All this to say the Galaxy S25 ($800), Galaxy S25+ ($1,000), and Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300) are powerful, reliable, and well-equipped smartphones. They're excellent upgrades if you're coming from a three or four-year-old device. They're just not otherwise interesting or exciting.

Trying to decide which of Samsung's new phones to get? Here's how the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra compare.

With the new Galaxy S25 Ultra in my hand, I stand in the lobby of the LinkedIn building in San Francisco, which happens to be a POPOS: a privately owned public open space. It's a gorgeous hall, with long running panels of blonde wood on the ceiling and back wall.