This Is The Best Galaxy S25 Ultra Alternative I Recommend

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is finally here, and it’ll likely be the most popular premium flagship Android phone of 2025. We can see why, too, owing to the impressive performance, seven-year update pledge, and Samsung’s full-featured software.

This phone might not be for everyone, though. Maybe you’re a long-time Samsung owner looking for a change. Or you’re an enthusiast looking for a cleaner but still full-featured take on Android. Either way, I think it’s hard to go wrong with the Pixel 9 Pro XL as the best Galaxy S25 Ultra alternative. Here’s why.

A design that doesn’t feel long in the tooth

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

Samsung’s Ultra phones have largely looked the same since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The S25 Ultra does change things up a little with flat edges and rounded corners, going some way to make the boxy design a thing of the past, but there’s little else to differentiate the phone from its predecessors. Check out the comparison above, showing the S25 Ultra (left) and the S24 Ultra.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL isn’t a radical departure from the Pixel 8 Pro, either, but the underlying design still manages to look fresher compared to the last four Galaxy Ultra phones. Google debuted flat edges this time, along with a redesigned camera visor bar. This makes for a more substantial change than the move from Pixel 7 Pro to Pixel 8 Pro while being a world apart from the Pixel 6 Pro. In fact, colleague Ryan Haines went so far as to say that the Pixel 6 Pro felt like a proof-of-concept compared to the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

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Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

The Pixel doesn’t have the S25 Ultra’s Gorilla Armor protection and anti-reflective coating, though, but Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is still great for a flagship. Otherwise, the two phones match either by offering IP68 ratings. Neither phone has an IP69 rating like Chinese rivals, but this certification is mostly a gimmick.

Software: AI features and lengthy update commitments

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Software is another reason why the Pixel 9 Pro XL might be the best Galaxy S25 Ultra alternative. For starters, Google matches Samsung by offering seven years of OS updates and security patches. Nobody else in the industry reaches these heights, although I’m glad to see brands like OnePlus getting close.

Google’s phones also bring plenty of AI features to rival Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite. I honestly don’t care about many AI features in general, but Google and Samsung phones have some crossover when it comes to features I’d actually use. Both phones offer a handy Recorder app with offline transcription, an Audio Magic Eraser tool for cleaning up audio in videos, and summarization capabilities. I’m an avid user of Google’s Recorder app in particular, and it stands out from Samsung’s app by letting you share a web link to recordings and the accompanying transcript.

There’s little to choose between the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro XL when it comes to software, but I still have a preference.

Google also steps up with a couple of extra features like the smart Pixel Screenshots app, the Add Me mode for photos, and call summaries. Meanwhile, Samsung’s new phones offer a few cool additions too. This includes the ability to use natural language in the settings menu (e.g. “make my text bigger”), semantic search in the Gallery app, and a Now Brief feature that’s akin to Google Now of yore.

Ultimately, both phones offer polished software with class-leading AI features and lengthy update commitments. So, it really comes down to your preference. I prefer Google’s Pixel UI as it simply offers a cleaner UI and less bloatware compared to Samsung’s phones. But I really appreciate One UI’s expansive list of features as well as exclusive apps like Good Lock.

It’s not all in Google’s favor

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority

The Pixel 9 Pro XL isn’t comparable to (or better than) the Galaxy S25 Ultra in every category, though. Google’s biggest weakness is in the performance arena, where its Tensor G4 chip lags way behind the S25 line’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. In fact, even phones with last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset are noticeably faster than the Pixel 9 Pro XL when it comes to CPU and GPU benchmarks. The one saving grace is that Google’s phone offers better stability in GPU stress tests than rivals.

This all means that the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn’t nearly as powerful as even last year’s flagship Android phones. That doesn’t bode well for mobile gaming a few years down the line or for niche use cases like emulation, but you should have absolutely no problems with today’s demanding games.

Google also triggers one of my pet peeves by charging an arm and a leg for a phone with just 128GB of storage. This model is admittedly $100 cheaper than the 256GB Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,199), while the 256GB variant matches Samsung’s phone. But it’s kind of ironic that Google managed to out-cheap the notoriously stingy Samsung here.

Are there any other Galaxy S25 Ultra alternatives?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

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