For the most part, rumors about Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra have been quite exciting, but talk of a potential price increase is less welcome. Kudos to the reports that had speculated that Samsung could make its flagship even costlier.
According to Weibo leaker Setsuna Digital, the top-tier Galaxy S25 model will have a production cost that is upwards of at least $110 more compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Yet another leaker, Jukanlosreve, thinks that price hikes are “inevitable.” Setsuna Digital here is much more reserved in its evaluation and expresses that it is “likely to raise prices in many regions.”
If Samsung were to pass on the full rumored increased costs to consumers, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could be around $1,409. That would put it hundreds of dollars more expensive than competitors such as the $1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max or the $1,099 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, possibly affecting the purchasing choice of many Samsung customers.
However, the relationship between production costs and retail prices is not always easy. Instead, Samsung is expected to hike up the price by around $50, to maintain profit margins by absorbing part of the added costs. Alternatively, Samsung may prefer keeping the price the same to maintain competitiveness against its top competitors.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra already experienced a US dollar-priced hike of $100 from the 2023 version of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. A second price hike for two successive years would certainly be unpopular among buyers, although Samsung may have required that to maintain profit margins at a time when production costs are rising.
While the leak doesn’t make it clear why the Galaxy S25 Ultra costs more in production, other rumors do. There’s speculation that the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip will cost more due to the silicon’s expense, and new features such as a bigger screen, a higher resolution ultrawide camera, and variable-zoom telephotos could factor in.
Samsung has officially announced that the Galaxy S25 series will launch in 2025, though the exact date is still unclear. However, based on past trends, it’s likely to debut in January.
Besides the rumored Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus and S25 Ultra coming to the next Galaxy Unpacked event, there’s a possibility of the new model Galaxy S25 Slim too.
Source: Weibo
Image credit: Ice Universe
