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.

The Galaxy S25 is a tale of two AIs: Gemini and Bixby. Yes, while Google's Gemini AI assistant sits at the forefront—it can finally be triggered through a long press of the power button—Samsung is bringing its original Bixby voice assistant out from the shadows.

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.