I got an Open Box S25 Ultra from Amazon for like $620 a few months ago.. Before that I got a S23 Ultra from Google Fi at launch for $500.. Samsungs are hands down the best deal in the phone world IMO.
He started by detailing his own experience and ended it saiying it's his own opinion, you don't have to be so annoying just say that it's different for other countries.
Samsung seems to be managing the s25s life cycle more successfully than ever before. Usually like every android smartphone you get big pop at launch and then quick and rapid decline, but s25 didnt drop as hard as before and even started going back up.
Not clear what is most successful - straight price drops, carrier or retail promos, trade in boosts, new marketing,... iphone had a good performance at the time too so its not that,..
S phone getting a second wind also relives pressure on fold to become a second half of the year sales boost like the note used to be
All S25 variant got discounted to rock bottom prices here much lower than recent past years
S25 12/256GB msrp SGD$1288 got slashed down to $725($565usd) on 12.12
S25 FE 8/256GB msrp SGD$1038 was slashed down to $495($385usd) on 12.12 only 3 months after release
As far as flagship goes, it's the cheapest option around even the usual suspect of XM15, OP13 didn't get this drastic of a price. Glad i snagged an S25 for my dad since the S26 is rumored to be increasing in size
If you have spectrum internet I know they tend to do pretty good trade in deals around the phone launch period but you have to stick with there plan for 2 months
Not clear what is most successful - straight price drops, carrier or retail promos, trade in boosts, new marketing,... iphone had a good performance at the time too so its not that,..
Perhaps people are panic buying/upgrading earlier than they otherwise would have due to RAM shortages and the potential for price hikes and/or less RAM in devices next generation? I'm only speculating, but that seems like the most obvious explanation to me.
I feel like the biggest reason is that phones barely change between generations lately, so why pay full price for S26 when S25 is discounted and has 7 years of updates. At least I hope the user base is realizing this and starting to act on it.
Really is no point, I went from a 13 Pro Max from an S21 Ultra and back to an S24+, the S25 was hardly an upgrade over my S24+, same exact cameras from what the S22 and wasn’t worth it, went with a 17 Pro Max and no regrets. Will look back into Samsung when they actually try to innovate again.
Samsung is offering $430 trade in for my s23+ for s25+. So with that and some promos I can get it for like $500 usd. Can't decide if it's worth it or not. Overall I've been content with my s23+, it just lags in some more graphically demanding games I regularly play... I know camera has seen no major improvements but that's not a big deal to me. It's it a good buy? I'm worried that the next couple years phones will be more expensive due to the memory shortages.
Since you play graphically demanding games it might be worth it.
Snapdragon 8 Elite is a significant upgrade for gaming over the 8 Gen 2
You'll go from 8GB RAM to 12GB
You'll go from 1080p to 1440p
If you didn't game I'd say it's not really worth it, but I feel like these three things alone will probably make it feel worthwhile. There might also be a lot of pre-order deals for the S26 series, but I don't have a crystal ball to know for a fact. Trade-in prices are always a gamble.
I'm sure it varies on the game, but for most, I doubt the phone is actually rendering the game at that resolution, it's probably rendering at lower than native and upscaling.
Native 1440p gaming is dedicated graphics card on a PC or PS5 territory. But yeah on a phone you would be hard pressed to notice a difference.
On the s25, I can hit high fps with any game I've tried.
The only issue is some games force you to use lower graphical settings if you choose 120fps (like cod mobile). I think that is more of an app limitation than the phone's limitation though
It can be noticeable in a side by side comparison but 1080p is a comfortable pixel density for a phone. Going to 1440p is hitting the point of diminishing returns for a lot of people and personally not something I absolutely need on a phone, just a nice to have.
My only point is that if they're gaming, they might appreciate the sharper display. Really just depends if they can notice it.
I had an S22 ultra with a snapdragon processor and it wasn't that good either. I kept it a few months over 2 years but I moved on from it in summer '24 to an S24U ultra. Do yourself a favor and upgrade
I wouldn't buy an S25 at this point without a deeper discount.
Also I wouldn't exactly consider this a good thing. It means consumers aren't expecting the S26 to be meaningfully better for them, and don't want to pay MSRP/higher prices of brand new phones. Because it's not like Samsung is getting new users from other brands, the iPhone 17 was extremely successful, Chinese brands are offering more battery, and most Pixel users aren't going to swap from a clean skin to a bloated one. So this is existing Samsung owners bailing on the S26 launch to buy a discounted S25
Or it's because everyone can see DRAM prices shooting towards the fucking Moon thanks to the likes of Sam Altman and Peter Thiel sucking up all RAM production to fuel their AI-generated nonconsensual porn addiction.
It's not just phones and PCs. It's everything that has any amount of onboard system memory. You even have Micron going "fuck all of you" and liquidated Crucial only to struggle to meet AI demand.
I finally replaced my s10+ with a 25u, because the s10+ back cover & power/volume buttons started falling out and the battery life became noticeably worse. I also figured I should upgrade ASAP because prices might rise, when I saw what was happening to RAM prices.
I've got an s23 (base model). Performance is still pretty good, I'll probably upgrade eventually, but right now there's very few compelling reasons to upgrade.
Maybe a better camera, or if they upgrade the screen res for the base model to 1440p. But tbh, I'm kind of amazed how slowly Samsung has upgraded the specs of all their models
Samsung's camera quality has gone down the last few years. I've owned the S20, S22, S23 and S25. The forced "Ultra HDR" that is embedded into each and every photo and cannot be removed unless you shoot in pro mode is terrible. Video quality is pretty much the same as my old S20, just with better stabilization. But photo quality has definitely gotten worse.
If I didn't prefer OneUI to stock Pixel then I would've made the switch away from Samsung a couple of years ago.
I've heard that. The S25 was my first Samsung so I didn't really have anything to compare to. I had to get rid and got a pixel 10 pro. The difference is night and day. Especially with moving subjects. I've got a toddler and my S25 just couldn't handle photos of her running around. I'd have to use pro mode and even then it wasn't great.
I use Nova launcher so I don't mind changing the android skin at it looks the same to me either way
I got an Open Box S25 Ultra from Amazon for like $620 a few months ago.. Before that I got a S23 Ultra from Google Fi at launch for $500.. Samsungs are hands down the best deal in the phone world IMO.
I got the S23 one from Google Fi and it was $600
You're right, I think it was $600 for the 512gb model. Still less than half of full MSRP for the highest spec mainstream phone on the market.
yeah, for US.
Yeah, in Europe even with pre order discounts and a trade in its probably still €900
€1469 for the s25 ultra 256GB full price... That's $1710...
https://preview.redd.it/o7i30qwu8tcg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=001dc3157a9b9e87b2746e6576caf2a4822c888c
Same here, I paid 300 CHF. Not a single sign of use.
r/USdefaultism
Rest of the world still pays well over 1000$
Sorry I just post my personal experiences. I can't cross reference my life with the entire globe before I post a comment on Reddit.
Maybe don't make generalized statements about how Samsung is the best value then.
He started by detailing his own experience and ended it saiying it's his own opinion, you don't have to be so annoying just say that it's different for other countries.
My guy literally says "phone world", how is that not a generalised statement?
What's annoying is Americans rubbing their tech heaven prices n our face.
He's not rubbing anything in your face I think that's just your inferiority complex
Cute projection
👍
Samsung seems to be managing the s25s life cycle more successfully than ever before. Usually like every android smartphone you get big pop at launch and then quick and rapid decline, but s25 didnt drop as hard as before and even started going back up.
Not clear what is most successful - straight price drops, carrier or retail promos, trade in boosts, new marketing,... iphone had a good performance at the time too so its not that,..
S phone getting a second wind also relives pressure on fold to become a second half of the year sales boost like the note used to be
All S25 variant got discounted to rock bottom prices here much lower than recent past years
S25 12/256GB msrp SGD$1288 got slashed down to $725($565usd) on 12.12
S25 FE 8/256GB msrp SGD$1038 was slashed down to $495($385usd) on 12.12 only 3 months after release
As far as flagship goes, it's the cheapest option around even the usual suspect of XM15, OP13 didn't get this drastic of a price. Glad i snagged an S25 for my dad since the S26 is rumored to be increasing in size
waiting for these prices here in the states
I actually got the S25 Ultra for ~$600 during thanksgiving in the states so its possible but this was achieved stacking my edu/epp discounts
Google Fi had it for $700
can you just buy a phone outright and unlock it from google fi?
To get the promotion you have to have service with them as you get the discount applied to your bill every month
id be fine with the sale price and no discount promo. if understanding/reading it correctly, it should be $300 off total.
didnt think to look there
Many users over at r/samsunggalaxy also seem to have gotten theirs for ~$750 with galaxy bud fairly fuss free during the bf/cm stretch
nothing too great currently tho
If you have spectrum internet I know they tend to do pretty good trade in deals around the phone launch period but you have to stick with there plan for 2 months
Yeah I had that option as well butbI opted for the lower price as I already had sony ear buds which I like
I'm eyeing the 256gb reg model, still almost $800 direct from samsung or amazon.
A friend bought S25 Ultra 512GB for SGD 1,2xx during one of those sale dates mid last year (can't remember which).
Perhaps people are panic buying/upgrading earlier than they otherwise would have due to RAM shortages and the potential for price hikes and/or less RAM in devices next generation? I'm only speculating, but that seems like the most obvious explanation to me.
Eh I don't know the majority of phone consumers to be that knowledgeable or paying attention to markets.
This is the logical answer. It's very apparent in the gpu market as well so it makes sense it's spreading to any consumer market that involves memory.
Work from home, tarrifs and now this. People just keep upgrading for the next big increase, right?
Fomo is a hell of a drug but in this instance specifically there are reasons evidenced by the prices and demand of dense, high speed memory.
no
Decent consumer confidence, phones being stagnant in pricing thus becoming relatively cheaper each year.
Bought my S25 on a big discount in my country. The S26 wasn't worth upgrading to, no changes that would make me delay my buying decision.
When did the S26 come out in your country?
It hasn't. I made my decision on the basis of rumored specs of the S26 and previous Samsung hardware history.
I feel like the biggest reason is that phones barely change between generations lately, so why pay full price for S26 when S25 is discounted and has 7 years of updates. At least I hope the user base is realizing this and starting to act on it.
Really is no point, I went from a 13 Pro Max from an S21 Ultra and back to an S24+, the S25 was hardly an upgrade over my S24+, same exact cameras from what the S22 and wasn’t worth it, went with a 17 Pro Max and no regrets. Will look back into Samsung when they actually try to innovate again.
Samsung is offering $430 trade in for my s23+ for s25+. So with that and some promos I can get it for like $500 usd. Can't decide if it's worth it or not. Overall I've been content with my s23+, it just lags in some more graphically demanding games I regularly play... I know camera has seen no major improvements but that's not a big deal to me. It's it a good buy? I'm worried that the next couple years phones will be more expensive due to the memory shortages.
S23 updates finish in a year or so because the s23 didn't get the 7 or 8 year updates that the s24 got
Only one more year of Samsung adding AI features to my phone I didn't ask for.
Since you play graphically demanding games it might be worth it.
Snapdragon 8 Elite is a significant upgrade for gaming over the 8 Gen 2
You'll go from 8GB RAM to 12GB
You'll go from 1080p to 1440p
If you didn't game I'd say it's not really worth it, but I feel like these three things alone will probably make it feel worthwhile. There might also be a lot of pre-order deals for the S26 series, but I don't have a crystal ball to know for a fact. Trade-in prices are always a gamble.
I never could see the difference between 1080p and 1440p on a phone including on my s25 ultra. I wish I could but I see nothing different
I'm sure it varies on the game, but for most, I doubt the phone is actually rendering the game at that resolution, it's probably rendering at lower than native and upscaling.
Native 1440p gaming is dedicated graphics card on a PC or PS5 territory. But yeah on a phone you would be hard pressed to notice a difference.
I'm a snob when it comes to higher resolution screens and games. I can't stand games at 30fps.
But 1080p vs 1440p on a phone... Can't tell the difference at all. I always just leave it at 1080p
Same, that's why I'm contemplating the upgrade to the s25, as on the s23 I find myself capping to 30fps for stable performance.
On the s25, I can hit high fps with any game I've tried.
The only issue is some games force you to use lower graphical settings if you choose 120fps (like cod mobile). I think that is more of an app limitation than the phone's limitation though
It can be noticeable in a side by side comparison but 1080p is a comfortable pixel density for a phone. Going to 1440p is hitting the point of diminishing returns for a lot of people and personally not something I absolutely need on a phone, just a nice to have.
My only point is that if they're gaming, they might appreciate the sharper display. Really just depends if they can notice it.
I'm tempted to buy one.
I'm on an s22ultra (Exynos...) and want to say goodbye to that trash.
I was waiting for the s26, but I dunno
25 Ultra has been so solid for me.
I had an S22 ultra with a snapdragon processor and it wasn't that good either. I kept it a few months over 2 years but I moved on from it in summer '24 to an S24U ultra. Do yourself a favor and upgrade
S22U wax the best phone I've owned until I got a S24U
There were too many discounts around New year's eve and black friday for S25 series.
"too many discounts" how can we (consumers) complain about too many discounts?
I wouldn't buy an S25 at this point without a deeper discount.
Also I wouldn't exactly consider this a good thing. It means consumers aren't expecting the S26 to be meaningfully better for them, and don't want to pay MSRP/higher prices of brand new phones. Because it's not like Samsung is getting new users from other brands, the iPhone 17 was extremely successful, Chinese brands are offering more battery, and most Pixel users aren't going to swap from a clean skin to a bloated one. So this is existing Samsung owners bailing on the S26 launch to buy a discounted S25
Or it's because everyone can see DRAM prices shooting towards the fucking Moon thanks to the likes of Sam Altman and Peter Thiel sucking up all RAM production to fuel their AI-generated nonconsensual porn addiction.
It's not just phones and PCs. It's everything that has any amount of onboard system memory. You even have Micron going "fuck all of you" and liquidated Crucial only to struggle to meet AI demand.
Is this possibly because of announced higher pricing for S26 series?
I finally replaced my s10+ with a 25u, because the s10+ back cover & power/volume buttons started falling out and the battery life became noticeably worse. I also figured I should upgrade ASAP because prices might rise, when I saw what was happening to RAM prices.
I've got an s23 (base model). Performance is still pretty good, I'll probably upgrade eventually, but right now there's very few compelling reasons to upgrade.
Maybe a better camera, or if they upgrade the screen res for the base model to 1440p. But tbh, I'm kind of amazed how slowly Samsung has upgraded the specs of all their models
Another source also confirms this:
"Galaxy S25 series has surpassed 30 million units sold as the lineup saw a huge boost in sales in the last months of 2025
When compared with the S10 series, it almost doubled its sales in the last months of its release year"
Between the Z and the S, we're likely looking at 40+ million sales.
I have the S25+ and having been buying Samsung phones since the S8, it's my favorite by far
Well...
It's considerably cheaper now, leaks point that S26 will have exynos (except the Ultra).
The only real new stuff is a privacy screen filter and faster charging speeds.
No information about Qi2 on any leak...
So yeah, the S25 seems a lot more attractive.
The 25 Ultra 256GB is $1300 here, the 1TB is $1750, and that's after a $500 discount. Samsung phones are so expensive it's ridiculous.
It's €1469 ($1710) here in Ireland for the S25 Ultra 256 GB
💀
Amazing that 30 million Is still amazing fiqure for Samsung to be proud of
I really liked my S25 but the camera was so bad I had to get rid of it sadly
Samsung's camera quality has gone down the last few years. I've owned the S20, S22, S23 and S25. The forced "Ultra HDR" that is embedded into each and every photo and cannot be removed unless you shoot in pro mode is terrible. Video quality is pretty much the same as my old S20, just with better stabilization. But photo quality has definitely gotten worse.
If I didn't prefer OneUI to stock Pixel then I would've made the switch away from Samsung a couple of years ago.
I've heard that. The S25 was my first Samsung so I didn't really have anything to compare to. I had to get rid and got a pixel 10 pro. The difference is night and day. Especially with moving subjects. I've got a toddler and my S25 just couldn't handle photos of her running around. I'd have to use pro mode and even then it wasn't great.
I use Nova launcher so I don't mind changing the android skin at it looks the same to me either way