Samsung confirms Galaxy S25 Ultra pre-orders, release dates and special offers

Update, Tuesday January 14, 2025: This article has been updated with additional details on Samsung’s registration and trade-in offers for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, S25+ and S25.

Samsung has confirmed that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place later this month. No doubt there will be an intense focus on the second generation of Galaxy AI and a wide range of connected peripherals. However, the eyes of the community will be on the new Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

For those looking to buy any of the new handsets, including the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra, there are a few dates to know in order to get the handset as soon as possible and at a competitive price.

Registering interest in the Galaxy S25 Ultra

Samsung has already started the process for those interested. The company has opened a program that allows consumers to register their interest in the Galaxy AI and Galaxy S25 Ultra and offers a $50 voucher for “eligible additional products”. He also emailed registered Samsung users a questionnaire with a $50 offer attached.

Forbes contributor Janhoi McGregor has more details on both offers, but for those registering their interest, it must end on or before January 21st, the day before Galaxy Unpacked.

Update, Monday 13 January 2025: Samsung has confirmed some elements of the pre-order process currently open for US consumers. In addition to the $50 credit for the Galaxy S25 handsets, the South Korean company has stated that trade-in values ​​will increase above normal values ​​and offers can be as high as $900.

Not every trade-in phone will fetch that much; you’ll have to hand in last year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. Older handsets, or handsets from other manufacturers, will be accepted but won’t have as high a bid when traded in.

There’s also a further offer of $300 in credit on “qualifying products,” though it’s unclear what those products will be. Some peripherals will undoubtedly be launched or updated during the Galaxy Unpacked event—these will be part of the qualifying products. I’d expect at least a Galaxy Wear smartwatch and Galaxy Buds true wireless headphones to be included. There is a good chance that another product could be Samsung’s Galaxy Ring.

And if you’re feeling lucky, there’s a $5,000 Samsung credit voucher per person who makes a reservation.

Update, Tuesday 14 January 2025: Both the Galaxy S24 family and the foldable Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold families launched in 2024 all greatly boosted trade-in options and values. After all, the various different values ​​can be qualified in small letters, while the maximum discount can be set on the retail ticket.

Samsung has an additional option for consumers in its home country of South Korea, the Galaxy Easy Compensation program. Starting today (January 14, 2025) you can check the value of your phone online before sending it to Samsung. Once evaluated and accepted, the value will be returned to you

Currently, the program works on Galaxy S models up to the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z models up to the Z Flip3 and ZFold 3. While it’s limited to South Korea, Samsung has indicated that it could expand to other unnamed territories the future.

When will Galaxy S25 Ultra pre-orders open?

During previous Galaxy Unpacked events that featured phone launches, Samsung opened pre-orders at the end of the event. With the Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled to begin on January 22nd at 1300 Eastern / 1000 Pacific, pre-orders can be expected to open an hour or two after the launch.

Unlike previous years, there have been discussions that Samsung would delay the opening of the pre-order system from Wednesday’s event until the morning of Friday, January 24. It’s likely that, regardless of the launch date, pre-orders will come in at a close on Tuesday, February 4th.

The pre-order period will be important for another reason. Samsung usually offers some of the best deals for those who buy a new Galaxy in the pre-order period. Last year saw some exclusive colors available only through Samsung.com, a free upgrade to the next storage tier (so those who buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra priced for the 512GB model will get the 1TB storage model), and generous trade-ins on a wide range of smartphones from both Samsung and other manufacturers, including Google and Apple.

When will the Galaxy S25 Ultra go on sale?

After registering your interest, viewing the Galaxy Unpacked release and placing your pre-order, shipments of the Galaxy S25 Ultra will match its retail availability. This is expected to begin on Friday, February 7, when shipments should arrive for those who have pre-ordered.

Now read more about the features that will help sell the Galaxy S25 Ultra…