{"id":391539,"date":"2026-04-14T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/391539\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:03:12","slug":"i-used-the-galaxy-s25-ultra-and-im-struggling-to-replace-it-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/391539\/","title":{"rendered":"I used the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and I’m struggling to replace it in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve used the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra extensively over the last month, so I feel it\u2019s the ideal time to take a look back at the Galaxy S25 Ultra.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not comparing the two, as if you\u2019d upgrade your still-excellent year-old S25 Ultra to the newer S26 Ultra. If you already have last year\u2019s phone in your pocket, keep it there.<\/p>\n

However, if you don\u2019t have either in your pocket, there is a legitimate case to be made for saving a few bucks and getting the S25 Ultra<\/a>. <\/p>\n

I understand it feels like you can make that argument with almost every new phone release, and it\u2019s become a kind of refrain telling people to skip the new one and buy the old one.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more complicated than that with the S25 Ultra, and if you are in the market for a premium Samsung device, there are a few things you have to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tI tried to love the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but Samsung didn’t love me back
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Galaxy AI promises haven’t come through<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has new features, but do you really care?<\/p>\n

I found it odd that Samsung focused on the display<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

I keep seeing Samsung commercials highlighting the Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a>, but after using it, I think it\u2019s getting the bulk of the attention because there isn\u2019t much else to talk about. <\/p>\n

If you crank it all the way up to the maximum privacy settings, yes, it will block what\u2019s on your screen from an angle. However, the trade-off in display quality is too much for me to care about the Privacy Display.<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s not a feature intended to be on all the time, but how am I supposed to get excited about it? Every time I\u2019m carrying one around, people ask to see the Privacy Display<\/a>, and almost everyone has been underwhelmed by it. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a cool feature, and I look forward to Samsung working on the technology. But is it worth the worst viewing angles and eye strain I get? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not conducting high finance on the train every day, and I think many of you overestimate how much you\u2019ll use the Privacy Display feature.<\/p>\n

I will say that the faster 60W charging on the S26 Ultra is a genuinely welcomed improvement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much easier to top off in a hurry, so if I have a late night or use my phone heavily for some reason, I don\u2019t have to sweat making sure I get enough power to get through the day.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S25 Ultra offers a lot for the price<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no drop off in 2026<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

If the Galaxy S25 Ultra were significantly hampered in 2026, I could see steering people towards the newer device.<\/p>\n

If Samsung gate kept an impressive new feature, I wouldn\u2019t like it, but I would begrudgingly tell people it\u2019s better to pay up for the new phone than save a few dollars.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see any of that when comparing the Galaxy S26 Ultra to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.<\/p>\n

The S25 Ultra still provides all the performance I\u2019d need, which you\u2019d absolutely expect from a flagship phone that\u2019s only a year old.<\/p>\n

The Snapdragon 8 Elite paired with 12GB of RAM plays all my favorite mobile games smoothly, and even more intensive Android apps aren\u2019t a problem on the S25 Ultra.<\/p>\n

Its 6.9-inch display is gorgeous, and I believe it\u2019s better than what you get on the newer Ultra. The viewing angles aren\u2019t compromised, and the display appears a touch brighter and more vibrant by comparison.<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also not missing out on much with One UI. One UI 8.5 is expected on my S25 Ultra soon, and I\u2019m currently loving the Android 16 experience on One UI 8.<\/p>\n

Software support isn\u2019t an issue, as you will still receive another six years of updates, making the S25 Ultra a more attractive option than older flagships have been in the past.<\/p>\n

The S25 Ultra has (mostly) the same camera hardware and a 5,000mAh battery as the S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n

You miss out on a few optimizations from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, but nothing that would keep me up at night or severely limit battery life.<\/p>\n

Low-light camera performance is improved on the S26 Ultra, thanks to a wider aperture on the main sensor, but that\u2019s not a reason I\u2019d spend extra.<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

I will defend the Galaxy S26 Ultra by saying I couldn\u2019t care less about the material used. If you\u2019re complaining about the switch from titanium to aluminum, you\u2019re grasping at straws.<\/p>\n

My iPhone 15 Pro Max scratched up just as much as anything else, and I haven\u2019t been worried about my phone casually bending in my pocket since the iPhone 6 Plus.<\/p>\n

Aluminum is strong enough to do the job, and some users have reported improved thermals compared to titanium.<\/p>\n

If Samsung had gone to stainless steel, it would be more of a conversation, but there\u2019s little reason to be concerned about the aluminum frame on the S26 Ultra.<\/p>\n

Price is absolutely a factor in 2026<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see the gap being worth it<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

The primary benefit of opting for a year-old flagship is the money you save.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re comfortable with a pre-owned phone, you can pick up an S25 Ultra for around $800. If you want a new one, you\u2019ll still pay close to $1,000, at which point you might start considering the S26 Ultra more seriously.<\/p>\n

For $800, the S25 Ultra is an attractive package, and I don\u2019t consider the S26 Ultra to be worth over $500 more, especially since Samsung didn\u2019t go hard on the upgrades again this year.<\/p>\n

The difference between this year and most other years, where you are comparing phones that are only a year old, is that all things considered, I\u2019d prefer the S25 Ultra in my hand. At best, it\u2019s a draw between the two.<\/p>\n

I do like that the S26 Ultra is lighter and thinner, but I prefer the display on the S25 Ultra.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always more to consider<\/p>\n

As with anything in life, it\u2019s not cut and dry. Yes, you save money buying a pre-owned, unlocked Galaxy S25 Ultra, but not everyone buys their phones that way.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re used to going through your carrier for your phones and financing on your monthly bill, the S26 Ultra<\/a> is the better option. You\u2019ll have affordable payments for three years, and it makes more sense to get the latest and greatest at that point. The same applies if there is a great trade-in offer.<\/p>\n

However, for the rest of us, I\u2019d seriously consider picking up an S25 Ultra. It\u2019s aged well, and Samsung hasn\u2019t given me enough reason to spend $500 more this year.<\/p>\n

\"s25-ultra-square\"<\/p>\n

\"Android<\/p>\n

7.5\/10<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tSoC \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tRAM \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12GB<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tStorage \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t256GB, 512GB, 1TB<\/p>\n

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra leaves the Note-like design behind for the very first time. With flat edges, curved corners, and a massive 6.9-inch display, this is a modern flagship through and through\u00a0\u2014 and yes, that S Pen is still here too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve used the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra extensively over the last month, so I feel it\u2019s the ideal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[85,46,321,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-391539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}