for Galaxy AI.

And yet, having used the S25 Ultra for weeks, I find it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend it over immediate rivals, whether it’s Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max or direct Android counterparts like Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL and the OnePlus 13. It’s a great phone, but its competitors’ advantages in some areas are growing—and they have character that Samsung tends to lack.

Design: Playing It Safe

The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s design was relentlessly utilitarian with its boxy, minimalist frame ...