S25 Ultra: Unergonomic and uncomfortable to hold

[corvette72778]

I never got used to the iPhone look when the new Samsung iPhone 25 Ultra arrived. It looks too much like an iPhone and lost its unique look the Note 10+ up to the S24 Ultra. It was iconic. Samsung could have reverted back to the Note + if they were concerned about sharp corners. The Note 10+ had the rectangular look but actually had rounded corners that weren't sharp.

Unfortunately the iPhone copy had real world consequences. In an attempt to address the sorta but not really sharp corners (only if you didn't put a case on your $1500 phone) that the S22 Ultra-S24 Ultra had, Samsung made it worse by flattening the sides and adding more sharp edges. Even with a thin case this phone is uncomfortable to hold. The phone is unergonomic and uncomfortable to hold with flat sides. Hard to believe Samsung had rounded corners since the beginning of the smartphone for a reason and then abandoned common sense. If I wanted an iPhone I'd buy an iPhone.

Fortunately, I have an alternative that is 96% identical.....the S24 Ultra. Looks like the S24 Ultra is going to keep the crown as the G O A.T.

Oh yea, battery life is worse than the S24 Ultra by a good chunk which is always a main reason I upgraded. I was getting less than 6 hours of SOT for the S25U where the S24U was over 8 when I got it. I'm sure the higher clock speed contributes too worse battery life. Don't engineers remember the Pentium 4?

Farewell 25 Ultra. You were nice. You were good, but not good enough.

 

[edubfromktown]

I've never liked sharp corners so Ultra's prior to S25 were non starters.

I don't have particularly large hands and find the S25u easy to wield one handed and thumb navigate.

Battery lasts me two days (5+ hrs SOT on the rare occasions I look at that stat) with basic battery protection and similar Battery Guardian settings, charged to 80% and plugged in at 20%.

Mine cost under $500 after pre-order trade-in, selling bundled free buds3 pro's and other rebate offers (another 20% off). Also applied credit card points to whittle the cost down below $180 total.

For those not on a carrier plan who are looking to purchase: in my experience, pricing is most favorable during pre-order window for a new model release (assuming you have a trade-in device).

 

[Venom0642]

I never got used to the iPhone look when the new Samsung iPhone 25 Ultra arrived. It looks too much like an iPhone and lost its unique look the Note 10+ up to the S24 Ultra. It was iconic. Samsung could have reverted back to the Note + if they were concerned about sharp corners. The Note 10+ had the rectangular look but actually had rounded corners that weren't sharp.

Unfortunately the iPhone copy had real world consequences. In an attempt to address the sorta but not really sharp corners (only if you didn't put a case on your $1500 phone) that the S22 Ultra-S24 Ultra had, Samsung made it worse by flattening the sides and adding more sharp edges. Even with a thin case this phone is uncomfortable to hold. The phone is unergonomic and uncomfortable to hold with flat sides. Hard to believe Samsung had rounded corners since the beginning of the smartphone for a reason and then abandoned common sense. If I wanted an iPhone I'd buy an iPhone.

Fortunately, I have an alternative that is 96% identical.....the S24 Ultra. Looks like the S24 Ultra is going to keep the crown as the G O A.T.

Oh yea, battery life is worse than the S24 Ultra by a good chunk which is always a main reason I upgraded. I was getting less than 6 hours of SOT for the S25U where the S24U was over 8 when I got it. I'm sure the higher clock speed contributes too worse battery life. Don't engineers remember the Pentium 4?

Farewell 25 Ultra. You were nice. You were good, but not good enough.

Battery life on Samsung phones are very horrible, so yeah blame Samsung, I'm glad i left them for good. Samsung is not what it use to be they are definitely horrible.

 

[edubfromktown]

Battery life on Samsung phones are very horrible, so yeah blame Samsung, I'm glad i left them for good.

After years carrying iPhone 3-8Plus, I've had OnePlus (8T), Pixel 4a, 6 and 8 and S23+, S24+ and S25 Ultra. None of the Android phones have been "very horrible" out of the gate.

The Pixel 4a lost charge capacity faster than my expectations so I went 1st to OnePlus then Pixel and finally Samsung.

There are tradeoffs with all of them. Samsung has somewhat less camera/app integration and quality compared to Pixel and less battery runtime/SOT for some.

Otherwise Galaxy phones (particularly Snapdragon 8 generations) have superior mobile and wifi throughput and signal stability/strength, faster UI performance, Knox Secure Folder and other proprietary features and apps that are useful for my needs.

 

[Venom0642]

After years carrying iPhone 3-8Plus, I've had OnePlus (8T), Pixel 4a, 6 and 8 and S23+, S24+ and S25 Ultra. None of the Android phones have been "very horrible" out of the gate.

The Pixel 4a lost charge capacity faster than my expectations so I went 1st to OnePlus then Pixel and finally Samsung.

There are tradeoffs with all of them. Samsung has somewhat less camera/app integration and quality compared to Pixel and less battery runtime/SOT for some.

Otherwise Galaxy phones (particularly Snapdragon 8 generations) have superior mobile and wifi throughput and signal stability/strength, faster UI performance, Knox Secure Folder and other proprietary features and apps that are useful for my needs.

Your opinion I'll respect that , but 1,500 for a Samsung the way they are every year looks the same, they keep removing stuff, not a flagship for me for that price I'll stay with OnePlus 13 way better for me . Definitely cost less and hardware is way better.

 

[jamezr]

Different people have different experiences. Imho the S25U is easier to hold because of the more rounded shape. The S24U had those sharp corners that dug into my hand.
My S25U has as good or better battery life as the s24U. Never had an issue with battery life on either phone.
I would love to see Samsung make the edges a little more rounded like the Pixel 9XL and iPhone 16PM.

 

[edubfromktown]

Your opinion I'll respect that , but 1,500 for a Samsung the way they are every year looks the same, they keep removing stuff, not a flagship for me for that price I'll stay with OnePlus 13 way better for me . Definitely cost less and hardware is way better.

Agree 100% that a retail price of $1419 (even with "free" 512 GB upgrade) is outrageous. OnePlus is a great option I just didn't like the slow update availability and delays on new major version releases. Loved their launcher (I now use Nova to be able have the same experience when switching between different Android devices) and OxygenOS in general.

Without the Samsung favorable trade-in, additional discounts and 3rd party incentives (that totaled 20% off), I would have waited to snipe a used one a year or two after release (they've already dropped into the $750-850+ range after only 7 months in the wild).

 

[jamezr]

Agree 100% that a retail price of $1419 (even with "free" 512 GB upgrade) is outrageous. OnePlus is a great option I just didn't like the slow update availability and delays on new major version releases. Loved their launcher (I now use Nova to be able have the same experience when switching between different Android devices) and OxygenOS in general.

Without the Samsung favorable trade-in, additional discounts and 3rd party incentives (that totaled 20% off), I would have waited to snipe a used one a year or two after release (they've already dropped into the $750-850+ range after only 7 months in the wild).

Upgrading from the S24U to the S25U cost me $400. That is a great deal after all of the incentives and trade in allowances.
For me the S25U offers more options and features like better camera and Dex and sp-pen, One UI 8 and monthly updates.

 

[Venom0642]

Upgrading from the S24U to the S25U cost me $400. That is a great deal after all of the incentives and trade in allowances.
For me the S25U offers more options and features like better camera and Dex and sp-pen, One UI 8 and monthly updates.

Don't see how that's a deal which it isn't, S24 came out last year in January, so basically you didn't even have it a year and even so a year with a new phone to upgrade and trade in to a S25 to get 500 off is not a deal if anything you lost money with the upgrade of S24, but it's your choice.