itel Philippines has recently launched its latest flagship smartphone, the itel S25 Ultra, and it made quite an entrance by selling out almost immediately! But the big question is: does this device live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details and see whether the itel S25 Ultra is worth your hard-earned money.
Design and Build Quality
First off, let’s talk about the design and build quality, which is undoubtedly one of the itel S25 Ultra’s strongest points. At first glance, the device exudes a premium aesthetic, closely resembling the camera layout of the Samsung S24 Ultra. This similarity gives the S25 Ultra a midrange vibe, despite being a budget phone, thanks to its sleek and stylish design.
Available in three stunning colors—Bromo Black, Komodo Ocean, and Meteor Titanium (the unit I have)—the phone features a matte-finished back panel. While the matte design looks sophisticated, it’s still prone to fingerprints and smudges, so it’s best to use a case or clean it regularly.
In terms of durability, the S25 Ultra doesn’t fall short. It boasts TitanShield protection combined with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, ensuring better resistance to scratches and minor impacts. Even with its ultra-slim profile, measuring just 6.9mm thick, you can rest assured that the device can handle some accidental drops.
Adding to its durability is its IP64 rating, offering protection against dust and splashes. While this adds peace of mind, remember that no phone is entirely immune to damage, so it’s best to avoid intentionally dropping or exposing it to water. Keep in mind that damage caused by mishandling is not covered under warranty.
Overall, the itel S25 Ultra’s combination of design and durability makes it a great choice for users seeking a phone that looks premium without the hefty price tag.
Display and Multimedia Experience
The 6.78-inch 3D-Curved AMOLED display is undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of the itel S25 Ultra.
With a Full HD+ resolution, this display is a rare find in this price range. The curved design, combined with the vibrant AMOLED panel, adds a touch of sophistication typically seen in premium devices.
AMOLED displays are known for their vivid colors and excellent brightness, and the S25 Ultra is no exception.
With up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness, outdoor visibility is not an issue—even under direct sunlight. Watching videos, browsing photos, and playing games on this screen is a delightful experience.
However, the phone has a single bottom-firing speaker, which can be underwhelming. The audio quality isn’t bad, but it lacks the immersive sound experience that stereo speakers provide.
For a better multimedia experience, I recommend pairing it with wireless earphones or a good Bluetooth speaker.
Camera
If you enjoy taking photos, the itel S25 Ultra won’t disappoint. It features a 50MP main camera, a 2MP macro lens, an auxiliary lens, and a 32MP selfie shooter.
The rear camera produces decent quality photos, comparable to what you’d expect from midrange phones like the S23+. While the colors are vibrant and the images look sharp, the camera struggles with highlight management, often resulting in blown-out highlights. This can be addressed by manually lowering the exposure, but I hope itel releases a software update to fix this issue.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is surprisingly impressive. With 32MP resolution, it stands out in a market where many phones in the PHP 15,000–20,000 range only offer 8–16MP front cameras. The selfies are detailed and vibrant, making it a great choice for social media enthusiasts.
For video recording, the itel S25 Ultra supports up to 2K resolution at 30fps, but it lacks stabilization features such as EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization). This means videos can appear shaky, especially when shooting handheld. I hope future iterations of this phone include stabilization for a smoother video recording experience.
Performance
Under the hood, the itel S25 Ultra is powered by a 12nm UNISOC T620 chipset paired with a Mali-G57 GPU.
While this setup is sufficient for everyday tasks and casual multitasking, it’s not a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the itel S23+. This has left some users disappointed, particularly those expecting a more powerful processor.
With 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and support for up to 8GB of Extended RAM, the phone can handle multiple apps without noticeable lag.
It runs on itelOS 14.5 based on Android 14, and the software is smooth and user-friendly. Additionally, the phone is upgradable to Android 15, ensuring some level of future-proofing.
Gaming performance, however, is a mixed bag. While light games like Mobile Legends, Honor of Kings, and Call of Duty: Mobile run smoothly, the phone struggles with resource-intensive titles like Genshin Impact, even at the lowest settings. For gamers, this might not be the ideal choice.
In terms of benchmarks, the S25 Ultra scored 332,000 points on AnTuTu and 8,300 on PCMark Work 3.0, which are decent figures for its price range.
Battery
The 5,000mAh battery ensures all-day usage, even with heavy tasks like video streaming and social media. Despite its large battery, the phone remains lightweight and slim, which is a nice bonus.
Charging, however, is where the S25 Ultra falls short. With only 18W charging support, it takes quite a while to fully recharge the battery. In a market where faster charging speeds are becoming standard, this is an area where itel can improve in future models. But don’t worry, in our testing, it only takes an hour and a half to charge it from 20-100%.
Verdict
The itel S25 Ultra delivers an impressive package for its price. From its premium design and curved AMOLED display to its decent camera performance, this phone is a strong contender in the budget category.
It’s perfect for casual users who value style, display quality, and photography over raw performance. However, gamers and users looking for top-tier performance may want to explore other options.
itel S25 Ultra Specifications
- Display: 6.78-inch 3D-Curved AMOLED, FHD+ Resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,400nits peak brightness, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, 100% DCI-P3, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, In-display fingerprint scanner,
- CPU: 2.2GHz 12nm UNISOC T612 octa-core processor
- GPU: Mali-G57
- RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X + 8GB Extended RAM Turbo
- ROM: 256GB UFS2.2
- Rear Camera: 50MP + 2MP depth + Auxiliary lens + LED flash
- Front Camera: 32MP
- Battery: 5,000mAh, 18W fast-charging (Type-C)
- OS: itelOS 14.5, Android 14 (Upgradable to Android 15)
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, Dual SIM (nano)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope
- Colors: Meteor Titanium, Bromo Black, Komodo Ocean
- Weight: 163g
- Dimensions: 6.9mm thickness
- Others: AI face unlock, USB-C, IP64 rating, Single-speakers, DTS audio,
Price and availability
- 8GB/256GB – PHP 7,999 | Shopee link | Lazada link
The itel S25 Ultra is available for only PHP 7,999 in itel Philippines’ official store on Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.
