Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Galaxy S26 Ultra or Galaxy S25 Ultra: which should you buy?
The short answer
The Galaxy S26 Ultra leads on battery life and speed. The Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn't pull clearly ahead on anything we compare. The Galaxy S25 Ultra costs £331 more than the S26 Ultra.
Comparing 2 phones
Galaxy S26 UltraOverall score 92/100
Galaxy S25 UltraOverall score 89/100
What the extra money buys
The Galaxy S25 Ultra costs £331 more than the S26 Ultra.
You get: nothing extra in the specs we compare.
You give up: faster charging by cable and a faster chip.
Keep the money: the S26 Ultra matches or beats it on everything we compare.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra charges faster by cable (60 W vs 45 W on the S25 Ultra), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
Screen
EvenBoth have similar sharpness (500 ppi and 505 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Speed
Best: Galaxy S26 UltraThe Galaxy S26 Ultra's chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) scores higher in benchmark tests than the one in the S25 Ultra (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite), so it should feel quicker in demanding apps and games.
Size and weight
EvenBoth have a similar size (163.6 × 78.1 mm and 162.8 × 77.6 mm) and similar screen sizes (6.9 inches and 6.8 inches), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Still can't decide?
Your pick
Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Faster charging by cable (60 W vs 45 W on the S25 Ultra)
- A faster chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5)
What you give up: Nothing that shows up in the specs we compare.
We may earn a commission whichever phone you buy. It does not change the pick.
Scores
| Score | Galaxy S26 Ultra | Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 78 | 75 |
| Screen | 91 | 91 |
| Camera | 97 | 96 |
| Speed | 94 | 90 |
| Toughness | 95 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 95 | 91 |
| Overall | 92 | 89 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Size
- 6.9 inches6.8 inches
- Resolution
- 1440 × 3120 pixels1440×3120 pixels
- PPI
- 500505
- Screen-to-body ratio
- ≈ 90.7 %89.8 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen, HDR10+, Multi-touch displayAlways-On Display Capacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch screen
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Armor 2 Glass, DX anti-reflective coating, Mohs level 6, Privacy DisplayCorning Gorilla Armor Glass
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 4.74 GHz4320 MHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.74 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M2x 4.32 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix L 6x 3.53 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix M
- GPU
- Qualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHzQualcomm Adreno 830
- Expandable Storage
- NoN/A
Software
- Operating System
- Android 16 (Baklava), with up to 7 major Android upgradesAndroid 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream), with up to 7 major Android upgrades
Main Camera
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @30/60/120 fps, 1080p @30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 30/60/120 fps 1080p @ 30/60/240 fps
- Video Features
- 10-bit HDR, Gyro-EIS, HDR10+, Stereo Sound RecGyro-EIS, HDR10+, Stereo Sound Rec
- Features
- Auto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, Laser Autofocus, PanoramaPanorama
- Lenses
- 200 MP, ƒ/1.4, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 0.6 μm, 1/1.3" Sensor size - Multi-Directional PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.12 μm, x3 optical zoom, 1/3.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/2.9, 111 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), 0.7 μm, x5 optical zoom, 1/2.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 0.7 μm - Dual-Pixel PDAF - Super Steady Video200 MP, ƒ/1.7, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 0.6 μm, 1/1.3" Sensor size - Multi-Directional PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.12 μm, x3 optical zoom, 1/3.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/3.4, 111 mm ( Periscope telephoto ), 0.7 μm, x5 optical zoom, 1/2.52" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 50 MP, ƒ/2.0, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 0.7 μm - Dual-Pixel PDAF - Super Steady Video
Selfie camera
- Lenses
- Single camera: 12 MP (Wide angle) 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, - Dual-Pixel PDAF12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 26 mm ( Wide-angle ) - Dual-Pixel PDAF
- Video Features
- HDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)N/A
- Features
- Dual-Pixel PDAFHDR10+High Dynamic Range (HDR)
General
- Announced
- Wednesday, 25 February 2026Wednesday, 22 January 2025
- Released
- Friday, 06 March 2026Monday, 03 February 2025
Battery
- Wired charging power
- 60 W45W
- Wireless charging power
- 25 W25W
- Fast charging support
- Yesno
- Features
- Qi2.2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-75% in 30 minutes (as advertised)Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging,
Battery Life Test
- Browsing
- N/A20:49 hh:mm
- Video watching
- N/A8:54 hh:mm
- Playing games
- N/A14:21 hh:mm
Design
- Height
- 163.6 mm162.8 mm
- Width
- 78.1 mm77.6 mm
- Thickness
- 7.9 mm8.2 mm
- Weight
- 214 g219 g
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)Dust and water-resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM
- Network Type support
- 5G, LTE (CA), HSPA5G, LTE (up to 7CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n78, n257, n258, n260, n2615G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900 MHz)
- Network_4G bands
- b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b48, b66, b71LTE: b3 (1800), b41 (2500 MHz)
- Network_2G bands
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHzGSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHzCDMA: 800 / 1900 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes (Wi-Fi 7)Yes ( Wi-Fi 7 )
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v6.0Yes, v5.3
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, USB On-The-Go,
- USB connectivity
- USB charging, USB Mass Storage device (UMS)USB charging, USB Mass storage device
Multimedia
- Audio type
- High-bitrate audio support, Stereo speakers32-bit/384kHz Hi-Res audio, Stereo speakers, Tuned by AKG,