Hype for the Samsung Galaxy S25 sequence is constructing by the day, with rumors pointing in direction of a January launch date for what is predicted to be a three-phone Galaxy lineup.
Naturally, many followers and commentators have targeted their consideration on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – the rumored super-premium mannequin that absolutely will supplant the S24 Ultra as the perfect Samsung telephone, properly, ever.
In flip, we’re listening to quite a bit concerning the upgrades supposedly coming to this new flagship – a bigger show, higher ultra-wide digicam, and a refreshed design have all been posited as potential updates. However, there are additionally some much less thrilling rumors flying round, considered one of which issues a potential value hike for the Galaxy S25 Ultra versus its predecessor.
For me, this may just about represent a worst-case state of affairs. Nobody likes spending extra money, however I’m not simply railing towards the idea of value will increase right here – it is a unhealthy concept for the Galaxy S25 Ultra particularly.
No extra headroom
The currently-available Galaxy S24 Ultra is a correctly top-of-the-line telephone, with a 6.8-inch show, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and a 200MP principal digicam. As such it instructions one of many highest value tags in the marketplace, with the most affordable mannequin costing $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,199.
I’ve all the time discovered the value of the S24 Ultra a bit onerous to abdomen, however managed to get my head round it as a uniquely {powerful} telephone that maybe couldn’t exist with out such a excessive value. And even at this value, the worth for cash remains to be there – 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, plus all these nice specs, means the S24 Ultra can get by on the very fringe of comprehensible pricing.
However, my understanding of the S24 Ultra as a reasonably priced telephone is way extra fragile than, say, the iPhone 16 Pro at $999 / £999 / AU$1,849 or Pixel 9 Pro XL at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 – each costly telephones, however ones that really feel much less financially strenuous for the options on supply.
And, after all, there are many nice telephones that don’t even method the four-digit barrier: the bottom mannequin Pixel 9 and iPhone 16 each begin at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349, with the vanilla Galaxy S24 simply forward at $799 / £799 / $1,349.
It’s my sturdy suspicion that any value improve for the S25 Ultra would push issues over the sting.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s present excessive price ticket simply doesn’t depart any headroom: a hike would see the Ultra detach from its present place as an costly improve on the S24 and S24 Plus, and turn into stranded within the specialist value bracket occupied by Sony and some fringe fashions just like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
And with common residing prices rising seemingly worldwide and Chinese telephone makers now making use of severe stress on the very best finish of the telephone market, now looks like a worse time than ever for telephone makers to extend the price of their most costly fashions.
Part of my job is to apprise folks of excellent offers and assist folks get essentially the most out of their cash in terms of buying tech. The S25 Ultra may, after all, shock us and launch as a paradigm-shifting gadget, but it surely’s way more prone to be an iterative improve; I’d significantly wrestle to encourage anybody to spend greater than $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,199 on a traditional smartphone, even one that’s really ultra-powerful.
