Despite not packing any breakthrough new features, the Galaxy S25 lineup sold like hotcakes in the initial few months after its launch. That helped it achieve something no Samsung phone has managed in the past 5 years. Thanks to that momentum, the Galaxy S25’s yearly sales have reportedly outsold the S24 series by 5%.
Interestingly, the Counterpoint Research report claims that the Galaxy S25 family was off to a slower start than its predecessor when it debuted in February 2025. Yet, the lineup outsold the S24, thanks to a mid-cycle sales boost from July to October 2025. This helped the phone outsell the S24 for the period February through December by 5%.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra did even better, reportedly selling 7% more than the S24 Ultra.
Thanks to strong sales, the Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked among the top 10 best-selling phones globally in 2025.
Will the Galaxy S26 outsell the S25?
Given the NAND and DRAM crunch and inflationary pressure, it will be interesting to see if the Galaxy S26 Ultra and its smaller siblings can outsell their predecessors or even replicate their success.
Reports point to Samsung trying its best not to hike the Galaxy S26 prices, at least in the US. However, with DRAM pricing increasing almost every quarter, it may have to reconsider its options. Due to this, the company may not even offer attractive trade-in pre-launch offers for the S26 family, which may impact early demand.
For this reason, Samsung may push the Ultra even more this year, as its higher selling price provides more room to account for the increasing cost of materials.
Based on leaks, Samsung doesn’t appear ready to address many of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s shortcomings with its successor. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will reportedly retain the same 5,000mAh cell as previous Ultras and still lack built-in magnets for native Qi2 support. Even the rear camera setup will largely remain unchanged, with only the primary 200MP shooter and 5x telephoto supposedly getting a wider aperture to help improve low-light performance.
While the much-leaked and teased Privacy display will be a good addition and help the S26 Ultra stand out from other phones on the market, it alone may not be enough to drive strong sales.
