Why can't Samsung, the world's top-selling brand, win the hearts of Chinese consumers?

Samsung, a miraculous brand that mobilizes the entire nation's resources and spans various industries. Even unboxing a Samsung product can make one feel like going back to one's primal instincts. But how long has it been since you last saw someone around you using a Samsung phone?

In 2013, Samsung held a market share as high as 21.9% in the Chinese market, firmly ranking first. However, by 2024, Samsung had completely declined to the "others" category with a market share of less than 1%. Nevertheless, in the global market, Samsung still ranks first with a sales share of 19%, and many people also regard Samsung as the "King of Android Phones".

In March this year, I got my hands on this top - of - the - line Samsung S25 Ultra to experience what it's like to use the so - called "King of Android Phones". But after several months of in - depth use, I'm even more confused. Is this really it?

Still Leading Hardware Experience

It must be admitted that the screen of the Samsung S25 Ultra is truly gorgeous. This 6.9 - inch screen uses the second - generation Dynamic AMOLED technology with a peak brightness of 2600 nits. Although the parameters are not top - notch, in terms of actual viewing experience, Samsung's screen is very clear and realistic.

This screen does bring an immersive experience similar to "augmented reality". Whether you're binge - watching dramas or editing photos, it's more comfortable than the Apple and other Android phones I've used. The screen bezel has been narrowed to 1.3mm, which has a strong visual impact. Overall, the screen is still Samsung's absolute advantage, but the gap with domestic flagship phones is not as large as before.

In addition, the S25 Ultra's screen has an anti - reflection coating this time, and the effect is very obvious in actual use. Even when using it under the tree shadows, you won't be dazzled by the mottled light reflections. I also specifically compared it with my friend's iPhone. When opening the same photo under the noon sun, the details and colors of the S25 Ultra are more realistic. The only pity is that the anti - reflection effect almost disappears after applying a third - party screen protector. Although the official screen protector is good, the price of 199 yuan makes me a bit reluctant to buy it, and it's also very prone to getting fingerprints.

However, this screen still uses 480Hz PWM dimming. Domestic phones all come standard with high - frequency dimming above 1920Hz + DC dimming. Even Honor has already reached 4320Hz. Samsung's parameters are no longer comparable.

In terms of performance, the experience of the Samsung S25 Ultra is quite good. The S25 Ultra is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor. When playing large - scale games like "Genshin Impact", it can basically maintain a stable 60 frames per second at the highest graphics settings, and the heat dissipation performance is also good. The phone won't get scalding hot.

In terms of the imaging system, the configuration of the S25 Ultra is still top - notch. The experience of the four rear cameras is quite good, but it hasn't followed the trend of domestic phones in introducing "true - color lenses" or multi - spectral sensors. The S25 Ultra still features a 200 - megapixel main camera and two telephoto lenses, and the ultra - wide - angle lens has been upgraded to 50 million pixels. Personally, I really liked the 10x telephoto lens on the Samsung S23 Ultra, but since the S24 Ultra, Samsung has changed it to a 5x telephoto lens. The so - called "concert - shooting artifact" is no longer available.

Night - time and telephoto shooting still have Samsung's traditional advantages, but the improvement in this generation is more about piling up parameters, and there is no "qualitative change" in the actual experience. In night - mode, the brightness and details of the photos are very prominent, but the colors are a bit warm. Compared with the S24 Ultra I used before, it lacks a bit of naturalness. The 3x telephoto lens is very practical for taking portraits, but it's still a bit inferior to the 5x telephoto lens of the iPhone 16 Pro, especially when zooming in, the details are a bit blurry. When using extreme zoom, the AI compensation is obvious, and the picture looks a bit unnatural.

The left photo was taken by the Samsung S25 Ultra, and the right one was taken by the iPhone 16 Pro.

In comparison, domestic flagship phones have caught up with or even surpassed Samsung in terms of algorithm optimization for night - time and portrait shooting. Although the imaging system of the S25 Ultra is still powerful, it is no longer the "unrivaled king".

One UI: Not Adapted to the Local Environment

ONE UI 7.0 is overall smooth and rich in customization features. Tools like Good Lock are very friendly to users who like to tinker with their phones. In my actual use, the customization options such as theme park, fairyland, and NavStar can really offer a lot of fun.

At the beginning, I went to Xiaohongshu every day to learn from the experts' tutorials to make my phone more beautiful and user - friendly. The ability to customize everything was the main reason that attracted me to buy the S25 Ultra. However, as time passed, my enthusiasm faded, and I no longer liked to tinker with it. For ordinary users, the settings are too complicated, far less worry - free than domestic systems that are "ready to use right out of the box". Well, different people have different opinions on this.

The floating - window function of some apps hasn't been specifically optimized. For example, when I'm using DeepSeek, if I want to perform other operations based on the information provided by the AI, the floating - window split - screen function is basically useless. I have to adjust it to a wide enough size. If it's narrowed, only half of the content will be displayed.

Samsung's system lacks localization. The system functions, ecological services, and interaction logic haven't really integrated into the daily life scenarios and cultural habits of local users. The NFC transportation card only supports a few cities, and the card - opening process is cumbersome. Domestic systems have already covered more than 300 cities' buses and subways across the country. The cloud service has been frequently adjusted due to data compliance issues, and the user experience of synchronizing photos and files is far less stable than that of Xiaomi Cloud or Huawei Cloud. In terms of the payment ecosystem, Samsung Pay lags behind in the in - depth adaptation of WeChat and Alipay, lacking a shortcut operation similar to HarmonyOS's "one - click to bring up the payment code".

More importantly, the inter - connectivity of ecological apps, medical emergency information, and earthquake early - warning functions of domestic systems like HarmonyOS and Pengpai OS are really excellent. These highly localized functions provide a practical and user - friendly experience. While Samsung's system updates focus on globally applicable functions and haven't adapted to the needs of scenario - based services. This difference in strategy with domestic phone manufacturers makes Samsung's system, despite its seemingly powerful hardware support, always seem "ineffective" and difficult to impress someone like me who has been "spoiled" by domestic systems.

The S Pen and AI: A Mixed Bag

The S Pen has always been a unique selling point of the Ultra series, but in this generation of the S25 Ultra, Bluetooth and air - gesture operations have been removed. Functions like remote - controlled shooting and air - page - turning are all gone. Now, the S Pen only has basic writing and doodling functions, and the convenience of using it for meeting note - taking and PPT presentations has been greatly reduced. For someone like me who is used to using the S Pen for note - taking and presentations, this generation of the S Pen really has no appeal.

If Samsung simply removed the S Pen and used the space to install a larger battery, it might be more convincing. Now, this "crippled" solution has turned the S Pen into a useless accessory.

Another aspect that Samsung values - AI - also doesn't offer a satisfactory experience in China. The new - generation Galaxy AI already has more than 50 functions. Functions like removing reflections from photos and replacing backgrounds are really practical, especially for the elderly at home. They can almost learn to use them right away. However, for functions like AI summarization and voice transcription, the accuracy is about 90%, and you still have to make some corrections occasionally.

In scenarios such as phone recording and photo editing, AI can bring some convenience, but the overall experience is still a bit "foreign" and doesn't fit the daily needs of Chinese users well. For example, there is a function called Instant Briefing. It's placed on the home screen of the desktop. The official website says it's a personalized briefing that will provide me with instant information for the day, but in fact, it just shows the weather in my area and pushes a piece of news below. It really doesn't seem to have much to do with AI.

Falling Behind in Specs, but Not in Price

Whether it's because it can't keep up with the competition or is simply outperformed, the Samsung S25 Ultra can't compete with domestic flagship phones in terms of specifications, especially in terms of battery life and charging. The combination of a 5000mAh battery and 45W fast charging has been used for several years, and the actual experience is really far behind.

In daily use, the battery life is about 9 hours. If you play games or watch videos more often, you'll need to charge the phone twice a day. My typical day starts at 8 am when I go out. During the day, I check WeChat, reply to emails, listen to music, and play games occasionally. By the time I get home at night, the battery is left with less than 20%. After actual testing, the full battery life is about 9 hours, and charging it once a day is definitely not enough. You basically have to charge it twice.

The charging speed is even more frustrating. It takes 1 hour to fully charge the phone with 45W charging and 1.5 hours with 25W charging. This is completely incomparable with the 90W or 100W fast - charging capabilities of domestic flagship phones. You know, the realme GT5 under vivo reached 240W charging two years ago, which is even higher than the charging power of my electric bike.

It may fall behind in terms of specifications, but it definitely doesn't lose in terms of price. Samsung phones are really expensive. Currently, the 12 + 256GB version of the S25 Ultra is priced at 8999 yuan on the official website, which is 700 yuan cheaper than when it was first released. This price is basically the same as that of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. While domestic flagship phones with the same configuration only cost 6499 yuan. Even Huawei's top - of - the - line flagship...