Samsung has built some of the most iconic smartphones ever made. These five changed the game not just for the brand, but for the entire industry.
Samsung's Galaxy lineup spans over a decade and hundreds of devices. Most were solid. Some were forgettable. But a handful genuinely moved the needle phones that defined a generation, set industry benchmarks, or refused to be outdone by anything else on the market at the time.
This list isn't about which Samsung phone is the most recent or the most expensive. It's about the five that actually earned their place in history.
1. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: The One That Got Everything Right
If there's one Samsung phone that consistently tops "all-time best" conversations among longtime Android users, it's the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Launched in January 2021, it corrected almost every complaint people had about the S20 Ultra the focusing issues, the bloated price, and the feeling that Samsung had cut corners in the wrong places.
The S21 Ultra came with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, a 108MP main sensor, two telephoto cameras with 3x and 10x optical zoom, and for the first time in the S series full S Pen compatibility. It was essentially a Galaxy Note for people who never wanted to admit they wanted a Galaxy Note.
Of every phone reviewed by longtime Samsung watchers, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the one that lasted longest in hand with highly capable cameras, fast performance, an under-display fingerprint scanner, and a screen that wasn't as wide or hard to hold as current models.
It ran on the Snapdragon 888 (or Exynos 2100, depending on the region), came with 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and offered storage capacities of up to 512GB. Battery life was strong at 5000mAh with 25W wired charging. It was the complete package and for many people, the last Samsung phone they felt they needed to upgrade to.
2. Samsung Galaxy Note 9: The Last Time Samsung Had It All
The Galaxy Note 9 (2018) holds a special place for a specific kind of Samsung fan the one who wanted power, practicality, and no compromises. It had a headphone jack. It had an S Pen with Bluetooth, allowing the stylus to act as a remote camera trigger or presentation clicker. It had a 4000mAh battery at a time when most flagships were struggling to last a day of use.
The Galaxy Note 9 was truly one of the greatest and most functional phones ever designed it had a headphone jack, an S Pen, wireless charging, and the same-sized battery, while competitors at the time lacked multiple of those features.
The display was a gorgeous 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel. Performance came from the Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage numbers that were extraordinary for 2018. The Note 9 didn't try to reinvent anything. It just built the best possible version of what a Samsung power-user phone could be.
Samsung would remove the headphone jack on the Galaxy Note 10, making the Note 9 the last flagship Samsung phone to include one. That detail alone turned the Note 9 into something of a collector's piece for people who cared about that kind of thing.
3. Samsung Galaxy S6: The Design Reset Samsung Desperately Needed
Before the Galaxy S6, Samsung had a reputation problem. The Galaxy S5 was plastic, slippery, and felt cheap next to HTC's aluminum builds and the iPhone's glass back. People were starting to question whether Samsung could make a phone that felt genuinely premium.
The S6, launched in 2015, answered that loudly. It introduced a glass front and back with a metal frame a construction Samsung has used in various forms ever since. The display was a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED panel with 577ppi, which was jaw-dropping at the time. The camera jumped significantly over previous generations and introduced Samsung as a serious contender in mobile photography.
It was also the first Samsung flagship to ship with wireless charging built in as a standard feature, not an add-on. That decision aged very well.
The S6 essentially rebuilt Samsung's design credibility from the ground up. Almost everything about how Samsung phones look and feel today traces a line back to choices made with the S6.
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: The End of an Era, Done Properly
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (2020) was the last phone Samsung ever made under the Note name and it went out as the best Note ever built.
The Note 20 Ultra was the ultimate phone for fans of the brand: the one that did it all. It packed much of the hardware and software goodies from the S20 Ultra and added the utility of the S Pen. It had as much RAM as the S25 series has today. The S Pen had Bluetooth and could trigger the camera shutter a feature absent from the S Pen in the S25 Ultra.
The 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display ran at 120Hz with a resolution that still holds up. The triple camera system 108MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 12MP periscope telephoto delivered consistently excellent results. Build quality was exceptional, with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and an IP68 rating.
When looking back at old photos taken on the Note 20 Ultra, the images hold up remarkably well even years later. That's the real test of a camera not specs on paper, but whether the photos still look good long after the hype fades.
5. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: The Current Benchmark
No list of the best Samsung phones ever made can ignore where the brand stands right now. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, launched in early 2025, represents the most polished version of Samsung's Ultra formula to date.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra brings together everything you would ever need or want in a flagship device. Under the hood, it runs the Snapdragon 8 Elite slightly overclocked for Galaxy paired with 12GB of RAM and storage options from 256GB to 1TB. The 5000mAh battery delivers the best battery life of any Samsung phone to date, consistently achieving two full days on a single charge.
The camera system includes a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom, and a 10MP 3x telephoto making it one of the most versatile camera arrays in any smartphone. The display features an anti-glare coating that makes it genuinely readable in direct sunlight, something previous Ultra models struggled with.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the top pick for best overall Samsung phone and what's surprising is how close the alternatives are. That's actually a compliment to the entire lineup, not just the Ultra.
These five phones aren't just the best Samsung made they represent the turning points in the brand's history. The S6 rebuilt trust. The Note 9 proved that practicality and power could coexist. The Note 20 Ultra closed a chapter with dignity. The S21 Ultra showed what a truly complete Android flagship looked like. And the S25 Ultra is the result of everything Samsung learned from all of them.
If you've owned any of these, you already know. If you haven't, now you know which ones mattered.
You must be logged in to post a comment.