The battle for the budget segment mobile phones is always been hot in the Indian mobile market. In such a situation, itel’s new S25 Ultra is capturing buyers attention as its look and design are quite similar to Samsung’s flagship S25 Ultra. In Pakistan, it is a hot selling product and seems it will be available to buy in India soon at ₹ 11,999. But the question is, is this phone worth that price? Should you wait and buy it? Let’s learn everything about Itel S25 Ultra in detail below.
Premium look, but is the performance equally good?
The itel S25 Ultra has a design similar to that of a flagship phone – thin (6.9mm), light (163g) and IP64 rated build. As published on Cashify, this phone has the 6.78-inch AMOLED display comes with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1400 nits of brightness, which is rare in this price range. Features like Gorilla Glass 7i protection and always-on display make it more attractive.
But the biggest problem here is its processor – Unisoc T620. Thought the chipset will handle everyday tasks, but it lags in heavy gaming or multitasking. Unisoc processors come in entry level or low-cost smartphones, and the price of Rs 11,999 is not low. In this price range, the company should offer MediaTek Dimensity 700, Dimensity 6300, or Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset. If you are fond of playing games on mobile like PUBG or BGMI, then this phone may disappoint you.
Camera: Big numbers, but is the quality as good?
Itel has given a 50MP main camera and a 32MP selfie camera in the S25 Ultra, which sounds great on paper. But in reality, the image processing is not that fast due to the Unisoc processor. Yes, features like Super Night mode and AI Portrait are useful in low light, but if you want professional-level photography, then there are better options than this. Video recording is only up to 2K, while Redmi, Samsung, and Realme phones in the same price range also offer 4K videos.
Battery and software: Will this phone last long-term?
With a 5000mAh battery and 18W fast charging, the S25 Ultra will last the whole day. Features like bypass charging reduce heating during gaming, which is a good thing. Talking about the software, it runs on Android 14, which may have bloatware of Itel OS 14.5. Although the company has promised two major OS updates, companies in the budget segment often do not live up to their promises.
The biggest question: Is this phone better than 5G phones at ₹17,999 (or ₹11,999)?
This is where the biggest weakness of the Itel S25 Ultra comes to the fore. As mentioned on itel’s official website or published on GSM Arena… this is a 4G phone. At this price, you will find 5G smartphones in around Rs 10,000 like Samsung M16 5G, Motorola M35, Lava Blaze 5G, Realme P1 and Poco M7. Even popular most affordable 5G models like the Ai+ Nova 5G and Lava Storm Lite 5G is available for just ₹8,499, which supports both (SA/NSA) 5G bands. If you want a future-proof device, investing so much money in a 4G phone is not wise. Even if you only need itel phone with 4G connectivity then you can Itel A90 which is available in India at ₹6,499 only.
Last, if you just want a good display, long battery and great design, and don’t mind 5G or heavy performance, then this phone could be for you. But if you want a device that is even slightly future-proof and better in support, then 5G phones would be a better choice and value for money deal. After all, spending ₹17,999 on a 4G phone in 2025 doesn’t seem reasonable when there are so many 5G options available in the market from brands like Samsung, Redmi, and Motorola.
In short, the Itel S25 Ultra is not a value-for-money product. Its resale value is low, and you are unlikely to receive better service at the care center either.
