I’ve used many phones across 2025, from oddballs like the Nothing Phone 3 to the extremely fun Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, but no handset has truly grabbed me like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

And now that the 256GB model has its had its price slashed from AU$2,149 to just AU$1,585, it’s a phone I think you simply can’t ignore.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra represents the height of Samsung’s smartphone business – there might be more expensive handsets like the Z Fold 7, or experimental ones like the near impossibly thin S25 Edge, but the S25 Ultra culminates the best of the company’s camera, display and processing capabilities. It’s the absolute best camera phone you can buy in Australia, and if you can snag a discount, it’s well worth picking up.

I’ve previously spotted the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra at its lowest price in May (during a Samsung Secret Sale), when it was down to AU$1,611.75, but this deal tops that across all colourways.

TechRadar’s Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review was filled with praise, labelling it “the ultimate Android” and awarding it 4.5 stars (along with a TechRadar Recommends seal of approval). The phone has an exceptional design to it that drives home its premium status. Plus its brilliant battery life, mixed with its excellent screen, is simply easy to fall in love with.

Our reviewer only had two major problems: generative AI is still a bit hit and miss, and Samsung still doesn’t offer total photo-reality with its cameras (as opposed to Google’s very true to life images). That being said, the S25 Ultra can capture in Expert RAW and photography settings can be tweaked quite heavily, which is handy for photographers who need a backup camera in their kit.

When I went hands-on with the S25 Ultra, I focused more on the phone’s operating system – because for the first time in a while, I really felt like Samsung was giving the OS the attention it deserved. It looks remarkably clean and mastered, much like an iPhone or Google Pixel, and despite Samsung’s phone still feeling buried in layers of updates, it genuinely felt like a useful degree of polish had been applied with this generation.

Maybe the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t your style – that’s OK, it’s a big phone and even with a discount it’s still quite pricey. There are other great Galaxy handsets on sale right now that could well fit your needs and budget:

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (256GB): was AU$1,849 now AU$1,349
• Samsung Galaxy S25 (256GB): was AU$1,399 now AU$982
• Samsung Galaxy A56 (128GB): was AU$699 now AU$499

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Zac has been in the tech writing game for six years, having previously written for Gizmodo Australia, Canstar Blue, and The Daily Mail Australia (with articles on Nine, Junkee, Kotaku Australia and Lifehacker Australia). He’s a huge nerd with a deep passion for technology. While his main focus at TechRadar Australia is phones, monitors and peripherals, he also has a deep interest in the growing Australian EV landscape. Outside of Techradar, Zac’s a Headspace (a youth mental health organization) volunteer and an avid gamer.