How excited are you for the
Galaxy S25 Ultra after the
latest plausible rumors and
credible speculation from several different sources in a bunch of different parts of the world? Moderately? That sounds about right, as Samsung is clearly preparing a number of relatively significant upgrades over the S24 Ultra, but nothing truly groundbreaking or potentially game-changing, at least to anyone’s knowledge so far.
One undeniably important improvement that’s however unlikely to blow a lot of minds is the S25 Ultra’s
very recently revealed 16GB RAM count… in 512GB and 1TB storage variants. This will leave the most expensive
S24 Ultra and
Z Fold 6 models in the dust to reportedly support more sophisticated AI applications, but believe it or not, the S25 Ultra’s big memory “breakthrough” will match what the
Galaxy S21 Ultra offered in the same department all the way back in 2021.
Wait, what?
It’s true, the S21 Ultra was released nearly four years ago with storage space ranging from 128 to 512GB and two very forward-thinking RAM options: 12 and 16GB. What’s even crazier to consider right now is that
Samsung somehow paired 16 gigs of memory with 256GB internal storage space for a limited-number Galaxy S21 Ultra configuration that never received a direct sequel.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra remains unrivaled to this day in terms of memory in Samsung’s backyard. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
In contrast, the S24 Ultra settles for 12GB RAM even in combination with a whopping terabyte of local digital hoarding room. What you may be asking yourselves at this time is whether the S21 Ultra actually needed a 16GB RAM variant (let alone two).
The answer is almost definitely not, but let’s be real for a second – the things we need in our lives rarely make us as happy as the things we
want in spite of boring logic and common sense. So, no, I’m not going to blame you at all if you were disappointed to see Samsung go back from 16 to 12GB RAM for its top-of-the-line
S22 Ultra,
S23 Ultra, and S24 Ultra models.
I can also certainly understand if you’re feeling indifferent towards the
S25 Ultra‘s expected revival of the 16GB RAM option, especially after doing a little bit of research and putting together the following list:
- Google Pixel 9 Pro;
- Pixel 9 Pro XL;
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold;
- OnePlus 12;
- OnePlus 12R;
- OnePlus 11;
- OnePlus 10T;
- OnePlus Nord 4;
- OnePlus Open;
- Motorola Edge 50 Ultra;
- Motorola Edge 50 Pro;
- Asus Zenfone 10;
- Asus ROG Phone 9;
- Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro;
- Asus Zenfone 9;
- Xiaomi 15 Pro;
- Xiaomi 14 Ultra;
- Xiaomi 13 Ultra;
- Honor Magic 7 Pro;
- Realme GT 6;
- Realme GT 7 Pro;
- Vivo X200 Pro;
- Vivo X Fold 3;
- Oppo Find X8.
Can you guess what all of these devices have in common? That’s right, at least one 16GB RAM variant. And by the way, I’m not joking when I’m saying it took just a bit of research to find all these products. There are also many more like them, especially in Asian markets. And as you can see, they’re not all ultra-expensive Android flagships (hello there, OnePlus Nord 4, 10T, and 12R!).
Should Samsung jump all the way up to 24GB RAM?
At least three of the handsets listed above (and presumably a few others) incredibly pack as much as 24 gigs of memory already, so I can totally understand if some of you are holding out hope that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will crush its forerunners and join that exclusive club of future-proof mobile multitasking powerhouses.
The ROG Phone 8 Pro is part of the exclusive 24GB RAM smartphone club. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
But I’m not aware of any such rumors for the time being, and I don’t think Samsung would be wise to go the decidedly overkill RAM route for a device that’s already
likely to cost a small fortune.
While I obviously have no idea how much the
Galaxy AI tool set will evolve in terms of real-life applicability and memory demands, I highly doubt that something that works so well on a
Galaxy S24 with 8GB RAM will all of a sudden start to stutter unless Samsung adds
another 16 gigs on top of that.
So, yes, I’m almost 100 percent certain that you’ll need to “settle” for a 16GB RAM-packing S25 Ultra, and as unremarkable as they may feel, learn to appreciate Samsung’s little flagship-evolving baby steps. After all, not all companies can be trendsetters in all fields, and at least the ancient Galaxy S21 Ultra will finally get a Galaxy S-series match soon.
