First Shot, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Featured Image isn’t award-winning photography, but it turns out to be a good quick test of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra‘s main camera—and it’s the first taken, too. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 80, 1/5000 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 10:55 a.m. PST. Composed as shot; no edits.

This morning, I sat in a North Park laundry waiting for Pizza Hut to open when the idea of shooting the window got me. The reversed letters are excellent point of focus, while the overall scene presented the smartphone camera with varying, contrasting areas of dark and light.

I don’t regret replacing the S24 Ultra with its successor. The S25 Ultra feels fantastic in the hand, has noticeably better physical balance, and better balances overall benefits and features, which will be discussed more in any eventual review.

To be clear: This is another iterative release from Samsung, but nevertheless it improves in all the right ways. That said, the S24 Ultra is a superb smartphone. The upgrade makes most sense when taking advantage of Samsung’s preorder incentives.

With the current trade-in offer, which won’t last much longer, you can score the 256GB model for $399.99 (versus $1,299.99 normal full price), or big spenders can pluck down $519.99 (versus $1,659 typically) for 1TB storage. If you miss this opportunity, or another in the future, stick with the S24 Ultra.