Today, I unboxed my brand-new Samsung S25 Ultra, excited to experience all the latest upgrades. But after setting it up, I quickly realized—I didn’t love it. Something felt familiar, and not in a good way.
I glanced over at my Samsung S22 Ultra and started comparing. Sure, on paper, the S25 boasts impressive improvements in CPU and performance. But in real-world use? I wasn’t feeling a game-changing difference. Then, it hit me: the real reason I replaced my phone had nothing to do with speed, cameras, or new features. It was the battery life.
And this isn’t the first time.
- I upgraded from S21 to S22 Ultra—again, for battery life.
- Before that, I jumped from S10 to S21—same reason.
- Even earlier, it was S9 to S10 and S6 to S9—all in search of better battery performance.
No matter which model I’ve owned, after about a year, battery life starts to degrade noticeably, even though I’m not a heavy user. I don’t play demanding games or run power-hungry apps all day. Yet, whenever I’m away from a charger, I find myself anxiously watching my battery drain—while my family’s iPhones seem to last effortlessly.
This isn’t about a faulty battery; my phone always passes battery diagnostics. It’s something deeper. Maybe it’s the heat management, maybe it’s the OS, or maybe it’s just planned obsolescence at work.
But this time, I’m breaking the cycle.
I’ve decided I’m not spending another dime just to chase battery life improvements that never last. I’ll be looking for a new Android alternative—but not a Pixel, and definitely not an iPhone. Samsung has lost me as a loyal customer, and unless something changes, I won’t be coming back.