Should I Get the Galaxy S25 Ultra or Wait for the S26 Ultra?"

[uniguy]

Hello everyone,

I'm stuck in that classic tech dilemma do I buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra when it drops, or do I hold off for the S26 Ultra next year?

On one hand, the S25 Ultra is expected to bring solid upgrades probably a refined camera, better AI features, and a new Snapdragon chip. But will it be a massive leap from the S24 Ultra? That’s the real question.

On the other hand, waiting for the S26 Ultra could mean even bigger advancements maybe a new design, more AI-driven features, or an upgraded camera sensor. But waiting another year means missing out on tech that’s already great now.

[samfan124325]

Depends on how urgently you want to change your s24 ultra most who have that phone or even s23 ultra will find it a slight jump up in speed. One ui 7 is coming to both soon as well as most of the AI features. In a year the s26 will be with us and the s25 will be cheaper too so you can still upgrade to ethier. Me I prefer to wait a few generations so the upgrade feels like a proper upgrade and not just a minor hardware and software bump up. Also in Europe from s27 upwards they will have to make the battery user removable again with no need for specialised tools so that alone might be worth waiting for? I plan to wait till the s27 or s28 before I upgrade.

[Lex1970]

I would wait once we finally get the software updates the differences will be neglible

[smiley]

Or maybe next January it could be worth waiting for the S27 ? As that will be better. Actually I have seen the specs of the S28. That looks incredible.

My point is fairly obvious I guess. There will always be hearsay and tech advances. The thing is that these phones have become so advanced that they are no longer just phones... top end cameras... multimedia tools... and a massive amount more.

I personally switched from s23u to s25u and the updates have been fantastic. However a lot of my stars group have also upgraded from s24 to s25 and equally as impressed with their new upgrade.

The spec sheet assumes a very incremental update, but when considering the 'under the hood' improvements then it really is a bigger change than it appears on paper. Only you can decide if it is worth it. And it depends on your own tech budget and wish to have the latest tech.

It is also.undetermined still now about how much of the new feature set makes it across, due to engine and architecture changes between the models. The s25 has been designed from the ground up with AI and the optimisation engine...

Perhaps it is worth waiting a little while until the rollout of stable oneui7 now. You have waited quite some time and it is close. This is probably what I would do if I was you right now. You can always perform an upgrade in a few months if you decide.

Smiley

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello 👋 @uniguy 

Have some hands on with a Samsung Galaxy s²⁵ Ultra if you have not already to see if that helps.

At the end of the day my philosophy is if one always waited for whats new out around the corner, then one wouldn't actually end up buying anything. 

If i can be of any further help please don't hesitate to ask  😎 

[Star_girl]

In my opinion, S25U feels better than the S24U definitely, for me the fact that is a tad faster can make a big difference at times, the camera and the battery life are improved, but I don't feel it's such a giant leap from S24U. S24U is still snappy in everything you use on it, and it can deliver at top performance, I mean, those who have the S24U still, I don't believe they lost that much not having S25U at this point. My opinion is that the big difference will be when the S26U or S27U will be released as I can see some newer technology is being worked on and developed and I feel that the S25U is based on the three years back technology that was used from S23U and upwards that has only been improved. S25U delivers great performance but I think the real change is coming from next year. But who really knows?

[-Robot-]

Or you can wait to S30, the change and advancement will be huge 🤣

I upgraded to S25 Ultra from S24, I love it

[JerryS]

Hi, so it sounds like you have the S24 Ultra currently? I upgraded from that to the S25U and it definitely seems an upgrade to me - faster chip, runs cooler, improved photos, better battery life. The AI is interesting but I dont use it a lot apart from Gemini. But I didn't need to upgrade, it was only really that I am a tech enthusiast that I decided I wanted to. The S24U was very fast and capable for me. And the OneUI update will come soon to the S24U am sure.

I think its only a decision you can make but wish you good luck with it whatever you decide.

[kakarot9820]

Its up to you...if the want the latest and greatest then go for it. Its not gonna be a huge update...neither will the s26 ultra. Itll be slightly faster in benchmark testing

[Reylob]

Hi @uniguy 

The waiting game is endless and the next year technology always will be better. It is a story as old as time.

How excited are you about upgrading? This is not something that logic will decide. I posted something on similar thread. You might like to read it.

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s25-series/s24u-vs-25u/m-p/11906678#M15623