The pre-order window for the new Samsung Galaxy S25 flagship trio is closing and the first units are on their way to their new owners – if they haven’t arrived already. But will Samsung start 2025 with strong sales like it did 2024?
The results from last week’s poll show cause for concern – the new models are perceived as only minor upgrades over previous generations of S-phones, so many are considering not upgrading this year or seeking out an older model. There is some good news too, though not what we expected.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra outsold the S23 Ultra and was the most popular model of the 2024 generation. It edged out its siblings in our poll at the time and even voted the favorite flagship of 2024. The early response for the Galaxy S25 Ultra is much more muted, however. While many are considering it as an option and good reviews can tip the scales in its favor (check out our review in case you missed it), just as many think that it doesn’t offer enough of an upgrade over previous Ultras.
People aren’t happy with the price and how the S25 Ultra compares to similarly priced or even cheaper flagships from competing brands. They also knocked Samsung for the slow Android 15 upgrade – great software support is supposed to be one of the key selling points of Galaxy devices.
The Samsung Galaxy S25+ is bound to be the least popular model of the trio – the Plus phones usually are. But it’s not a trio, is it? This year Samsung will also launch the Galaxy S25 Edge (in a few months, exact timing unknown), but the slim new model doesn’t look like much of a threat to the S25+. That doesn’t bode well for the Edge, though opinions might shift after Samsung reveals more details about the upcoming model.
And here comes the upset – the vanilla Samsung Galaxy S25 got many positive votes. In fact, its reception was better than that of the Ultra. If the numbers for Hana Securities are to be believed, Samsung shipped 12.1 million S24 phones, compared to 15.8 million S24 Ultra units. The year before the numbers were 10.5 million for the S23 and 13.6 million for the S23 Ultra.
Can 2025 be the year when the vanilla model outsells the Ultra? We’re not going to bet on it, but we are eagerly awaiting the first sales numbers to come out – we could be seeing a shift in preferences of flagship buyers.