Samsung releases many phones yearly, but its flagship is the Galaxy S-series. The Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup was released at the start of this year, so it’s not even a year old. However, it’s expected that Samsung won’t stop there — next year should bring us an even better Galaxy S25 family of devices.
Here’s everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S25.
Samsung Galaxy S25: possible release date
Historically, Samsung has always launched its flagship S-series smartphones at the beginning of the year. This typically means between January and March.
For the Galaxy S24, it came a little earlier than its predecessors. There have been no solid leads on when to expect the Galaxy S25, so let’s take a look at the past few years of announcements:
Galaxy S22: Announced February 9, 2022, released February 25, 2022
Galaxy S23: Announced February 1, 2023, released February 17, 2023
Galaxy S24: Announced January 17, 2024, released January 31, 2024
Based on previous announcements and releases, we think that the Galaxy S25 will be unveiled in January, February, or March at the latest. Again, there are no leads on the next release window, so we can only guesstimate for now.
Samsung Galaxy S25: possible price
Samsung has remained pretty consistent in pricing for its devices, at least with the base and Plus models of the Galaxy S family. Let’s take a look at what we’ve seen in the past:
Galaxy S22: $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
Galaxy S23: $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,199 (Ultra)
Galaxy S24: $799 (base), $999 (Plus), $1,299 (Ultra)
For the base and Plus versions, the prices have consistently remained at $799 and $999, respectively, for the past three years. However, Samsung did bump up the price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra by $100 from previous years while keeping the base storage the same (though it has more RAM).
It’s unlikely that we’ll see a price bump again for the Galaxy S25 family, though we won’t know for sure until we get closer to the phones’ release.
Samsung Galaxy S25: design
The design of the Galaxy S series has not changed much in the past few years. However, the Galaxy S25 may shake things up a little bit.
In December 2023, leaker Revengus posted on X that Ilhwan Lee (a former designer at Mercedes-Benz and current Design Team Leader of Samsung’s MX division) was tasked with redefining the Galaxy brand and providing a “fresh” feel. That means that we should expect significant changes in design from the S25 onward.
With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung began using titanium in the body, similar to what Apple did, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. We should expect the S25 Ultra to continue using titanium, at least. It’s unknown if Samsung plans to implement titanium in the base and Plus versions.
In September, Android Headlines published the first look at the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The new flagship is expected to be lighter than its predecessor and the recently announced iPhone 16 Pro Max. The new Samsung phone could weigh just 219 grams, versus the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 232 grams and the latest iPhone’s 227 grams.
Less weight makes sense when you consider that the next Galaxy S Ultra is also expected to be smaller in dimensions and have smaller bezels than its predecessor. The screen size will remain the same, however, at 6.8 inches.
In September, renders of the base Galaxy S25 arrived. The leak predicted a 6.17-inch display on the upcoming phone and a smaller profile along all edges compared to previous models. The smaller chassis means tighter internal space, which could be a concern regarding the amount of thermal headroom provided.
Another report in October confirms the previous theory that the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra would have thinner bezels, and in the Ultra’s case, rounded corners this time around. This was thanks to a picture from Ice Universe that shows the three phones laid out side-by-side. This report also confirms that the S25 Ultra is larger than the other two models in the line, with a display that is roughly 6.8 or 6.9 inches. We can also expect a single hole-punch camera in the top center of the displays as well.
There may also be a slight change to the camera layout on the S25 Ultra. Ice Universe shared an image in October showing off the new camera module of the S25 Ultra. It will be similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with the black and concentric circles around the lenses, but it will have the same kind of layout as the S24 Ultra, meaning it won’t have a vertical pill-shaped “island” that surrounds the cameras.
A dummy unit of the S25 Ultra was shown off in October as well. The dummy unit seems to line up with the other reports we’ve heard, with a flat design all around, the camera layout, and slightly taller, narrower, and thinner than its predecessor.
Samsung Galaxy S25: performance and software
Samsung has relied on Qualcomm’s chips for the last few years while also using its own Exynos chips in certain regions. Currently, the S24 series uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chips for all three S24 phones sold in the U.S. In other markets, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus use the Exynos 2400 chip.
We should expect the Galaxy S25 to continue using Qualcomm chips, specifically the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Qualcomm has touted big performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so the Galaxy S25 lineup could see big upgrades in both departments.
However, there may be some changes coming too. It’s been reported that Samsung may add a third chip to the mix. While Galaxy S-series phones in the U.S. traditionally use Snapdragon chips, other regions get Exynos ones. However, with the Galaxy S25, Samsung could introduce phones with MediaTek chips.
It’s all up in the air for now, but based on what we’ve seen from the past few iterations, the main chip should still be the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Some reports in late July and early August claim that only the Galaxy S25 Ultra may get the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The base model S25 and S25 Plus could be using Samsung’s own in-house 3nm Exynos 2500 chip.
Ice Universe also got some insight on how the S25 Ultra will perform. As it is expected to have the latest Qualcomm flagship chip, it has gotten some impressive scores in terms of benchmarks. The S25 Ultra reportedly got a single-core score of 3,011 and a multi-core score of 9,706. In comparison, the S24 Ultra had a single-core score of 2,412 and multi-core score of 6,693. The iPhone 16 Pro Max gets a single-core score of around 3,386 and multi-core score of 8,306. With the S25 Ultra’s numbers, it appears to be getting a significant boost.
As far as RAM goes, we can expect the Galaxy S25 Ultra to have 16GB RAM, according to leaker Ice Universe. This would be an increase in RAM from the S24 Ultra, which only had 12GB. Though we haven’t heard any specifics about RAM for the base and Plus models, if the Ultra is getting 16GB, then it’s a good chance that the other two models may have 12GB RAM. The reasoning for more RAM is AI, specifically on-device AI tasks. With more RAM in its processing power, users should see faster and more efficient AI processing.
The Galaxy S25 will be released after Android 15 launches, so we should see Android 15 running on all S25 smartphones. That would also mean Samsung has One UI 7 layered on top. Samsung also has a four-year guarantee of software upgrade support, which should also apply to the S25 line.
Samsung Galaxy S25: cameras
The Galaxy S25 Ultra may see some nice improvements for the cameras. Samsung will reportedly continue with the 200-megapixel primary camera lens and 50MP periscope telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. However, rather than keeping the 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, it could switch to a new 50MP one with 3x optical zoom. Similarly, the ultrawide camera could be upgraded to a 50MP lens.
Leaker Sperandio4Tech on X says the ultrawide lens would have “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” The 3x telephoto lens should also get a better 1/3-inch Isocell sensor. Both of these upgraded sensors should mean improved resolution.
In late June, Samsung announced three new camera sensors coming to future devices — one of which we suspect will be the main camera in the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus. The “GNJ” is a 50MP sensor that looks very similar to the one in the S24 and S24 Plus. So far, it looks like the biggest hardware upgrade is better efficiency in preview mode and with 4K video at 60 fps.
Similarly, another rumor suggests that the Galaxy S25 will have the exact same camera sensor as the S24, as will the S25 Plus. If you were hoping for big camera upgrades for the S25 and S25 Plus, that’s not exactly great news.
Samsung Galaxy S25: battery life
According to a report from The Elec, Samsung is testing a new battery stacking method. This method is commonly used in electric vehicles, but Samsung could be working on bringing this technology to smartphones. The stacking method refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged. It could have higher energy capacity in a smaller volume.
It’s suggested that the S25 may have the same 4,000mAh capacity as the S24. The S25 Ultra also seems to be sticking with the 5,000mAh battery capacity with 45W fast charging speeds.
Of course, those who may have been hoping for a larger battery capacity may be disappointed. However, they probably shouldn’t be. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is quite power efficient, so if Samsung uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, then the S25 should also see excellent battery life.
Another leak suggests the base Galaxy S25 may not support 45W charging like the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. If this news is accurate, it will have been six years since the base model upgraded to 25W charging with no further improvements.
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