This week, Samsung launched its long-awaited Galaxy S25 series. Prices in the UK are the same as last year and, as always, there are pre-order perks for early adopters.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 trio comes with a free storage upgrade, meaning you’ll get a 256GB Galaxy S25 and a 512GB Galaxy S25+ or S25 Ultra for the same price as your base model. In the case of vanilla and Ultra phones, there is an additional storage tier (512GB for the S25 and 1TB for the S25 Ultra), which costs the same as usual.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Pre-order)

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Pre-order)

January 31st is coming
free storage upgrade
£100 credit for Galaxy Ring

Read our review

12GB/512GB – £1,250 at Amazon UK 12GB/1TB – £1,350 at Amazon UK

Samsung Galaxy S25+ (Pre-order)

Samsung Galaxy S25+ (Pre-order)

January 31st is coming
free storage upgrade
£100 credit for Galaxy Ring

Read our review

12/512GB – £1,000 at Amazon UK

Samsung Galaxy S25 (Pre-order)

Samsung Galaxy S25 (Pre-order)

January 31st is coming
free storage upgrade
£100 credit for Galaxy Ring

Read our review

12/256GB – £800 at Amazon UK 12/512GB – £860 at Amazon UK

Amazon is offering a £100 credit, but if you click on the link, you’ll see it’s for the Galaxy Ring. The ring has an MSRP of £400 and there’s an additional £75 off at checkout – it all adds up to a solid discount, but it’s still not cheap.

Did you check out our hands-on review and our two-part camera shootout between the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S24 Ultra? If not, have a look. Okay so – before making a yes/no decision on the S25 series, you should consider the alternatives.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL will be one of the main rivals of the S25 Ultra. It currently costs less for a unit with 512GB of storage – even with the free storage upgrade on the Galaxy! The Tensor G4 can’t match the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, but the phone does have a 48MP ultra-wide camera (a camera upgrade to rival Samsung’s own) with a 48MP 113mm periscope and a 50MP main.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

£180 off
Read our review

16/512GB – £1,140 at Amazon UK

On the other hand, the smaller Google Pixel 9 Pro is actually more expensive than the smaller Galaxy S25 when looking at the 256GB model. The Pixel is a little bigger and what we said about the Tensor chip is true. However, this phone has the same cameras as the Pro XL and the 48MP 113mm module wipes the floor with the 10MP 67mm module on the Galaxy, the same goes for the 48MP ultra-wide vs the 12MP. Even the selfie camera is better on the Galaxy at 42MP 17mm ultra-wide versus 12MP 26mm.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Read our review

16/256GB – £1,100 at Amazon UK

We have to mention Apple, of course. The iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB is slightly pricier than the Galaxy S25 Ultra – Apple charges two arms and two legs for the storage upgrade. The Apple A18 Pro actually lags behind in performance on synthetic benchmarks, but is far from slow. The phone’s 12MP 120mm telephoto camera lacks the resolution of Samsung’s 50MP 111mm tele, but Samsung’s One Camera upgrade to 48mp ultra-wide is in place this generation.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

£50 off
Read our review

512GB – £1,350 at Amazon UK

Like with the Pixel, the price of the smaller iPhone 16 Pro is as close to its larger sibling as it is to the smaller Galaxy S25. Still, the iPhone has better telephoto (12MP 120mm vs 10MP 67mm) and ultra-wide cameras (48MP 13mm vs 12MP 13mm). Apple added camera controls and action buttons this generation. Gimmick or actually useful? Either way, at least it’s a new feature unlike the S25, which hasn’t changed significantly since the S22.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

£50 off
Read our review

256GB – £1,050 at Amazon UK

The OnePlus 13 uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (with slightly lower clocks) and boasts triple 50mp Hasselblad cameras: 50MP main, 50MP 73mm periscope and 50MP ultra-wide. And it breaks the mold with a massive 6,000mAh battery that supports 80W wired and 50W wireless fast charging. None of that 45W charging here!

oneplus 13

oneplus 13

£100 off
Read our review

16/512GB – £900 at Amazon UK

Samsung also has its own Galaxy S24 Fe. It’s significantly cheaper – costing just £625 for a 256GB phone – but it’s also bigger, with a 6.7” display. It’s not a direct competitor to the S25 or S25+, but offers maybe 80% of the same experience. The display is a 1080p+ non-LTPO panel and is faster than the Exynos 2400e Tensor, though not nearly as fast as the Snapdragon. But the rest is the same and without paying the “new flagship” price.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe

Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe

£75 off
Read our review

8/256GB – £625 at Amazon UK

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