In a way, the company has made your buying decision in markets like the US and Europe easier than over in South Korea and China with a near-global downgrade of sorts that was predicted by a few tipsters and leakers very recently. That's right, you can't get the S25 Ultra with 16GB RAM anywhere in the Western Hemisphere at the moment, and there are currently no signs that's going to change anytime soon.
Save up to $1,020 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra!
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Get the mighty Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for up to $1,020 off at the Samsung Store! Eligible device trade-ins help you save up to $900. Moreover, you get $120 off the 512GB variant, landing it at the price of the base storage model. On top of that, you'll receive an additional $80 Samsung credit for accessories.
...and it wants its memory limitations back. Believe it or not, Samsung's 2021-released Galaxy S21 Ultra came in a couple of different 16GB RAM variants (one with 256GB and one with 512GB storage), which means that the Western Galaxy S25 Ultra is actually a step back from four years ago.
Why did Samsung decide to put 12 gigs of memory on all S25 Ultra units available stateside and on the old continent? As far as I know, the tech giant has yet to address the matter in any official capacity, merely confirming right off the bat that its Korean fans will get the opportunity to pre-order a 16GB RAM-packing model in a single Titanium Jet Black hue starting tomorrow, January 24.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is a largely familiar phone with a refined design. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
That top-of-the-line configuration is set to cost around 2.25 million won, which sounds like a lot, equating to a little over $1,550, or the rough equivalent of 85 bucks more than a variant with 12GB RAM and 1TB storage space. The priciest Galaxy S25 Ultra model in Samsung's homeland naturally also offers a whopping terabyte of local digital hoarding room, so the extra $85 gets you an additional 4GB RAM and nothing else.
Interestingly, Samsung doesn't appear to be selling the S25 Ultra with 12GB RAM and 1TB storage in China, instead keeping the latter number reserved for a 16GB RAM configuration priced at 13,699 yuan ($1,880). That's obviously a lot higher than the CNY 11,199 ($1,535) price point of a 12GB memory/512GB storage variant, and it's not clear how US consumers would have responded to a similar release strategy.
With the S25 Ultra fetching $1,659.99 stateside with 1TB storage and 12GB RAM, one can probably assume Samsung would have had to charge around $1,750 to add four more gigs of memory, which I'm sure some of you hardcore multitaskers would have greatly appreciated, at least for the sake of diversity and choice.
What US phones come with 16GB RAM (or more)?
The first device that comes to mind is the OnePlus 13, which currently costs $899.99 with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage... while inexplicably lacking a 1TB storage option stateside.
Then you've got Google's Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, all of which amazingly come packing a hefty 16 gigs of memory in all of their storage configurations. That means you can get a Pixel 9 Pro with 16GB RAM for as little as $850 right now (after the latest $150 discount), while the state-of-the-art Pixel 9 Pro Fold currently starts at $1,499.
The radically different Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 9 Pro XL have one big thing in common - 16GB RAM | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
Despite not exactly being a mainstream box-office hit, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro also deserves a quick mention (at the very least), pairing 16GB RAM with 512GB storage at a retail price of $1,200 and going all the way up to 24 gigs of the good stuff and 1TB storage at $1,500.
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Is that overkill? Perhaps. Is it truly necessary in today's Android-powered smartphone landscape? Maybe not, but if Samsung really wants Galaxy S25 series buyers to hold on to their handsets for six or seven years, said handsets need to be ready for anything and everything that could evolve in key fields like AI during this time.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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