Is the s25 worth the upgrade. Samsung havent done much to the s25 to make it a worthy upgrade.

[Qi2]

I have a Samsung S21 and it has been a great phone for me over the years im looking to upgrade but have heard so many bad stories about the s25 series. Plus besides the chipset and upgraded ram the cameras have been the same for many years. Hopefully Samsung can listen to the public and do their homework as I love Samsung phones. I am awaiting for the s26 to see if they can rectify the problems. And the overheating wow. 

[johnz237]

Hi! Welcome to the Samsung Members community.

The biggest recent upgrades have been hardware and AI.

30% faster CPU, 37% faster GPU, and 40% faster NPU speeds compared to last year's flagship. And that's compared to the S24 Ultra.

Plus, though the camera may not have hardware upgrades, pictures are coming out significantly better—have a look on Samsung Members. In terms of externals, I hope things keep looking the same on the outside—I love Samsung's designs.

The biggest feature this year is the new UI 7, built from the ground up. Personally, I upgraded from the S24+ and I'm very happy.

I think overheating is coming off as a bigger issue than it is. Remember, minority always speak the loudest. People are more likely to complain when something is wrong than to give praise when things are right.

The absolute best thing is your own opinion, which is important. Let's hope the S26 meets your personal needs 🔥

Note: Any ideas? Go to the Samsung Members app, support, feedback.

[King-K]

Its a good idea to upgrade to the S25 Ultra like i have recently. The downside is perhaps the S pen feeling cheap along with the x100 camera zoom which is not at all stable, this should have been fixed by now. Also, when can we get some sort of projector system integrated in a mobile phone so we can watch and share videos on large screen/wall. I know this will come, Samsung should be the first to bring it out. Come on...

[Piper123]

Hey there and welcome to the Samsung UK and EU Community Customer to Customer Forum

I've had the S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra and I now have the S25 Ultra.

Your S21 is a decent device (all be it that it has a poor modem inside so if you live in a rural area - good luck). But everything else on it was decent.

The S25 Ultra is just a totally different beast altogether. Please don't believe all you read online, that's like saying if it is on Facebook it must be true.

There are so many improvements and we are only just getting started. @johnz237 has given you some some good examples although these compare to the S24 Ultra not your device.

The S25 Ultra has been redesigned from the ground up, running One UI7 out of the box (yes we are currently on December Security but expect February shortly).

The CPU, GPU and NPU will almost certainly be at least twice as fast as the S21 Ultra.

The cameras have seen a good improvement, especially on the 200mp which hasn't been great on older devices.

The screen is simply phenomenal. It is a new design and really is a leap forward.

S25 Ultra weighs in about 15 grams lighter so easier on your hands and comes with rounded edges.

The S25 has a fast superior modem than the S21 Ultra so expect better coverage..

And all this before we all get started on AI.....

If you are thinking of upgrading, simply? I would. I still rate the S23 Ultra and still maintain it is one of the best ever Samsung devices ever, wasn't impressed with S24 Ultra cameras but everything else was great.

The S25 Ultra is a different league and has reinvented my imagination in a mobile device. 🙏

[Moiramon]

If your coming from the S21 then the S25 cameras are all upgraded.

[Glenntech]

I second @Piper123 comments.

A lot of reviews are based on specifications on paper.
Some are based on a couple of hours to a couple of days

On paper it seems virtually the Z Fold 6 I'd the same as the Z Fold 5
But I can tell you all those slight little improvements make a big difference to me.
I'm getting the same with the S25 Ultra I have

Think you'd see an amazing difference between your S21 to the S25. Everything from cameras to battery life

Just got to look into what is going to be a benefit to you
But im pretty certain that you'd be impressed with the new devices

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello 👋 @Qi2 

Welcome to the Samsung Community Forum. 

It's really a matter of personal opinion and choice. 

😎

[johnz237]

You're totally right. Maybe I should have included details about the 2

https://nanoreview.net/en/soc-compare/samsung-exynos-2100-vs-qualcomm-snapdragon-8-gen-3

+ Shows significantly better (up to 2.3x) AnTuTu 10 score - 2052K vs 900K
+Performs 81% better in floating-point computations
+ Supports 50% higher memory bandwidth (77 against 51.2 GB/s)
+ Has a smaller size transistor (4 versus 5 nm)
+ 14% higher CPU clock speed (3300 vs 2900 MHz)
+ Better instruction set architecture
+ Higher GPU frequency (~6%)

S21 Ultra
Main Camera: 108MP
Ultra-wide: 12MP
Telephoto: 10MP (3x optical zoom)
Periscope Telephoto: 10MP (10x optical zoom)
Front Camera: 40MP

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:
Main Camera: 20OMP
Ultra-wide: 50MP
Telephoto: 10MP (3x optical zoom)
Periscope Telephoto: 50MP (5x optical zoom)
Front Camera: 12MP

Beyond the hardware, advancements in image processing software and Al play a crucial role in the S25 Ultra's improved camera performance.

Video Recording:

• The S25 ultra has improvements to its video recording, including higher frame rates at 8k resolution.

Beyond the hardware, advancements in image processing software and Al play a crucial role in the S25 Ultra's improved camera performance.


As you mentioned, completely undeniably superior and in a different ballpark.

[CurryFlurry]

I upgraded from s23U to s25U and it's a big difference, quite noticeable too. So the jump from s21u will be even more significant for you!

[tinglish]

The reason the s25 series gets a bad rep is because of lack of changes from previous models.
But if you look at them as a standalone device they really are great phones.

I had the s23 and decided to purchase the s25, knowing full well the upgrades would be minimal.but I don't regret my decision.the slight upgrades make this phone a brilliant device.