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Samsung S25/ S25 Ultra

yui4 said:
I’m the same. I understand the fold 7 launching with one UI 8 but really expected the s25 ultra update to be pretty much the same time or only a little after. Now the s25 FE has it and there’s no real sign of it for the s25 ultra
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Didn't the same thing happen with the s24 ultra last year?? They always delay new software on older devices even by a few months. Something Samsung should really change.

They could release OneUI 8 for all devices within 3 years at the same time or even longer. Yet they use updates or updated versions of Android as a selling point to buy a new phone. Seems like something Google should start to prohibit.

One of the reasons I really like Apple devices across platforms. When I had an iPhone my MBA and iPad they would all be updated the same day. Now my Mac and iPad get updates at the same time.

My Samsung tablet, phone and PC all have completely different update schedules. It can be very confusing.
 
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kkh786 said:
I have had the phone since yesterday and first impressions are refreshing. So much more cleaner UI than Samsung. I like the simplicity and functionality. I think so far so good.
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Is there a significant lack of functionality when moving to stock android in comparison to one ui?
 
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yui4 said:
Is there a significant lack of functionality when moving to stock android in comparison to one ui?
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I haven't noticed anything yet apart from the missing S Pen which I rarely used anyway especially as it lost Bluetooth functionality this time.
No duplicate apps is amazing. Helps my OCD.
Even the Samsung clipboard functionality is here, this is a must for me. Google also does screenshots better than Samsung.
Additionally the Galaxy Watch8 Classic has also transferred over seamlessly.
It has been good so far, haven't missed the S25 Ultra yet.
Haven't had a chance to test out the cameras properly yet. I'm not too concerned seeing the early reviews.
 
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kkh786 said:
I haven't noticed anything yet apart from the missing S Pen which I rarely used anyway especially as it lost Bluetooth functionality this time.
No duplicate apps is amazing. Helps my OCD.
Even the Samsung clipboard functionality is here, this is a must for me. Google also does screenshots better than Samsung.
Additionally the Galaxy Watch8 Classic has also transferred over seamlessly.
It has been good so far, haven't missed the S25 Ultra yet.
Haven't had a chance to test out the cameras properly yet. I'm not too concerned seeing the early reviews.
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Nice! Thanks for the feedback
 
Are any of you using the regular S25? I'd never really payed attention to it but I played with one in the store yesterday and it feels really nice in the hand. I snapped a couple of pictures and they look better than what my current phone does although I looked when I got home and apparently the camera system is older.
 
Back to an S25U today via eBay UK and a business reseller I've used a few times - £725 for a 256GB/black S25U literally as new.

Bought a 14 Plus from him too as needed a new mobile for my new job (contracting this time around)

The Z Fold 6 is a superb phone; but I'm literally glued to my MBA currently; so a normal but big mobile suits me best

Forgot how good the screen is on the S25U; so bright too!
 
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Screenshot_20250910_193933_Nova Launcher.jpg


In its Pitaka Aramid case and running Nova Launcher with Darko icon pack
 
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scott craft said:
Are any of you using the regular S25? I'd never really payed attention to it but I played with one in the store yesterday and it feels really nice in the hand. I snapped a couple of pictures and they look better than what my current phone does although I looked when I got home and apparently the camera system is older.
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I have it since June. Very very happy with it. No problems with battery life, it's good, design is superb, very thin and light. My previous phone was the S24+ and after a year and a half, I got tired of the big screen. Having a light and compact phone is SO refreshing. Not much different in hardware. No overheating, performance is great, camera is good, love OneUI, etc.

I use the phone much more than my S24+ because of how compact it is. Have the navy color and blue official silicone case. Great combo.

My next phone could be the S26 Pro if it has good upgrades.
 
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Sensamic said:
I have it since June. Very very happy with it. No problems with battery life, it's good, design is superb, very thin and light. My previous phone was the S24+ and after a year and a half, I got tired of the big screen. Having a light and compact phone is SO refreshing. Not much different in hardware. No overheating, performance is great, camera is good, love OneUI, etc.

I use the phone much more than my S24+ because of how compact it is. Have the navy color and blue official silicone case. Great combo.

My next phone could be the S26 Pro if it has good upgrades.
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How do you find the battery life? It does feel good in the hand, even better than the Pixel 10.
 
Having come from the iphone 16 pro max to the s25 ultra I must say I love a lot about this phone.

However, with the release of the iphone 17 pro I have given serious consideration about swapping for the iphone 17 pro. My main gripe is the camera on the s25 ultra. Whilst it takes some excellent photos at times, I find it is very hit and miss. Sometimes the shots come out perfect and other times they are just rubbish and blurry. This is not just something I am imaging as my partner has a iphone 16 and looks at my photos and confirms that they more often than not arnt great compared to the exact same photo on her phone.

I always found the iphone to be very consistent with photo quality and it's that consistency I am not getting with the S25 ultra, which is a real shame cos there is lots to love about this phone.
 
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scott craft said:
How do you find the battery life? It does feel good in the hand, even better than the Pixel 10.
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It's good, not excellent, but I do not worry about it. I have a Samsung powerbank 25W with me almost every time I go out, but don't use it often. I get all day battery life with normal usage. I don't even check SOT anymore, since I'm good with overall battery life.
 
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I'm getting the itch to jump to the S25 Ultra. I'm really not a fan of iOS26. I know I can stay on 18.6 but I feel this is a good jumping on point. Especially as One UI 8 is just round the corner. I'm only hesitant as I get the fear of losing something, but I will still have my iPad with my icloud backups.
 
Sensamic said:
It's good, not excellent, but I do not worry about it. I have a Samsung powerbank 25W with me almost every time I go out, but don't use it often. I get all day battery life with normal usage. I don't even check SOT anymore, since I'm good with overall battery life.
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I think it would do just as good as my current phone even with the battery being smaller but it's nice to hear that it does last all day. Thank you.
 
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jameseld82 said:
Replacing my 16 Pro Max. I tried the iOS26 beta and I just can't bring myself to use it. I really don't like it. I think this could be a good jumping over point as it looks like One UI 8 may release next week.
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I've got iOS26 Beta on my 14 Plus and TBH I quite like it - hated it on my iPad though weirdly...

The S25U is hell of a phone though; you'll really enjoy it
 
jameseld82 said:
Replacing my 16 Pro Max. I tried the iOS26 beta and I just can't bring myself to use it. I really don't like it. I think this could be a good jumping over point as it looks like One UI 8 may release next week.
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I pretty much did the same thing except for the beta software. I now have two S25 ultra phones, and I love them. It's funny looking at the iPhone forum side and watching everybody go nuts about complaining that the delivery date changed etc and so forth and so on, and I just was not happy with the 17 pro series this year. The only camera they changed was the telephoto, and the other 2 cameras are still the same fusion cameras. The telephoto camera sensor on the S25 ultra is still larger than the one that's being used in the 17 pro, not by much but it's still bigger. I've had the iPhone since 2009 & moving over to Android to the Galaxy S25 ultra is a nice change. I still have a iPhone 16 pro Max, but I hardly ever use it.
 
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ToddH said:
I pretty much did the same thing except for the beta software. I now have two S25 ultra phones, and I love them. It's funny looking at the iPhone forum side and watching everybody go nuts about complaining that the delivery date changed etc and so forth and so on, and I just was not happy with the 17 pro series this year. The only camera they changed was the telephoto, and the other 2 cameras are still the same fusion cameras. The telephoto camera sensor on the S25 ultra is still larger than the one that's being used in the 17 pro, not by much but it's still bigger. I've had the iPhone since 2009 & moving over to Android to the Galaxy S25 ultra is a nice change. I still have a iPhone 16 pro Max, but I hardly ever use it.
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Same here. T

The only downside I find with the S25 ultra is consistency of the photos. Sometimes they're excellent, sometimes they're blurry. I found my iphone 16 pro max to be more consistent in that respect. Also, I do find that the S25 Ultra struggles with photographing any object that is moving which is didn't find too much of an issue with the iphone. Everything else is great with the phone otherwise.
 
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UKapple said:
Same here. T

The only downside I find with the S25 ultra is consistency of the photos. Sometimes they're excellent, sometimes they're blurry. I found my iphone 16 pro max to be more consistent in that respect. Also, I do find that the S25 Ultra struggles with photographing any object that is moving which is didn't find too much of an issue with the iphone. Everything else is great with the phone otherwise.
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I haven't found that with my S25U; but did have that with my S24U which annoyed me so I sold it within a few weeks

My 14 Plus takes great 'point n click' pictures and I tend to reach for that first if they're both with me - the S25U does take superb pictures though; but I feel they're more coloured than the iPhone pictures, which to me look more natural
 
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danb1979 said:
I've got iOS26 Beta on my 14 Plus and TBH I quite like it - hated it on my iPad though weirdly...

The S25U is hell of a phone though; you'll really enjoy it
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Likewise.. iOS 26 is alright, except the damn search bar at the bottom lol.. Keeping my iPad on 18 for as long as possible just for that split / slide over screen function that I use all the time!
 
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