Just Say (Hell) NO to upgrading to the S26 Ultra! Downgrades, prices hikes and disappointment

[Joshua Luther1]

I honestly think the S25U is my favorite device. Flat screen, anti reflective coating on it. Sure, the s pen doesn't have Bluetooth, but honestly I didn't buy the ultra for the s pen anyway. I just wanted the biggest and best phone Samsung had to offer. And no I didn't want a fold. Too fragile and not durable for how I use a phone. I would have kept the S23U if it had a flat screen. I am glad that curved screens are gone. I got my S25U from Verizon and plan on keeping it for at least 2 years, if not longer.

I was legit addicted to having the latest and greatest but I probably wasn't smart about how I went about upgrading every year, or sometimes less than a year. And I ended up adding on more debt. So, now I'm free from paying Samsung or Google and just Verizon. My previous iPhone 15pm was on a plan from Verizon that allowed me to return the phone after 50% was paid off, so that's when I decided to switch back to Android for good. I got the 512gb so I didn't have to worry about space as I'm taking photos and videos. Especially if I intend on keeping it for a longer time.

But the OP is right. Every year Samsung seems to keep things the same or remove some feature. Instead of slowly evolving and improving things every year. All the while increasing the prices.

The last time I wasn't happy with a Samsung phone was the S22+. Battery life was horrible and the camera was laggy. So that made me lose some trust in them. So I switched to a Pixel 7 pro which the screen died on it and it overheated constantly. So I lost trust in Google. Then I switched to the S23U, which I loved everything about except the curved screen. I had the coral color and loved it. Then I got the idea to try the iPhone 15pm and it was solid phone but iOS is frustrating when you're used to android. In order to have the best experience, you have to use Apple software, apps, and the ecosystem. Which I never will. At least with Google or Samsung, you can use any other device or third party app and it will play well with them. Apart from the Apple watch of course.

Now I'm completely sold out to Samsung where I have the Watch Ultra and Buds 3 Pro. I think I'm set for while and don't intend on going anywhere soon. I also bought both the watch and buds used or an open box. So I didn't pay full price for them. $200 for the 2025 Watch Ultra and $100 for the buds 3 Pro as an open box from Best Buy. And I'm about to sell my OnePlus watch 3 so I essentialy got the ultra watch for free.

 

[Joshua Luther1]

I remember that. My co worker had one of those phones.

But that was 10 years ago. They need to move on, lol.

Clearly the TSA hasn't moved on.

 

[Emig5m]

S23 is chugging along just fine, the S26 offers nothing that's going to make a difference in my life. Phones have hit the wall now, keep 'em until they crap out on you.

Same way that I feel with vehicles anymore...

 

[tivoboy]

Something tells me that after the initial pre-order wave, we’ll see even better deals from Samsung..maybe not higher trade in values, but same trade in values and higher incentives.. at LEAST the 2x memory upgrade and probably 100-150 in legit freebies, so like half off buds 4 pro, or legit $100 to spend on cases, chargers, etc.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

Something tells me that after the initial pre-order wave, we’ll see even better deals from Samsung..maybe not higher trade in values, but same trade in values and higher incentives.. at LEAST the 2x memory upgrade and probably 100-150 in legit freebies, so like half off buds 4 pro, or legit $100 to spend on cases, chargers, etc.

Samsung always changes the sales. They didn't really have any free promos this year anyway probably to help cover the high RAM costs. They will probably offer double memory upgrade but the trade in value will probably be $200 less so ending price point will be the same if you just paid the $200 upgrade for memory on pre-order. Samsung just moves numbers around to appeal to different people, ending cost is usually the same.