While Samsung releases a slew of phones every year, its flagship is the Galaxy S-series. In January 2024, we got the Galaxy S24 lineup, which isn’t a year old yet. But we don’t expect Samsung to stop with that — next year should give us an even better Galaxy S25 family of devices.
It’s still a bit early to even think about the Galaxy S25 series, but the rumor mill never stops. 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 either January or 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 models, 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
For the most part, the design of the Galaxy S series has not changed all that much in the past few years. However, the Galaxy S25 may shake things up.
In December 2023, leaker Revengus posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Ilhwan Lee (a former designer at Mercedes-Benz and current Design Team Leader of Samsung’s MX division) has been given the task of redefining the Galaxy brand and provide 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 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.
A report from Android Headlines in March 2024 revealed that Samsung has been testing four different prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Some renders of what these prototypes could have looked like were also included, which you can see below.
Overall, the renders of the prototypes look similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, though we can only see the front of the device. The first one looks like the S24 Ultra but with thinner bezels. The second render appears to have a flatter frame with very thin bezels all around. The third one shows off thinner left and right bezels but thicker ones on the top and bottom. The fourth and last render has a thinner frame with rounded frame edges.
Though these renders are all different, they’re basically just a variation of a singular design. But again, they only show off the front, so we don’t know how the sides or back will look. Until we see CAD-based renders, the design remains an enigma.
Other rumors have suggested that the S25 Ultra could have more rounded corners than the sharper ones on the S24 Ultra we have today. The boxy design will still be there, but having rounded corners would make the phone slightly more comfortable in the hand. A report in August gave us a better look at what this boxy, rounded-corner design could look like. There are also whispers that it will be thinner, and with titanium, this could be the most lightweight flagship phone when it’s available.
Popular leaker Ice Universe on X posted in late June that the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s rounded corners could be similar to the Galaxy Note 7. They also indicated that the body will be about 8.4mm thick, which would be the thinnest Ultra model in recent years.
Speaking of Notes, it turns out that Samsung might not stick with the “Ultra” moniker for the S25 Ultra after all. There’s a rumor floating around that Samsung may bring back the Note line with the S25, going with a “Galaxy S25 Note” instead of “Galaxy S25 Ultra.” This would be significant because Samsung hasn’t used the Galaxy Note name since 2020 with the Galaxy Note 20.
After all, the Galaxy S Ultra phones have taken many of the old features from the Note line, such as the S Pen integration. So, this move would differentiate the S25 Ultra from the standard S25 and the S25 Plus, but it could also annoy others who liked the streamlined simplicity of the S Series name.
There haven’t been many rumors about the base Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus design changes. However, we might see a slight increase in size for the regular S25, as the screen may be 0.16 inches larger, making it 6.36 inches instead of 6.2 inches.
Samsung Galaxy S25: display
Again, the rumor mill is pretty light on specifics about displays for the Galaxy S25 series. However, as mentioned earlier, we may see another small bump in overall display size, at least for the standard Galaxy S25 and the S25 Ultra.
According to a report from leaker Ice Universe on X (formerly Twitter), the S25 Ultra could have a physical size reduction to only 77.6mm across, instead of 79mm like the S24 Ultra. However, smaller bezels would make the screen larger than its predecessor. The report also claims that the S25 Ultra display may add 0.07 inches to the diagonal screen size and 0.7mm to the width while the overall body frame shrinks slightly. This would make sense, as it follows the current trend of smaller bezels and bigger screens.
Another report from Android Authority suggests that Samsung is working on next-generation OLED displays that could possibly make an appearance on the S25 line. This new OLED display features technology that allows fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen, not just in one particular spot, and the ability to scan multiple fingers simultaneously for more security.
There’s a chance we may see this kind of display in 2025, right when the Galaxy S25 should be announced and released. There’s no solid evidence so far, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
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 unreleased Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, though that won’t be officially announced until October 2024 during Snapdragon Summit. 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 Gen 4. Reports have indicated that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be a big improvement over the Gen 3, as it should reach 4GHz speeds, while the Gen 3 caps out at 3.3GHz. However, some reports in late July and early August claim that only the Galaxy S25 Ultra may get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. The base model S25 and S25 Plus could be using Samsung’s own in-house 3nm Exynos 2500 chip.
Regarding RAM, we should expect the standard Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus to have at least 8GB RAM, if not more. However, the S25 Ultra could be getting a significant boost in RAM, going from 12GB to 16GB. If that’s the case, perhaps the other two models could get a bump up to 12GB RAM, but we haven’t heard any solid rumors about that.
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.
The sensors will also be upgraded. 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.
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, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is quite power efficient, so if Samsung uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, then the S25 should also see excellent battery life.
