Steven P. Administrators Posted January 27 Administrators Share Posted January 27 I was pretty underwhelmed at the S25 Ultra reveal, there are things I like though: Overal a little smaller and thinner than S23 Ultra despite slightly larger screen (6.8" vs 6.9") 850+ nits peak brightness vs S23 Ultra However that's pretty much it. I don't care for the selfie camera bump from 12 to 50MP, and I do not have WiFi 7 here to benefit from that upgrade. There are things to dislike too, the S-Pen no longer has the bluetooth support (but the S-Pen from the S23 series will work exactly the same way in the S25 with full bluetooth support) which seems like a cash grab from Samsung to force people to buy the bluetooth supported pens. So a bunch of these plastic ones will end up in a landfill, great! /s Reasons to buy or not buy I think the only reason I would buy is if the main camera array is any better than the awful S23 ones. You only have to look at any of my reviews (good example here) to see there's a terrible bokeh effect when taking pics, it's really exaggerated and I am not even using Portrait mode! My fellow review colleague, Robbie Khan, told me he switched to the Pixel 9 Pro because of the poor camera array and lacklustre spec bump to S24 last year, and he is really happy with the cameras on that. On top of that, I accidentally discovered while reviewing the Magic7 Pro for Neowin, that my linked wearable Galaxy Watch 6 Classic switches to the Bedtime mode toggle when not linked with a Samsung phone. Right now when linked to my S23 Ultra you have to tap modes, and then Sleep to toggle at night, but when it is linked with a non Samsung phone, you only have to click on the icon for Bedtime mode on the Watch! Wondering if there are any people that can break down the differences with the main camera array, or link me a review that does a deep dive into it? Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneNutter MVC Posted January 27 MVC Share Posted January 27 Phones have stagnated these days in my opinion, I think its got to the point where you don't really gain much by upgrading every couple of years. I suspect you'd probably not notice all that much in day to day use going from the S23 to the S25, looking long in to the future the S26 or even S27 in all honestly would probably be a more noticeable upgrade when the time comes. Perhaps if Samsung let you keep a review copy it would be rude not to, otherwise I question do you really need to upgrade? Camera wise DXOMARK rate the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL camera second in their global Smartphone camera rankings, so if the camera is the key decider then it might well be worth going with a Pixel, even the Cameras on older Pixel devices just constantly take great photos in my opinion. Samsung's and Google's take on Android is quite different, so that's something to keep in mind. Might be worth having a read of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Camera test on DXOMARK, they are currently working on testing the S25 series, so you should soon be able to see how the two phones compare camera wise. Steven P. 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961800 Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevember Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I feel exactly the same way. I'm sat with S22 Ultra and I'm still not convinced that it is really an upgrade. I use my phone for a lot of videos, photographs social media and my work. And right now it's still doing everything I need it to do. On balance, I think I will upgrade but what a shame it's taken three generations and I'm still underwhelmed. PS this was a me to post I know it did not help answer your original question. Steven P. 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961809 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steffan Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Personally, I would hold on to them until Samsung is no longer updating the devices. Both the S22 and S23 receive updates for 5 years (4 major OS and 1 year of security) from their release date. Hopefully by then either Samsung or someone else will make it worth replacing it. stevember and Steven P. 2 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961818 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven P. Administrators Posted January 27 Author Administrators Share Posted January 27 On 27/01/2025 at 15:27, InsaneNutter said: Camera wise DXOMARK rate the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL camera second in their global Smartphone camera rankings, so if the camera is the key decider then it might well be worth going with a Pixel, even the Cameras on older Pixel devices just constantly take great photos in my opinion. Samsung's and Google's take on Android is quite different, so that's something to keep in mind. Might be worth having a read of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Camera test on DXOMARK, they are currently working on testing the S25 series, so you should soon be able to see how the two phones compare camera wise. Expand Thanks for this, really helpful! I was not surprised to see the S23 Ultra far down the list in 35th place, four places below the 2021 released iPhone 13 Pro! As I do quite a few reviews, I might go with the Google Pixel 9 Pro if I can get it subsidized with my two year renewal (March 2025) but I wanted to stay in the Samsung eco system since I have a Samsung Watch and have just ordered a Galaxy Ring. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961821 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Khan Reviews Posted January 27 Reviews Share Posted January 27 Bear in mind DXO is just one metric - The real world possibility of the camera is often far greater. I watched the reveal live and some of the camera stuff is better now like LOG recording, but you can get immense results from past and present phones too if leveraging apps like MotionCam Pro or Blackmagic Camera - I used the latter on my Pixel 9 Pro XL recently to film an indoor gig in low light and the results are pretty substantial vs any stock camera app on any phone available: For photos though the Pixel camera app just wipes the floor with everything else in any lighting condition thanks to the wide dynamic range that HDR+ seems to capture without blurring moving subjects and stuff: What I have learned having owned the S24 Ultra and now on Pixel is that the Pixel camera is just more versatile whilst the Galaxy camera app tries to do too much whilst forgetting what is important, just do great computational photography and have no shutter lag. Personally I did not see anything remarkable enough with the S25 series to tempt me back to Samsung. They have not even updated to faster charging speeds, and whilst the wireless charging has increased to 25W, the number of 25W charging pad options out there to buy is super limited. You could buy one of the Chinese brand 50W wireless chargers but then you play the lottery on if it might work or not I guess. xrobwx71, Steven P. and +InsaneNutter 2 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961827 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steffan Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 Thanks for the great info. I'll have to do more research like this before purchasing my next phone. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961833 Share on other sites More sharing options...
WITHOUT-ME Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 no Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961843 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 If you have to convince yourself or even ask if it's worth upgrading, then the answer is no. Steven P. 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961896 Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted January 27 Supervisor Share Posted January 27 Hello, When does your existing Samsung S23 Ultra stop receiving security updates from Samsung? That might be something you wish to factor into your decision matrix. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961931 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven P. Administrators Posted January 27 Author Administrators Share Posted January 27 On 27/01/2025 at 20:56, goretsky said: Hello, When does your existing Samsung S23 Ultra stop receiving security updates from Samsung? That might be something you wish to factor into your decision matrix. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Expand AFAIK 5 years total, so another 3 years of support!!! My motivation for upgrading is for better main camera, since I use it a lot for reviews. It may not seem like a lot but I have 209GB of 256GB used (mostly taken up from taking images for reviews) in the past two years!!! goretsky and macoman 1 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598961936 Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted January 29 Supervisor Share Posted January 29 (edited) Hello, Does your existing model or the new one have a Micro SDXC card slot? That has always been a hard requirement for me when upgrading a phone, since I also use mine as an MP3 player and carry my complete collection (~135 GB MB) with me. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Edited January 31 by goretsky fixed a typo Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962293 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 29/01/2025 at 01:42, goretsky said: Hello, Does your existing model or the new one have a Micro SDXC card slot? That has always been a hard requirement for me when upgrading a phone, since I also use mine as an MP3 player and carry my complete collection (~135 MB) with me. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Expand 135 Megabytes? What is that mp3 for ants? 😛 To answer your question - the old and new ones don't have microSDXC slots. I think the last Samsung flagship that had a microSD slot was the S20 series goretsky 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962297 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayop Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 29/01/2025 at 01:42, goretsky said: Hello, Does your existing model or the new one have a Micro SDXC card slot? That has always been a hard requirement for me when upgrading a phone, since I also use mine as an MP3 player and carry my complete collection (~135 MB) with me. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Expand The last Galaxy S series to have a micro sd slot was the S20. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962298 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirtuin Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 AFAIK Samsung hasn't upgraded the main camera since S21 (Ultra), and S25 isn't going to bring much new in that - or other sense. I'm a happy with my S23U and I think the camera system is very versitale, but the main camera isn't basically any better than the previus Oneplus 8 Pro with gcam port. Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi flagships with 1" main sensors and good camera systems accross the board, would probably be a real upgrade, though that would yeild even bigger bokeh, which could be problem for product photos. I'm also really not fan of their software. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962316 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven P. Administrators Posted January 29 Author Administrators Share Posted January 29 Think I will just keep hold of the Honor Magic7 Pro that I recently reviewed. The camera system is better, although I am waiting on some comparison reviews to drop. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962342 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuman Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I have an S24 Ultra and the specs for the S25 ultra are almost the same. I will happily save some money and wait for the S26. Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962347 Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted January 31 Supervisor Share Posted January 31 On 29/01/2025 at 02:13, tsupersonic said: 135 Megabytes? What is that mp3 for ants? 😛 To answer your question - the old and new ones don't have microSDXC slots. I think the last Samsung flagship that had a microSD slot was the S20 series Expand Hello, Oops, that was a mistake on my part. I meant about 135 gigabytes. I have gone ahead and edited my post. Thank you for catching that. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Steven P. 1 Share Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598962931 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted January 31 Veteran Share Posted January 31 Personally, I went from a Fold5 to the S25 Ultra. I just can't do the fold anymore the inner screen is too fragile, I noticed I rarely open it anyway, and the outer screen aspect ratio is a nightmare. Spec wise it would be the equivalent of going from an S22 to a S25 I believe so it's a decent bump for me. Prior to the fold series (I had the Fold 1 -5 I was on the Note line of phones so that's why I went back to the Ultra (I like the stylus) Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598963066 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sem XL Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 im swapping my S23 Ultra for an S25 Ultra and its due to be delivered this weekend now performance and feature wise the S23 Ultra is fine for me i could continue to use this phone for another year or two no problem but... the main reason im changing is i really dislike the curved edges on screen i like the fact that the S25 has a totally flat screen and its slightly bigger i spend alot of time on the london underground going to work and thats when i watch most of my TV shows and the glare and low brightness makes it hard to watch some shows with dark scenes im hoping the new improved anti-glare and higher brightness will help with that also using Samsung's great trade in price and voucher codes im only paying £800 to upgrade to the 1TB model and i plan to keep it till the S27 or so Link to comment https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1451159-is-it-worth-upgrading-s23-ultra-to-s25-ultra/#findComment-598963123 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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