Trust me: Don’t get the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Buy the Galaxy S24 Ultra Instead

You don’t need to buy the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra when its predecessor is so expensive. I will explain.

The S25 Ultra might be among the best smartphones you can buy today but it also costs a lot of money to recoup. Its $1,300 price tag puts most of us away but the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which also has great features, can be had new for $950 or It is estimated at 544 US dollars. It’s still a powerhouse of a phone but because it’s older generation it’s smaller half of the price of the current model on the used market. Seriously.

Watch this: Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Save Money With A Used S24 Ultra Instead

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Of course, if you are trying to sell your S24 series phone, that depreciation amount is really tricky. But if you’re looking to upgrade from an older phone, you’ll get a better deal with a higher-end device.

So what difference does one generation make? Can a 2 year old model still work as well as the current model? Let’s put these phones aside and see what we get.

On paper, the details are very similar. Both have large displays with similar resolutions and refresh rates. Both have powerful Qualcomm processors, 12GB of RAM, 200-megapixel cameras, titanium frames and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. And yes, they both have an S Pen built-in if you want to draw pictures while pretending to work. The S24 Ultra’s S Pen has several nifty tricks lifted from the S25 Ultra’s stylus.

The upcoming Galaxy S26 lineup — including the S26 Ultra — is expected to arrive soon. Indeed, it may have a complete overhaul that justifies paying its higher price over the cheaper previous generation. But current rumors suggest that the new phone might get only minor upgrades.

Given that you can expect to see a significant drop in the price of the S25 Ultra, the same principle would apply: Save a lot of money by buying the previous generation on the used market.

From a purely numerical standpoint, there’s little to choose between the S24 Ultra and the S25 Ultra — certainly nothing that warrants such a steep price difference. So what do they like to use on a person? Let’s start with the cameras.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: cameras

Camera performance is a central way phone makers try to improve their phones each year, with the latest models often boasting better imaging capabilities than previous generations.

While there are some improvements on paper — like the S25 Ultra’s higher-resolution 50-megapixel ultrawide camera — Samsung hasn’t really changed its format with its few Ultra models.

I’ve taken a lot of pictures with both phones since they were launched, and for the most part, I think you’d be hard-pressed to tell a big difference, let alone pick a winner. Both are capable of taking great photos with wide dynamic range, accurate colors and plenty of detail. The zoom on both phones is excellent, and the night modes are excellent.

The upgrade to ultrawide resolution gives you more detail, but can you really notice that on your own? It is impossible without a side-by-side comparison.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: processor

Another major improvement in the S25 Ultra over its predecessor is its processor. The S25 Ultra packs a custom version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in the S24 Ultra. In our benchmark tests, there’s a noticeable difference in scores — about 25% higher on the new chip, in fact — but I’m not sure it’s a difference you’d notice in everyday use.

I found both phones capable of playing 3D-demanding games like Genshin Impact and PUBG at max settings while still delivering smooth frame rates. Editing photos in Adobe Lightroom was responsive and navigating the Android 16 interface felt nice and smooth.

Therefore, the latest model may have more power. But do you really need it? A Ferrari may have more power than a Mercedes, but the Mercedes will still be better for 98% of your weekly driving.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: software

Software-wise, both phones run Android 16 with Samsung’s latest One UI 8 skin on top. You’ll find the same features on both models, including Samsung’s various AI tools such as live translation, an audio eraser and a drawing assistant, which turns your doodles into real pictures. Then you have Google’s AI tools like Gemini Live and Circle for search, which you’ll also find on both models.

There are no new software features you miss out on by going with the last generation. But it’s always important to keep software support times in mind, especially if you’re buying used. Like the latest phone, the S25 Ultra will have an extra year of guaranteed support. At the same time, Samsung has committed to seven years of support for the S24 line, so the older phone will still receive software updates and security updates until at least 2031. Basically, it still has a good life ahead of it.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: battery life

Both Ultras pack 5,000-mAh batteries, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, real-world battery life is very similar for both phones. You can expect to easily get through a full day on a single charge and probably have enough power left over to start the second day. In our CNET Labs video streaming test for 3 hours, when we charge the phones up to 100% and play a YouTube video over Wi-Fi, the Galaxy S24 Ultra actually performed much better.

If you’re buying a used S24 Ultra, the battery may have aged a bit but I wouldn’t expect it to degrade significantly in just one year of use. Both phones offer 45-watt wired charging and reverse wireless charging to power another device.

When I first wrote this piece, I thought there would be more differences between the S25 Ultra and the S24 Ultra. But there is nothing. They look basically the same except the new ones have flat edges, which I actually don’t like that much.

With battery life and camera performance so closely matched, and Samsung bringing all of its new AI capabilities from previous generations, there’s very little to choose between. It does come with a new processor, but I don’t think most people would notice the difference. The chip in the S24 is already a powerhouse.

Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Final thoughts

These phones are similar in many ways, except for the price. Of course, how much you spend on a used device will depend on the quality — cheap ones may have the odd scuff here and there, while clean versions will command slightly higher prices.

All in all, picking up a previous year’s model on the used market is a smart way to save a lot of money on a capable device that would otherwise be more expensive. And, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra possibly just around the corner, the rest of this article will still apply as we move into the next generation.

The concept here is not limited to Samsung phones. With almost all companies, including Apple, Google, OnePlus and others offering powerful devices with long software support, you may never need to buy a new phone again.