Galaxy S25 Ultra, are those camera lenses, or are you just happy to see me?

Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 series is out, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra clearly on top of the foodchain. Again, it’s the Samsung Everything Phone — fastest chip, biggest screen, best camera module with a full quad-sensor setup.

And it’s a good camera — yet again, it has bested our camera benchmark test. This year, we are particularly taken by the “soft detail” of the Samsung cameras. For the first time in forever, fine details aren’t oversharpened, jagged, fake-looking. Samsung has also done a lot of work in the color calibration department — gone are the toxic green grass and neon blue sky.

PhoneArena Camera Score:



Yet, Samsung may have felt a bit of pressure to make the camera “look” more powerful, too. With the added camera rings, the company actually called them “floating cameras” at the presentation.

After all, manufacturers like Xiaomi, Vivo, Huawei are making these huge camera-centric phones with massive lens rings on their backs, looking like a hybrid between a high-powered DSLR and a futuristic smartphone. Our tests show that the Galaxy’s camera has all that it takes to step up to their performance. However, visually, it may suggest that it does not. Or, at least that’s what I believe Samsung’s thinking was here.



The added camera rings on the Galaxy S25 Ultra are there just for show. That has been made apparent by YouTube phone destroyer JerryRigEverything’s video on the subject.



Peel the “floating lenses” off, and you will see that the camera module of the Galaxy S25 Ultra is about the same as the S24 Ultra’s. Essentially, they are just added bloat — just for show.

And that’s precisely the point that rubs me the wrong way. Form over function. Not only do they add bulk to the phone’s back for no other reason than an apparent need to peacock among its competitors. Not just that, the tiny gaps between the rings and the phone’s back will keep gathering gunk, dust, hair, and lint. Cleaning your phone with a toothpick doesn’t sound like an appealing pastime.

It also makes Samsung look a bit unsure of itself — it’s just a bad signal to send out. As if the product had some identity or self-esteem issues.

And all of that was for naught. I started the article with this, and I can confidently end it the same way. The Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras are great! While some other phones score slightly better with ultrawide, zoom, or selfie quality, the sum of its parts and entire camera experience with the Galaxy S25 Ultra has put it on top of our camera benchmarks for now. And here are some samples with it: