All this to say the Galaxy S25 ($800), Galaxy S25+ ($1,000), and Galaxy S25 Ultra ($1,300) are powerful, reliable, and well-equipped smartphones. They're excellent upgrades if you're coming from a three or four-year-old device. They're just not otherwise interesting or exciting.

Despite its age, the Galaxy S22 Ultra looks and plays the part of a flagship from 2025. It has a premium design with high-quality materials and a stunning display with vibrant saturation that Samsung is just now returning to on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. If you’re the casual user Samsung targets for upgrades, you may want to hold out another year.

Samsung has crafted a pre-order strategy that makes acquiring the Galaxy S25 Ultra almost too good to be true: no joke, you can get it almost for free. When you compare it to competitors like the iPhone 16 Pro (the 512GB version is sold for $1,299), the value proposition becomes very attractive.