Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S9

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.9 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy S9, Manufactured in March, 2018with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Higher pixel density: 568ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g vs 218g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S9
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.9 in 5.8 in
Resolution 1440x3120 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 498 ppi 568 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 2600 nits 658 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 92.4 % 84.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
1403 nits
Samsung Galaxy S9
657 nits
sRGB gamut97.7 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms7 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.8 mm (6.41 in) 147.7 mm (5.81 in)
Width 77.6 mm (3.06 in) 68.7 mm (2.7 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 218 g (7.69 oz) 163 g (5.75 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Black
- Gold
- Gray
- Blue
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
92.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S9
84.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S9 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 4470 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))
- 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 830 Mali-G72 MP18
GPU Cores 1536 324
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 572 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
3147
Samsung Galaxy S9
734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
9750
Samsung Galaxy S9
1894
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)3147734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)97501894
Geekbench Compute (GPU)25681n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
2795139
Samsung Galaxy S9
470496
CPU659871137633
GPU1294167168155
Memory47131986184
UX36978278524
NanoReview Score2795139470496
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9
2272
Max Surface Temp.n/a39.2 °C
Stabilityn/a93 %
Graphics Testn/a13 fps
Graphics Scoren/a2272
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9
6347
Writing scoren/a6325
Web scoren/a5265
Video editingn/a5496
Data manipulationn/a5694
NanoReview Scoren/a6347

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 5333 MHz 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 8.0 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size 30.4 GB 14 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 3000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (25 W) Yes Qi/PMA (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (72% in 30 min) Yes (40% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:59 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
31:10
Samsung Galaxy S9
15:09
Web Browsing11:10 h05:32 h
Video Playback19:32 h09:42 h
Games06:22 h03:45 h
Standby Mode160 h75 h

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 16320x12240 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix200 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.5 - 2.4
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2Samsung SAK2L3
Sensor size1/1.31/2.55
Pixel size0.6 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/3.4n/a
Focal length111 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX854n/a
Sensor size1/2.52n/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/1.9n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3n/a
Sensor size1/2.5n/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
144
Samsung Galaxy S9
104
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
143
Samsung Galaxy S9
91
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
146
Samsung Galaxy S9
99
Bokeh70n/a
Preview81n/a
Zoom149n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.7
Focal length 26 mm 25 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU Samsung S5K3H1
Sensor size 1/3.2 1/3.6
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1440p at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100),B2(1900),B4(AWS),B5(850),B8(900)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B66/B71)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE categoryn/a18
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
93 dB
Samsung Galaxy S9
86 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2025 yr February, 2018 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr March, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 1299 720
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a

Note

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:

Supports up to 2 eSIMs. The international model has 2 physical SIM slots, while the U.S. version has 1.","Uses Grade 5 titanium and Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass on both sides.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
2 (66.67%)
1 (33.33%)
Total Votes: 3

User comments

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