This Week at Mark Ellis Reviews

👉 The Honor Magic7 Pro had me thinking about the futility of smartphone reviews, I got early access to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and our first-ever gaming product review hit the website!

TOP STORY

iPhone Killer? Hands-on With The Samsung S25 Ultra!

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has received, let's say, mixed reviews. I don’t think there’s a debate over how good the phone is (it is excellent), but there is dissent over how much you could actually call the S25 ultra an ‘upgrade’. Here’s my two cents:

• It looks and feels super premium (but so did the S24 Ultra)

• The hardware has hardly changed (apart from a new 50 MP Ultrawide lens)

• Samsung has made a decent and honest effort to make Galaxy AI more useful

I’m torn. This is a great phone, but the problem is all of those AI advancements are coming to the S24 Ultra at some point too. Strip that away, then what else of substance is there left to differentiate the two? I’ll report back in my full review next week! If you’d rather read about my thoughts instead, click here!

Back to the Apple Watch Ultra: 5 Observations

For much of 2024, I didn’t have an Apple Watch on my wrist, and when I did it was the Apple Watch Series 10, certainly not the Ultra. That is despite the Apple Watch Ultra being my personal favourite ever Apple Watch.

There’s one thing that has pushed me towards other brands; the battery life. When watches like the Huawei Watch Ultimate can last over a week without charging, it’s hard to look back. But this week, my Apple Watch Ultra looked forlornly up at me as I opened the draw where it now spends most of its time and I couldn’t help but give it another whirl. And I’m so glad I did!

Alienware m18 R2 Review in 2025: Behemothic Size Matched By Impressive Performance

I’m not what you would call an avid gamer but I played my fair share back in the day. Thankfully, Max (our Website Manager) has a bit more of a finger on the pulse in that regard. He got his hands on a rather beastly Alienware gaming laptop to review.

Here are his thoughts:

• It’s got bucketloads of power from the Nvidia RTX 4070, enough to play anything

• There’s adequate cooling to keep things below recommended temperatures

• The excessive size and weight stretch the meaning of the word lap-top

Essential Tech News

OPINION

The Honor Magic7 Pro and the state of smartphones

Hmm. This wasn’t the plan. To the right of my laptop, I have the Magic7 Pro, which is the latest flagship smartphone from Honor. It is brilliant. It features the latest Snapdragon chip, a beautiful, ridiculously bright display, and a camera system with one of - if not the - best portrait modes on the market.

I got hands-on with it last week in Slovenia during a press trip that was put on by Honor to officially launch both the Magic7 Pro and its cheaper brother, the Magic7 Lite. Then, I had to return the phone (there was a shortage of review units, basically - this kinda thing happens sometimes).

Unfortunately, the amount of time taken to return the phone to me via the UK’s awful delivery network meant that it missed the boat for a full review on the main channel (we’re now firmly in Samsung territory, as you’ve probably noticed). This is why it’s featured in this newsletter and on my second channel, instead. I won’t lie - I’m a bit gutted, not least because Honor stuff usually brings in a pretty big audience for my channel.

This won’t happen again. I’m a huge fan of Honor products, and I think people need to see them - particularly if some of those people are considering buying a new smartphone, because the Magic7 Pro is a great example of a device which should absolutely be in your shortlist. 

There’s a problem, though, and it’s that smartphones are all becoming a bit samey - in the best possible way.

Reviews are now limited to picking out the most innocuous and oversold features (usually AI-based) in a bid to differentiate these devices. Some channels go to almost comedic lengths to compare photo performance between phones and run benchmarks and stress tests that bear no resemblance to how they’ll ever be put to use by anyone on the planet. This is no one’s fault, and I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do think it’s time we cut the crap and admit that practically every new smartphone that can be considered mid-range or flagship is superb. I talk more about this in this week’s tech diary video. Enjoy.

TOP FINDS

What I watched on YouTube this week

In a bid to stop filling this newsletter with car-related content recommendations, I’m making a conscious effort to watch lots of different stuff on YouTube. Promise.

🐹 Richard Hammond On Life Without The Grand Tour (DRIVETRIBE) - Straight in with the car content, brilliant. But, hear me out - if you're a fan of Top Gear and the Grand Tour, you’re not necessarily a car enthusiast, and this interview with Mr Hammond is as honest and revealing as they come.

🎛️ I'm Back! Heres whats next… (Matti Haapoja) - I’ll level with you: I find Matti a bit irritating at times. He told us he was leaving YouTube in 2024. About four hundred times. And then did actually leave, only to resurface randomly in Peter McKinnon videos and even on his own channel a couple of times. He does know how to wield a camera, though, and I find his story and somewhat confusing professional journey fascinating. Oh, and he’s back on YouTube.

📸 I've Never Seen Conditions This Good (Thomas Heaton) - This remains one of my favourite channels ever, and although I don’t watch Heaton as much as I used to, I still dip in when I need to chill out and marvel at the locations he chooses and his wonderful photographic skills.

🤯 The INSANE Tech behind MrBeast’s Biggest Video Ever (Mrwhosetheboss) - We all know Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson is on another level, but this behind-the-scenes peak at what went into his biggest video to date is… yes, insane.

‘GRAM OF THE WEEK

The New Tesla Model Y Is Here! And I got hands-on with it yesterday 😎

The leaked photos didn’t lie – this is the new Model Y!

🔸 Cybertruck vibes? Absolutely. Those sweeping front and rear lights hint at a design trend we’ll likely see across Tesla’s lineup soon.
🔸 Launch series details: Only available in black and quicksilver for now, with a dual-motor AWD variant. More versions and colors? Tesla’s keeping us guessing.
🔸 Better in every way: +22 miles of range thanks to improved aerodynamics, less noise (wind, road, and impact), reduced solar reflection, and better Wi-Fi range (200% increase for garages, driveways, and street parking!). Phone Key? Now with ultra-wideband support.
🔸 Interior upgrades: It’s familiar but refined – now with auto rear seat lowering that shifts the front seat for you. Plus, cameras galore, including a front one you can clean with a squirt 💦 (oh, and the front badge is gone 👀).

The price? £60,990 for this launch series.

It looks cooler (IMO), has more range, and feels more refined inside. Full review coming soon, but…what do you think?

Thanks for reading the newsletter this week! It’s been a whirlwind January (CES was already two weeks ago!) and February isn’t likely to slow down, or March…or April. Oh God! ‘Til next time!

Mark