I've been a happy Galaxy S24+ user for the past 10 months, and it's been a wonderful experience so far. The Galaxy S24+ is a rock-solid phone, and I have no complaints about the hardware, design, or software. The question is, am I looking forward to upgrading to the Galaxy S25+ early next year? Not really, but I might. However, you won't have to.
I've been saying this for years: Unless you're a foldable phone fan, the time for yearly upgrades is behind us. After more than a decade of evolution, the Galaxy S series more or less peaked a few years ago. And unless some revolutionary new mobile technology emerges, we'll probably keep riding this slow boat down the slow yearly upgrades creek for years to come.
Is that a bad thing? It depends on how you look at it, how much of a hobbyist mobile user you are, and what your job is. Regardless, it's just the natural progression of things. The mobile market exploded many years ago, and the Galaxy S series evolved through many phases, only for consumers to now enjoy the fruits of that development.
The slab phone market has matured, Samsung has found its groove, and the relatively slow progress bubble we're going through right now is mainly a byproduct of those early experimental phases and years of evolution. There's not a lot of room left to grow from one phone generation to the next.
- Compared to the Plus line, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will bring more changes to the table over its predecessor, at least in design. There's still a bit more room for unexpected development for the Ultra model, as it merged with the Note series years ago and went through a period of transition.
It might be a disappointing fact of life for people who enjoy hearing and learning about new and revolutionary technologies. Trust me, I get it. This slow tempo is not very exciting if you're a fan of hardware revolutions. Besides, as a mobile tech journalist, my job would be much easier and maybe even profitable if the mobile market went through leaps of evolution year after year, as it once did before it matured. But that's just me talking as a journalist.
- Tech journalists will almost always spend more on tech than the average user. But you don't have to.
As a consumer, I can't get mad because I no longer feel pressured to buy a new phone every year and keep up with the latest advancements. In fact, I feel relieved knowing that my Galaxy S24+ will be almost as good in 2025 and that I don't have to fork over $1,000 more (or less, depending on trade-in deals).
Don't fall in the trap of thinking you have to upgrade your Galaxy S every year. Those times are gone, for now
Will I still buy the Galaxy S25+ early next year and leave my Galaxy S24+ behind? I might. However, this decision will largely depend on what the SamMobile team needs. You can be sure we will cover the upcoming flagships in great detail. And for us to do that, we need access to the latest hardware.
- Yes, we will most likely write articles and create new YouTube videos about reasons to upgrade to the 2025 models, but those will mainly serve to highlight what's new and what isn't.
However, if you are rocking the Galaxy S24+, you probably won't have to follow the same road tech reviewers are on. Unless you have disposable income and good trade-in offers and feel like you absolutely need to have the latest mobile technology in your pocket, you'll do absolutely fine with your phone for at least one or two more years — or maybe even six if you want to test Samsung's seven OS upgrade policy.
Granted, the Galaxy S25+ is not yet official, and we might be surprised by what Samsung reveals next year. But judging by what has leaked so far, it probably won't be aimed at S24+ users. It will come into existence as a potential upgrade for people who use older Galaxy S phones and are looking for a better experience. That's how things work in this current age, and as a consumer, I don't really mind it.
Nevertheless, if you are a Galaxy S24+ user and are looking for a bit of an upgrade or a change of pace, the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra might be it. Alternatively, you could join the Galaxy Z family of devices next year. Foldable phones still have a lot of growing up to do, and the upcoming Z7 series might bring more drastic changes.
