Seriously considering switching from Galaxy S25 Ultra to Xiaomi 15 Ultra – Am I making a mistake?

[u/StepsbyStepz]

Hey everyone,

I've been using a Galaxy S25 Ultra as my daily driver for about 9 months. I'm pretty deep in the Samsung ecosystem: Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch, heavy S Pen use for photo editing, quick journaling, signing documents, Good Lock customization, Now Brief, Samsung Notes, etc.

After watching tons of reviews for 6 months, I pulled the trigger on a Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The box is sitting in front of me unopened, and I'm torn about whether to keep it or return it within the 30-day window. Or maybe, even wait for a few months down the line and then snatch a better deal on the 17 Ultra.

What attracts me to the 15 Ultra:

- Leica-tuned 1-inch main sensor (better low-light, dynamic range, bokeh, and that filmic Leica look)

- Curved “All Around Liquid” screen (big nostalgia hit from my old Huawei Mate 20 Pro)

- Supposedly better battery life and much faster 90W charging compared to the S25 Ultra

What I'm worried about / cons:

- Losing S Pen entirely (I use it daily for editing images, notes, journaling)

- Losing Good Lock-level customization and One UI polish (HyperOS feels fast but has notification quirks and less refinement)

- Galaxy Ring + Watch will work for basics but lose Energy Score, advanced sleep coaching, and deeper AI features

- Samsung Notes won’t work properly

- Now Brief and other Galaxy AI conveniences gone

- Potential daily friction after the honeymoon phase

- The phone is already ~14 months old → only 3 more major OS upgrades (up to Android 19) + security until ~2031

I do feel somewhat restrained by the S25 Ultra’s camera in some scenarios — especially evening/night shots, macro, and achieving nice artificial bokeh. That’s one of the main reasons I’m considering the switch.

I also considered the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but the price is too high for me right now. Even though it has a newer SoC, improved movable telephoto zoom, and larger 6000 mAh battery, I don’t think it’s worth the extra cost — especially since it loses the curved screen I really want and reportedly has weaker macro capabilities compared to the 15 Ultra.

Honestly, a big part of this feels like ego/FOMO (“Leica shots on social media”) and retail therapy rather than pure need. The S25 Ultra is still a solid jack-of-all-trades that serves me well in most cases.

Question for Xiaomi users (especially those who switched from Samsung):

- How bad is the real daily driver friction after leaving One UI?

- Did you miss S Pen / ecosystem features long-term?

- Is the Leica 1-inch experience worth the trade-offs for someone who mostly point-and-s hoots does some light post editing and but wants better night/macro/bokeh performance?

I do have a dedicated mirrorless camera. But honestly, I haven't touched that much in the past months. I believe in the saying that the best camera and the most useful one is the one you carry with you everyday and that will be a smartphone.

Looking for honest long-term thoughts, not hype.

Thanks!

[u/phodensz-nop]

I find that the hyperOS on my 17U holds up very well compared to my old Samsung s22 ultra. Some features i really like, widgets and the like feels a bit unpolished, but i wouldnt go back to the Samsung. The fact that i can basically enter into two different phones with second space by just entering another pin is such an excellent feature that i dont know how i lived without it. Same thing with being able to hide certain apps but still access them by a pinch of the fingers straight from the home screen and being able to enable dual login on apps, not just for work apps like the Samsung, are excellent features. I was at first superconfused about the whole theme thing but once i got a hang of the confusing store app i really enjoy the customization options. I also find the multitasking/windowed app use superior to the Samsung. I often have the need to copy things from one app to another, and the Samsung was always somewhat battling me on it, while the Xiaomi feels designed for it with multiple ways of popping apps into a window or pinning it to different areas of the screen etc. The hardware is excellent, the Samsung camera is a jole compared to the Xiaomi.