Samsung offers entirely new way to pay for Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra phones coming this month

If that sounds like an eye-watering outlay for a new Android phone — don't worry, Samsung has a solution. Rather than splurging on the new Galaxy S lineup, Samsung will send you its latest flagship phones when you subscribe to its incoming AI Subscription Club.

Samsung Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee announced the new initiative at the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas this week, stating: "We will apply the subscription service to Galaxy smartphones starting next month."

The subscription service, which will initially launch in South Korea and the United States, enables users to pay a monthly fee to access Samsung's latest AI-equipped devices. Instead of owning the new Galaxy S25, S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra — you'll just rent one of these handsets.

Since you're only paying to use the device, when something new is announced by Samsung, you can upgrade to the latest smartphone or tablet as part of your monthly subscription. You'll just need to hand back your current Galaxy device. Of course, if you end your subscription, you'll also need to send back any Samsung gadgets.

The (admittedly, quirkily-titled) AI Subscription Club will include both Galaxy smartphones and tablets, although Samsung hasn't specified monthly pricing yet. Samsung will include repair and maintenance services with the cost of the device rental, similar to what's offered as part of its paid-for Samsung Care+ subscription.

This can be added at checkout when purchasing a brand-new device from Samsung and offers repairs by Samsung certified experts using original Samsung parts for as long as you hold your subscription. Accidental breaks, battery replacements, water damage, and other common issues are covered by the insurance scheme.

Samsung Care+ starts from £3.49 a month for the most affordable Galaxy smartphones, rising to £7.99 a month for the most recent Galaxy S lineup, and topping-out at £9.49 a month for the foldable Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip handsets.

Given that AI Subscription Club will include many of the same features as well as the device itself, these prices hint at the monthly cost you can expect if you want to rent the upcoming Galaxy S25 series.

💙 like this post to witness the next evolution of #GalaxyAI

A true AI companion is coming — are you ready for #GalaxyUnpacked? pic.twitter.com/djbjSNo82Q

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) January 6, 2025

The subscription model has already proven successful in Samsung's home market of South Korea, where it was introduced for home appliances at the end of last year. Within just three weeks of launch, subscriptions accounted for nearly 30% of all sales at Samsung Stores in South Korea.

The programme currently allows Korean consumers to rent AI-powered TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines without any upfront costs. This positive response has encouraged Samsung to expand the subscription model to its mobile device lineup.

The AI Subscription Club represents a significant shift in how consumers can access Samsung's latest technology, moving away from traditional purchase models. While initially focused on South Korea and the United States, Samsung has not yet confirmed if (or when) the subscription service might be available in other regions.

Samsung is expected to provide more details about the smartphone rental programme during the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California.

Samsung's move into device subscriptions follows a similar scheme from Apple, known as the iPhone Upgrade Programme. Starting from £42.95 a month, Apple fans can take delivery of the latest iPhone model and upgrade to a brand-new model every year.

Repayments are made with 0% APR and Apple bundles its AppleCare+ enhanced warranty and insurance scheme as part of the repayments. Since the handset included with the iPhone Upgrade Programme is SIM-free, you can use it with any mobile network.

And it's not just Samsung and Apple interested in this rental model. Google also attempted a subscription model with its Pixel Pass, which included YouTube Premium and Google Play Pass, but ended the service in 2023.

Samsung's AI Subscription Club will extend beyond smartphones to include the company's new AI companion robot, Ballie. The rolling robot companion will be available in South Korea and the USA in the first half of 2025, though the subscription option will only be offered in South Korea initially.

Ballie: The Perfect AI Smart Home Companion

Samsung believes the subscription model could make Ballie more accessible to consumers, as the robot is expected to carry a significant price tag.

Ahead of the launch of the Galaxy S24 lineup last year, Samsung shuttered its previous rental scheme for its Android smartphones, dubbed the Samsung Upgrade Programme, on January 17, 2024.

The incoming Samsung Galaxy S25 series is expected to include four distinct models:

• Galaxy S25: The standard handset with a 6.2-inch FHD+ display and 50MP wide-angle camera
• Galaxy S25+: Identical to the regular Galaxy S25, but with a larger 6.7-inch Quad HD+ display and battery
• Galaxy S25 Ultra: Flagship device with a 6.8-inch QHD AMOLED screen, 200MP main camera, and up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage
• Galaxy S25 Slim: New variant for 2025 with an ultra-thin design measuring just over 6mm in thickness, featuring innovative ALoP (All Lenses on Prism) technology to reduce camera bump size

It's unclear whether the sleek new Galaxy S25 Slim will launch alongside the other three models in the Galaxy S25 lineup, or whether it won't arrive until later in the year — possibly when the "FE" variation of the Galaxy S series lands on store shelves — as tipsters seem to disagree on the timings.

But most leaksters agree there will be a new entry in the Galaxy S lineup this time around, and we won't just see successors to the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra announced this time last year.

The announcement of the Galaxy Unpacked follows months of speculation and leaks about the new flagship series, which will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.

There's speculation that Samsung will increase the amount of RAM across all models to better handle Galaxy AI. As a result, Galaxy S25 and S25+ will purportedly feature at least 12GB of RAM, while the maxed-out Galaxy S25 Ultra could have at least 16GB.

These beefier specifications will enable Samsung to shift more Galaxy AI tasks from its servers to the device itself. Apple has taken a similar approach with its Apple Intelligence features.

Processing AI requests on-device improves speed, privacy — since none of your personal data leaves the handset, and means you can continue to use these features when you haven't got a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, like on a flight.

S25，S25+，S25 Ultra pic.twitter.com/x7TupwE1GJ

— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) October 9, 2024

All S25 models are expected to run on Android 15 with Samsung's totally-redesigned new OneUI 7 overlay.

According to the latest whispers, Samsung won't stray too far from the formula it used with the Galaxy S24 lineup. From the front, expect the all-new Galaxy S25 series to sport an edge-to-edge design with a small circular cut-out for the front-facing camera.

The borders around the screen will be thinned, but don't expect this to result in larger displays. Instead, Samsung is likely to use the opportunity to shrink the footprint of the handset.

Internally, every model in the Galaxy S25 lineup is tipped to house magnets that support MagSafe-style charging and a slew of magnetic accessories, like car mounts and PopSocket-like holders.

Samsung can't use the term “MagSafe”, since it's a trademark owned by Apple, but it will markets its phones on the same basic mechanisms.

Both the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will rely on aluminium for the rest of the case design, while the Galaxy S25 will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and use titanium for its frame.

In terms of colours, we're hearing that Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will ship in Silver Shadow, Sparking Blue, Moon Night Blue, and Sparkling Green. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could get four finishes: Titanium Black, Titanium Blue, Titanium Grey, and Titanium Silver.

● Exclusive S25U colors

These are the closest real colors , before the launch of the S25U pic.twitter.com/l3f5JTbfF3

— Galaxy Flash (@GalaxyFlash2025) January 1, 2025

Samsung has remained pretty consistent with the pricing for its most recent Galaxy S smartphones, so we wouldn't expect a massive overhaul to that formula.

Like thier predecessors, we'd expect the Galaxy S25 to start from £799, larger Galaxy S25+ from £999, and the all-singing, all-dancing Galaxy S25 Ultra from £1,249. This would keep Galaxy S25 prices roughly in line with what we've seen from Apple and Google smartphones.

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The next Galaxy Unpacked event will be streamed on Samsung's website and YouTube channel, beginning at 6pm GMT on January 22. GB News will bring you news on everything announced at the event, so stay tuned.