Certain phone rumors seem to come back year after year like reblooming perennials. The next iPhone will finally ditch physical buttons. Apple is on the cusp of releasing a foldable iPhone any day now. And Samsung is discontinuing the Plus model of its Galaxy S line. This time we mean it.
The Galaxy S25 installment of that rumor has recently erupted, with reports suggesting that the absence of an S25 Plus entry in the International Mobile Equipment Identity database means the middle entry in Samsung’s flagship line will finally be scuttled when the other Galaxy S25 models appear in early 2025.
It should be noted that not everyone agrees with this conclusion. But more importantly, removing the Plus model from the Galaxy S family simply does not make sense, not at this point in the Galaxy S’s history.
I’ll admit that this is a change of heart towards the Plus edition of Samsung’s annual Galaxy S releases. In fact, I may have been one of the people who argued in the past that the Plus is perhaps just one more Galaxy S phone. But after seeing how much better value for money the Galaxy S24 Plus offered compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I started to wonder if I’d been too dismissive of the Plus phone’s appeal.
Why the Plus stands out
Honestly, my initial dislike of the Plus model came out of nowhere. I tend to prefer smaller phones, and I think the Galaxy S24 is the ideal size for a phone. When I reviewed that phone earlier this year, its compact size in the hand proved to be one of the most appealing things about Samsung’s latest device.
But not everyone shares my preference. While a larger phone may not be as easy to use one-handed as a smaller model, it’s easier to get things done on a device with a larger screen. And at 6.7 inches, the Galaxy S24 Plus offers one of the largest panels in Samsung’s lineup. Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra gives you more screen real estate, and that phone is much more expensive than the Plus (which we’ll talk about later).
There’s another benefit to having a phone big enough to support a display as large as the Galaxy S24 Plus’s: You have more room to fit a large battery to help the phone last longer on a charge. In the case of the Galaxy S24 Plus, we’re talking about a 4,900mAh cell, which, combined with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon powering the North American version of the phone, helped it last 16 hours and 32 minutes on our battery test. That’s about 6.5 hours longer than the average phone and just 13 minutes shorter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra average, putting it at the top of our list of the best phones for battery life.
The similarities in battery life between the Plus and Ultra become more important when you consider how different their prices are. After a price increase, the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299, which is $300 more than the cost of the Galaxy S24 Plus. Maybe people who want the best in terms of features will pay more for the Ultra, but that $999 price point will be the sweet spot for more buyers precisely because it falls below the psychologically important $1,000 threshold.
In other words, the Plus model of the Galaxy S series serves a very important purpose: it’s a step up from the base Galaxy S model without compromising on Ultra pricing. I don’t think Samsung is giving up that middle ground just to have a simplified product line.
Galaxy S25 Plus Perspective
I think Samsung could do more to differentiate the Plus and standard Galaxy S models, and perhaps that could happen with the Galaxy S25. For example, the Galaxy S24 Plus’ camera setup features a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle shooter, and a 10MP telephoto lens, which match the Galaxy S24’s camera array. Perhaps, Samsung can find a way to better distinguish the camera specs on those two models, perhaps in time for the Galaxy S25 Plus.
On the other hand, there are already some crucial differences between the standard Galaxy S and its Plus variant that justify the higher price beyond a larger screen. The Galaxy S24 Plus charges faster than the Galaxy S24, and its base configuration comes with twice as much storage. The Plus model also offers more RAM.
My point is that there are enough features to set the Plus model apart, to the point that its absence from the Galaxy S25 lineup would be keenly felt. I don’t know if the lack of an S25 Plus in the IMEI listings foreshadows a change in Samsung’s phone lineup plans for 2025 or if it’s just an oversight that will be corrected soon enough. But I do know that there would be a Plus-sized hole in Samsung’s phone lineup if all we get is a Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra early in the new year.
More from Tom’s Guide
Back to Mobile Phones
