In summary..if you have a Pixel 8 Pro or Samsung S24 Ultra, The S25 series and Pixel 9 are not compelling upgrades. If you have a phone that’s more than two years old then upgrading might be a good idea. However, the Pixel 8 Pro and the Samsung S24 series will be a compelling option as their prices drop to aid in sales of the latest generation.
The S25 ultra is disappointing in what you loose in return for the pricey Qualcomms elite snapdragon. you loose Bluetooth on the s-pen which removes using it as a remote along with the air command menu are gone..both of which i sue heavily. That loss means i simply will not buy the S25 ultra even if i didn’t have my current S24 ultra. in order to save on costs of the Qualcomm chipset, the S25 ultra has some other hardware upgrades…but most of the sauce is software. i am going to excerpt a couple of paragraphs from the android police article i just read:
If you’re scouring for reasons to pick up a Galaxy S25 Ultra, its software offers some hope. One UI 7 looks good and performed well in my brief testing. Samsung focused on more practical applications for AI. Prompts can be more conversational, with natural speech getting you from query to action faster. Cross-app integration pulls in data from several apps with a single prompt. You can add an event to your calendar and have it pull the information over to draft a text for your friend. At launch, the cross-app functionality will be limited to Samsung and Google apps, with access to Spotify and WhatsApp. However, APKs have been sent to developers, so I expect further integrations shortly.
I’m intrigued by Samsung’s work on routines. I like that my phone syncs with other devices and recognizes patterns in my behavior, suggesting routines. One UI 7 will even track your sleep and environment through items in your smart home, like your thermostat and television, highlighting the conditions under which you sleep best. The company is putting AI to work in the background to improve your life and workflow, and while many will never warm up to the sometimes intrusive nature of AI, it’s here to stay.
I took a look at the Pixel 9 and frankly, i didn’t care for the display. it’s too narrow and tall for my tastes so i am going to be staying on my S24 ultra with my p8p as my backup for the foreseeable future. With both the Pixel 8 Pro and the S24 ultra having 7 years of software updates…there’s no compelling reason for me..and possibly others…to upgrade.
https://www.androidpolice.com/samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-hands-on/