5 Android Phones More Powerful Than The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
If you’re in the market for a premium Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is undoubtedly one of the most common options available. It is one of the best smartphones on the market, thanks to its high processing capabilities, powerful camera setup, and guaranteed seven years of software updates support. Another factor that contributes to its immense popularity is that it is available in more regions compared to many other phones. Samsung has come a long way from using one of the most criticized skins, TouchWiz, to now offering one of the best Android skins on the market, One UI. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the company’s flagship for 2025 and comes with all the bells and whistles.
The device features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, a slightly overclocked version of the standard processor. Interestingly, despite its “For Galaxy” branding, the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite found in other devices — particularly those with superior cooling systems — often outscores the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s processor in benchmark and workload tests. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is certainly powerful enough for multitasking, gaming, and photography, but for enthusiasts chasing peak frame rates and benchmark dominance, it faces strong competition.
You don’t need to pay an ultra-premium price to get top-tier performance. We have compiled a list of five Android phones that outperform the Galaxy S25 Ultra. For this list, we have prioritized devices with higher Geekbench and AnTuTu benchmark scores, superior thermal management, and better charging capabilities.
OnePlus 15
After being stuck for some time waiting for FCC approval, OnePlus finally made the pre-orders for the OnePlus 15 open earlier this month. There is no clarity on when the phone will be shipped, but in markets like India, the OnePlus 15 is already making waves. A powerful phone doesn’t always mean it should pack the best processor in the industry. While that is required, there are so many other areas for Android phones to shine, and the OnePlus 15 sits right at the top if we take those metrics into account.
The first thing that makes the OnePlus 15 more powerful than other Android phones is its battery. It packs a massive 7,300 mAh battery compared to the 5,000 mAh battery on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. OnePlus 15 supports up to 120W of wired charging and 50W of wireless charging, which is again better than 45W wired and 15W wireless charging on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Speaking of processors, according to data provided by NanoReview, the OnePlus 15 beats the Galaxy S25 Ultra in Geekbench 6 single-core and multicore benchmark tests by a good margin.
In the AnTuTu benchmark test, the OnePlus 15 scored 3,690,929, compared to 2,731,492 for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Notably, the OnePlus 15 comes with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm’s latest chipset, which is more powerful than the Gen 4 processor. Additional features such as USB 4.1, Bluetooth 6.0, and an infrared blaster that doubles as a universal remote make it a great all-rounder.
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro
If gaming is on your mind, and you want a full-blown gaming smartphone, then the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro sits right at the top. That’s because it’s the first smartphone in the industry to feature a functional liquid cooling system on all of its models — 12GB, 16GB, and 24GB variants. On top of this, the Red Magic 11 Pro also comes with its signature active cooling fan, and combined with its liquid cooling system, it milks every bit of performance from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.
It doesn’t stop there — being a gaming phone, it features a massive 7,500 mAh battery and supports 80W wired charging and fast wireless charging, a department where the Galaxy S25 Ultra bites the dust. The Red Magic 11 Pro comes with 520Hz shoulder triggers with support for 4D vibration, which elevates the overall gaming experience, something not possible on most other Android phones. This shows in the AnTuTu benchmark testing, where the phone currently tops the leaderboard of the best-performing flagship phones of 2025.
According to NanoReview, the Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro scores 3,739 in Geekbench 6 single-core tests, compared to 3,147 for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It also leads in multicore tests. While the camera isn’t a strong forte of the Red Magic 11 Pro, it is quite a powerful gaming device.
iQOO 15
Another Chinese company in our list of more powerful phones than the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes from the house of BBK Electronics — the iQOO 15. While the phone isn’t available in the U.S. and there’s no official news related to its launch in the region, it can be bought in the country through sellers such as Wonda Mobile and eBay. Having tried and tested several iQOO mobiles in the past, the latest iQOO 15 deserves a mention. It packs the latest chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, that automatically gives it a major boost in terms of performance compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The display is also amazing and is an M14 2K OLED panel that comes from Samsung. iQOO has also equipped the iQOO 15 with a Supercomputing Chip Q3 that improves the graphics performance during gaming. With features such as full-scene ray tracing, PC-grade super resolution, and lossless frame interpolation, the iQOO 15 is a solid gaming phone. The 8K VC cooling chamber is the largest vapor chamber in iQOO’s history, and it ensures that your phone’s temperature remains under control during extreme gaming sessions. Sadly, you don’t get all of these features on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
In AnTuTu testing, the iQOO 15 scored 3,778,286 points. As per NanoReview, it scored 3,641 in single-core and 10,982 in multicore Geekbench tests, much higher than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which clearly indicates that apart from being a powerful gaming device, it can also be a great daily driver.
Vivo X300 Pro
One of the most talked about flagship phones of the year is the Vivo X300 Pro. The phone’s camera, in particular, has received rave reviews from tech experts and YouTubers alike. Having tested devices across markets like India and Germany, I’ve had the opportunity to use several models that aren’t available in the U.S. yet, the Vivo X300 Pro being one of them. I have been reviewing Vivo phones for quite some time, and I see only incremental upgrades, especially in flagships. But the minor changes in this year’s X300 Pro are more than sufficient to make it one of the best camera phones on the market.
While the design is new for the X300 Pro, it picks up several elements from the iPhone 17 Pro Max. But speaking of in-hand experience, the X300 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra both feel comfortable and solid. It packs a MediaTek Dimensity 9500 SoC, which is the latest processor from the Taiwanese chipmaker. And when compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 chip of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Dimensity 9500 performs better in AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmark tests, making it a powerhouse in gaming and daily usage.
Another area where the Vivo X300 Pro shines is the camera department. And even though Samsung has one of the most solid camera setups, the X300 Pro is better, especially when recording videos. The amazing camera and processing performance make the X300 Pro a better phone than the soon-to-be year-old Galaxy S25 Ultra.
OPPO Find X9 Pro
Although the OPPO Find X9 Pro is not available in the U.S., its prowess needs to be addressed. OPPO launched the Find X9 Pro in October globally. The phone is powered by MediaTek’s latest chipset, the Dimensity 9500. The Find X9 Pro gives good competition to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in benchmark tests. According to Nanoreview, the device minted over 3 million points, compared to 2.7 million points of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Though the device is comparable in the Geekbench test, with the Find X9 Pro beating the S25 Ultra in single-core tests.
Smartphones these days are all about cameras, and the OPPO Find X9 Pro doesn’t disappoint you there. You get a 50MP ultrawide and a 200MP primary camera, something neck-to-neck with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Find X9 Pro takes good, vibrant photos. Images do appear a bit sharp and overprocessed, but that is something I have also noticed with OnePlus and OPPO phones (same parent company).
One area that the Find X9 Pro just zooms past the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the battery department. The Find X9 Pro comes with a 7,500 mAh battery, which gives you enough juice to last a day, sometimes even more.
Methodology
To compile this list, we compared benchmark performances from websites such as NanoReview, AnTuTu, and 91Mobiles. However, readers must note that benchmark scores are indicators of peak potential and not daily performances. Results vary depending on temperature, background processes, and software. Since the processor isn’t the only measure of power, we’ve considered other factors as well.
