The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra combines the firm’s latest and perhaps one of the best software efforts with a slightly fresh design. It doesn’t bring as many improvements as its predecessor, the S24 Ultra but what if you’re trying to choose between another big-screen smartphone like the Pixel 9 Pro XL? Does the Galaxy S25 Ultra excel in all aspects and can raw power and improved software beat the pure Pixel experience and cameras? Here’s our Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL comparison to help you make a better decision.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: Specifications
Here’s a quick rundown of the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Pixel 9 Pro XL before we move on to the in-depth comparison.
Galaxy S25 Ultra Pixel 9 Pro XL Dimensions and Weight 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm, 218 grams 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm, 221 grams Display 6.86-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 1440 x 3120 pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate with 2,600 nits of peak brightness protected by Corning Gorilla Armor 2 6.8-inch LTPO AMOLED 1344 x 2992 pixels resolution, 120 Hz, with 3,000 nits of peak brightness protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Tensor G4 Cameras 200 MP f/1.7 wide,
10 MP f/2.4 telephoto (3x)
50 MP f/3.4 periscope (5x)
50 MP f/1.9 ultrawide
12 MP f/2.2 selfie snapper50 MP f/1.7 wide,
48 MP f/2.8 periscope (5x)
48 MP f/1.7 ultrawide
42 MP f/2.2 selfie shooterBattery and Charging 5,000 mAh with 45W wired, 25W wireless (Qi2), and 4.5W reverse wireless 5,060 mAh with 37W wired, 23W wireless via Pixel Stand, and 12W Qi2/reverse wireless Software Launched with One UI 7 based on Android 15
7 years of major updatesLaunched with Android 14. Android 15 available with 7 years of major updates Connectivity and Misc Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and NFC.
Ultrasonic Fingerprint SensorWi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and NFC.
Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor, Temperature SensorStorage variants 256 GB + 12 GB
512 GB + 12 GB
1 TB + 12 GB
UFS 4.0, LPDDR5x128 GB + 16 GB
256 GB + 16 GB
512 GB + 16 GB
1 TB + 16 GB
UFS 3.1, LPDDR5Colors Titanium Black, Blue, Gray, and Silver Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, Obsidian
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: Design and Build
One of the changes in the Galaxy S25 Ultra this year was in the design. The overall ergonomics of the phone have been improved. The corners are more curved whereas the edges are now sharper and flatter.
Compared to that, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has the same height as the S25 Ultra, albeit with more rounded corners. The edges of the device are just as flat as the S25 Ultra. The S25 Ultra is slimmer than the Pixel 9 Pro XL by 0.3 mm and wider at 77.6 mm (vs 76.6 mm on the XL).
Coming to the build quality, the Galaxy S25 Ultra uses a Titanium frame, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro XL uses Aluminum. There’s the latest Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2 protection on both sides of the S25 Ultra, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro XL uses the older Gorilla Glass Victus 2. On paper, the Ultra should be more durable with better protection against drops and scratches.
Display
The display on the Ultra is a 6.86-inch unit whereas the 9 Pro XL’s is a 6.8-inch unit. The Ultra’s bezels are slightly thinner and therefore have a higher screen-to-body ratio compared to the 9 Pro XL.
Both devices come with 2K LTPO AMOLED displays with 120Hz refresh rate. However, the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is slightly sharper at 1440 x 3120 pixels than the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s 1344 x 2992 pixels. The Ultra’s display is a tad denser as well at 505 ppi vs 486 ppi on the Pixel.
However, one major difference is in both the firms’ marketed peak brightness values. The Galaxy S25 Ultra sports the same display as the S24 Ultra, hence the peak brightness has remained the same at 2,600 nits. The Pixel 9 Pro XL with its upgraded display reaches up to 3,000 nits. This isn’t a groundbreaking difference but is one that’s worth mentioning.
Cameras
The primary shooter on the S25 Ultra is a 200 MP f/1.7 unit versus a 50 MP f/1.7 snapper on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Both have almost similar sensor sizes but the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s has a larger pixel size at 0.6µm and should result in slightly more light being captured per pixel.
The periscope camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a 50 MP shooter which may look better than the 48 MP snapper on the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Both are capable of 5x optical zoom, however, the Pixel’s periscope should slightly excel in low light thanks to the lower aperture (f/2.8 vs f/3.4). What the Ultra lacks here, it more than makes up for it thanks to its additional 10 MP 3x telephoto lens which the Pixel lacks.
One of the upgrades to the S25 Ultra’s cameras this year was a higher-resolution ultrawide camera. The 120-degree FoV 50 MP f/2.0 snapper should greatly enhance the experience but it’s still a bit inferior compared to Pixel 9 Pro XL’s higher FoV (123-degree) and smaller aperture (f/1.7). The Main, Telephoto, and Periscope lenses on both devices come with OIS.
That said, Pixel 9 Pro XL’s selfie camera is a higher resolution 42 MP snapper which is wider at 17 mm focal length(vs 26 mm).
Of course, these are just numbers and which takes better photos heavily depends on software optimizations. Pixels tend to take contrasty, warm, and a bit saturated images with generally better skin tones than Samsung. The latter leans toward slightly brighter images with more HDR processing. It all depends on the kind of pictures you like, at the end of the day.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: Hardware
The Galaxy S25 Ultra blows the Pixel 9 Pro XL out of the water with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. The Tensor G4 is no match for the 8 Elite in any department whatsoever. The Tensor G4 is built on Samsung’s 4 nm process, whereas 8 Elite uses TSMC’s 3 nm process, making the latter more efficient.
Both are octa-core SoCs. The 8 Elite features 2 x Oryon 2nd gen prime cores clocked at 4.47 GHz and 6 x 3.53 GHz Oryon 2nd gen performance cores. The Tensor G4, on the other hand, features 1 x Cortex-X4 clocked at 3.1 GHz, 3 x Cortex-A720 clocked at 2.6 GHz, and 4 x Cortex-A520 clocked at 1.92 GHz.
GPU-wise, the Adreno 830 in the 8 Elite has 12 compute units and a clock speed of 1.1 GHz with 12 MB of L2 cache. The Mali-G715 MP7 has 8 cores with 940- MHz frequency, and a measly 2 MB L2 cache, and is significantly behind Adreno 830.
Overall, if performance and gaming are quite high on your list of priorities, the S25 Ultra will just perform better than the Pixel 9 Pro XL thanks to a more powerful and efficient SoC.
Software: One UI 7 vs Pixel UI on Android 15
The software is the biggest differentiating factor between the both. The Galaxy S25 Ultra ships with the latest One UI 7 version, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with Pixel UI. Both currently run Android 15 (review) and come with 7 years of OS updates promise.
The Pixel UI is known for its clean and simple user interface with lots of smart Pixel goodies and features baked inside. However, Samsung left no stone unturned this year in making One UI 7 one of the best Android 15-based releases of the year.
Overall, these UIs cater to different kinds of users with different use cases. One UI 7 is more customizable with tiny but essential tweaks and features. The Pixel UI is Google’s take on a much more modern AOSP. Although it isn’t as feature-rich and filled with customization options as One UI 7, it’s popular with users who care about ease of use over customizations.
The bottom line is, that both UIs are excellent but the decision boils down to whether you want more customizations or a much simpler user experience. We believe that after One UI 7, the AI features (writing tools link) on both devices will be evenly matched.
Battery, Storage, and Connectivity
The Battery in the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a 5,000 mAh unit capable of charging at 45W. The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a slightly larger 5,060 mAh cell with 37W wired charging. The Ultra has 25W wireless Qi2 charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging, whereas the Pixel supports 23W wireless charging via the Pixel Stand and 12W via the Qi standard and reverse wireless.
The S25 Ultra should last longer thanks to the more efficient 8 Elite and it should charge quicker thanks to 45W charging. However, both devices are far behind in battery technology than other manufacturers with much better battery and charging specifications.
The Storage on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is UFS 4.0 coupled with LPDDR5X RAM. The phone’s available in 256, 512 GB, and 1TB variants but the RAM is 12 GB across all of them. The Pixel, on the other hand, features UFS 3.1 storage across the storage variants (128, 256, 512 GB, and 1TB) but comes with 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM. The difference in performance won’t be obvious and AI features should work fine on both devices.
Connectivity-wise, both offer Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, UWB, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, NFC, and an ultrasonic fingerprint reader. The sensors are pretty similar across the board with the only difference being the temperature sensor on the 9 Pro XL.
Colors and Pricing
The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes in four colors — Titanium Black, Blue, Gray, and Silver. The Pixel 9 Pro XL comes in Porcelain, Rose Quartz, Hazel, and Obsidian. Both offer a decent range of options but the ones on the Pixel look more young than the Ultra, which has mostly professional, muted colors.
Despite the rumors suggesting the cost of materials for the S25 Ultra being high, the S25 Ultra’s price remains $1,299 for the base 256 GB + 12 GB. The 256 GB + 16 GB variant of the 9 Pro XL launched for $1,199 but currently costs $1049.
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL: Conclusion
The $150 difference in price isn’t quite massive. If you pick the 9 Pro XL, you lose lots of performance, an extra camera, faster storage, and better cellular connectivity (8 Elite’s X80 modem in S25 Ultra is generally better). Hence, the Galaxy S25 Ultra should be your go-to pick.
Ultimately, the choice between the two depends on your needs. If you need great performance and customization with the added flexibility of an extra telephoto camera, it might be worth spending extra and getting the S25 Ultra. Thanks to the Google-Samsung partnership, the line between Samsung and Pixel AI features has thinned and one no longer overpowers the other.
However, if you love the Pixel experience, couldn’t care less about the performance, and want solid, consistent cameras, the Pixel 9 Pro XL or even the Pixel 9 Pro are solid devices for the price.
Which phone would you pick between the two? Let us know in the comments.
