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Here’s another hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and One UI 7

The back of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Another day, another Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra leak. Yesterday, we saw a short video teasing the design of the phone, but we didn’t get a full look at the device. A few more images have appeared, all from the same source as yesterday.

Android Authority shared images obtained from Reddit user u/GamingMK, who said they came from yesterday’s leaker (a user that has since deleted their account). Additionally, these images show the Galaxy S25 running One UI 7.

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The new pictures show the bottom of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with a clear view of the USB-C port, the SIM card slot, the S-Pen, and the speaker. The design closely follows that of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with the S-Pen on the left-hand side (in contrast to early rumors that said it might end up on the right).

Several screenshots also show the Android 15-based One UI 7, but these just further confirm details we already knew about the operating system. Even without any surprises, it’s nice to see things in action. There weren’t a lot of changes, but you can see a few updated icons, and the battery indicator looks different than past iterations.

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This particular model number of the Galaxy S25 Ultra scored 2,627 single-core and 9,404 multi-core on a Geekbench test, but know that Geekbench results can easily be manipulated. It’s always best to take them with a grain of salt.

These images raise many questions — namely, how exactly did the leaker get their hands on the S25 Ultra so early? We’ll have to wait until the launch to officially test it out and find out exactly how many of the rumors and leaks were spot-on.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
Samsung’s One UI 7 beta is out today. Here are all the new features
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung has started the official rollout of the latest version of its One UI software for Galaxy smartphones, and there’s a very good chance you can try it out today. One UI 7 has been released as a beta version and is available for Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphones in the U.S., the U.K., India, Korea, Germany, and Poland starting today, December 5. To try it out, you must sign up to join the beta program, but what features will you get if you do?
New design and simplified home screen
Samsung says One UI 7 has a “significant new look” and a “simple, impactful, and emotive design” that includes less clutter on the screen, new One UI widgets, and greater customization features to give you finer control over the look and function of the software. The home screen and the lock screen have been simplified, too.
Now Bar
The most intriguing new design feature in One UI 7 is the Now Bar. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait to try it out because it’s “set to be supported on upcoming Galaxy S series devices,” which means it’s probably not going to appear on the Galaxy S24 or earlier devices and won't be inside the beta version of the software you can try today.

The Now Bar is part of a new notification system that reduces the need to unlock your phone to view information or interact with notifications while also highlighting certain activities like music playback, the stopwatch, voice recording, and the AI Interpreter mode. Samsung claims the Now Bar will “transform the lock screen experience” and promises to support it with new features in the future. We may not get a look at the Now Bar until the Galaxy S25’s release, but it sounds a lot like Apple’s Dynamic Island and Live Activities features.
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The FCC certification registers devices by model number rather than name, and lists the SM-S931B/DS, the SM-S936B/DS, and the SM-S938B/DS as new entries. The SM-S931 model number follows on from the Galaxy S24’s model number of SM-S921. The case is the same for the Galaxy S24+’s SM-S926 model number and the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s SM-S928 model number. The letter B signifies the certified model is an international version, while DS denotes a dual-SIM capability.

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Don't expect them to launch right away, though. Only the reveal is scheduled for January, with an estimated public launch sometime in the third quarter of 2025. In addition, Samsung is looking to hire more people and "strengthen leadership in related departments" to ensure a steady development cycle. It would be Samsung's second new push into the wearables space in recent times. It launched and released the Samsung Galaxy Ring in July 2024, alongside the new Galaxy Watch Ultra smartwatch and its latest Galaxy Watch 7.

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