Such minor changes could prove that Samsung, like Apple, is no longer willing to make huge design changes year after year. Now that smartphones are a commodity and the technology so mature, big phone companies rarely make drastic visual changes to their products, which is why the Galaxy S25 is likely to look very similar to much older phones like the Galaxy S21 from 2021.
It’s also proving rare for phone companies to lower their prices. The Google Pixel 8 Pro went on sale last year for £999, £150 more than the Pixel 7 Pro cost at launch. Apple’s iPhone 14 cost £849, which was more than the £779 iPhone 13. Now the iPhone 16 retails for £799, showing prices can hop about annually.
A new report from WinFuture (via GSMArena) suggests Samsung could surprise us by keeping the whole Galaxy S25 range at the exact same price as the S24. That will be welcome if the regular S25 costs £799, a competitive flagship phone price. But the S25 Ultra will retail for £1,249 if it has the same stick price as the S24 Ultra, which makes it one of the most expensive phones in the UK.
The glow up from the Galaxy S5’s dimpled plastic back and fingerprint sensor you had to swipe, to the following year’s Galaxy S6 with sleek glass and metal design and incredible camera is a thing of the past. Even if the S25 Ultra has had a design tweak, it’ll be largely the same phone on the inside as the S24 Ultra.
Hopefully Samsung will add a bit more power with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and perhaps improve the camera quality – the S24 Ultra suffers a little when trying to photograph moving objects. Aside from that, there won’t be much reason for S24 owners to upgrade.
Instead, smartphone companies are differentiating on things like price. It seems as though 2025 won’t be the year Samsung does that with its flagship phones, should this report prove accurate. Then again, we’d welcome the price staying the same if the alternative was a price hike.
Samsung has already employed a little price creep in the UK this year. Its book-style folding phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, costs £1,799, which is £50 more than the Z Fold 5 cost last year.
