There is no denying that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is basically brand new at this point and one of the best smartphones you can buy

However, there are a few weaknesses that can be improved upon in the next generation a year from now Here are some of the things to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra as rumors begin to circulate ahead of its 2025 release

Not that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an ugly phone by any means (although the chunky 68-inch frame certainly makes it an acquired taste)

However, the line has changed little in its aesthetic since the 2021 Galaxy S21 Ultra This wasn't a million miles away from the first member of the Ultra line, the S20, but the camera block wasn't quite as neat, so we'll pass

Admittedly, there are only so many different looks a phone can have each year, and Samsung was busy pioneering a whole new form factor with its Galaxy Z Fold lineup in the meantime But it would be nice if the company could shake things up a bit in 2025

RAM is an area where Samsung has strangely backtracked in recent years; both the S20 Ultra and S21 Ultra could have had as much as 16GB of RAM, but that was discontinued with the S22 Ultra in 2022 and has not returned for the next two years

No, there's not much that could justify 16GB RAM in a smartphone at this point (and even less in 2020!) But when you're paying big bucks for a smartphone, it's best to be future-proof 13]

Folding aside, Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most expensive smartphone, starting at $1,29999 And if you want 1TB of storage instead of the 256GB on the cheapest version, it jumps up another $1,659 (Samsung has not supported expandable storage on its flagships since the Galaxy S20 family)

Realistically, we admit that a price cut is not on the cards, but we hope it at least remains static Its current price makes it harder to justify than better value offerings from the likes of OnePlus and Google, and even the $999 Galaxy S24 Plus, which shares many of the same specifications, makes it seem a touch overpriced

Bundling the S22 Ultra with the S Pen was a masterstroke that makes the top-of-the-line Galaxy S a Galaxy Note in name and in reality; being able to pull out the S Pen and scribble or take notes is a great USP that many consumers will not want to give up S24 Ultra combines the S Pen with a "search in circles" feature that allows users to quickly search for individual items or text from an image with a little help from AI

We would like to see more innovations like this from S Pen

The most controversial design decision for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra was to drop the 10x optical zoom in favor of a 5x zoom

Admittedly, this 5x zoom has a much higher megapixel count (50 instead of 10), which allows for a very solid 10x optical quality crop, but that is not quite the same thing It also means that Samsung has lost a valuable selling point While 10x optical zoom is rare, 5x zoom is not

We would like to see the 10x zoom come back with an improved sensor and more megapixels One rumor suggests that a variable optical zoom sensor with more flexible zoom length switching may be on the horizon, which could free up space to bring back the 10x sensor Expectations