Samsung's latest phones look pretty lackluster in terms of improvements, both to current Galaxy flagship owners and to neutral observers. The new devices are even more disappointing when you consider that Samsung has been giving us the same phones for three to four years now, with only marginal upgrades.

There's a good chance your current Galaxy flagship will be more than capable. It offers mostly the same premium key features, AI features, and competitive performance, making now the perfect time to keep what you already have.

Samsung's safest upgrade path

with Galaxy S25 series, Samsung has taken the path of least resistance for its flagship phones. You can count most changes on one hand.

the Galaxy S25 Ultra The redesign is probably the most significant change, but it's still insignificant in the grand scheme of things. While I appreciate the light weight, the... Galaxy S25 Ultra It now looks like all the other phones, and you can tell it feels like it has lost some of its unique charm.

Sure, there's a new ultra-wide camera, but since you're still getting 12-megapixel photos by default, most people probably won't notice this change. The addition of 10-bit HDR video recording and Galaxy Log seems designed specifically for the 1% of users who are likely to benefit from these features.

At the same time, Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus I've got less changes than Galaxy S25 Ultra. More compact? Sure, they technically are, but even if you carry Galaxy S24 And a Galaxy S25 In your hands, you may find it difficult to notice the difference.

Like two peas in a pod, there are marginal changes that won't change the user experience - they'll just make your old cases incompatible with the new models, so you'll have to get new ones.

The performance fallacy: How much energy do we really need?

certainly, Galaxy S25 It has pretty amazing performance, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset that powers the entire lineup worldwide.

Built on the 3nm manufacturing node, it is certainly a powerful chip that will push the Galaxies to the top of the synthetic benchmark scoreboard. Some of the special features included in the Galaxy-specific Snapdragon 8 Elite are great, but I'd argue that you shouldn't feel pressured to upgrade for better performance.

This is because performance on flagship phones does not matter these days. Most flagship phones, especially the Galaxies, have had capable hardware for years, so daily use has never been an issue, even on the once-terrifying Exynos models.

The weird thing here can be gaming, where players can see some gains, but be honest with yourselves: is playing games on your phone a good reason to spend actual money and upgrade for a few more FPS? The gaming community may object to pitchforks, but I have the answer for you – no.

There are no noticeable software and artificial intelligence features

Sure, the AI ​​features were announced alongside Galaxy S25 The series was great, but here's the main one: it's not exclusive to Galaxy S25 series. In fact, it is not exclusive to Samsung phones. Any Google Gemini compatible device is getting great new features and functionality via apps any day now.

This made Galaxy S25 The announcement is the perfect occasion for Google to announce Gemini features ahead of Google I/O later this year, and it's unfortunate that Samsung's new phones have been a casualty in the process.

What about Samsung's Bixby assistant? The company's intelligent assistant has taken such a back seat and away from center stage that it has actually left the building.

Actual discounts

This means that you will no longer be able to use the S Pen to, for example, use air gestures to control your device remotely, browse presentations, control music, take photos, switch camera modes, or zoom in and out with a stylus S Pen. ; You can only use the pen as a writing accessory.

This is a huge disappointment if you've ever seen one, and perhaps an unfortunate sign that Samsung may be interested in the idea of ​​ditching the S Pen from its flagship phones. It may seem strange at the moment, but with the reduction in costs, in the not too distant future, the company may decide to dispense with the S Pen.

Following in Apple's footsteps down to a T

Samsung regularly receives a lot of well-deserved criticism for blatantly copying Apple (well, at least from me). However, I think one aspect that doesn't get talked about enough is how hard Samsung tries to emulate Apple's annual releases and generational upgrades.

Putting myself in the shoes of the CEO of Samsung Mobile, why should I care about constantly revolutionizing and reinventing my best products when my biggest competitor – Apple – already thrives on offering minimal upgrades to its iPhones every year? This will be a lesson learned, and I will make sure that my company strives to achieve price elasticity for my product, i.e. offering the same slightly updated product every year until sales decline.

Samsung's latest phones certainly shouldn't be looked at in a vacuum or compared only to Apple. I feel like this is very consistent with what other Android manufacturers have done in the last few years, with stagnant innovation and repetitive AI fluff that fails to stick to the wall.

conclusion

Honestly, if you have Galaxy phone Released within the past two or three years (Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S24 Series), don't bother upgrading unless you find a deal that's hard to pass up. Not worth it.

If you're migrating from an iPhone or using another brand of Android, I'm also not sure if it's worth getting the latest Galaxy S25 Whether series. Find a Galaxy S24Old or used inventory seems like a smart way to save.

It seems that in 2025, you may not lose much if you don't get the latest news from Samsung.