Ahead of its 2025 launch, this is the information we’ve gathered about Samsung’s high-end flagship.
Samsung has already set its sights on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, even as the Galaxy S24 launch from January still lingers fresh in our minds. Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S25 Ultra are beginning to surface, teasing what could be an exciting addition to Samsung’s flagship lineup. With limited information available currently, anticipation is building for what Samsung has in store for their next big phone release. The momentum of speculations is only expected to grow stronger in the months ahead.
Following their dedication to Galaxy AI features in the latest phones, Samsung is anticipated to sustain this focus with the upcoming Galaxy S25 series, notably the Ultra model. Early whispers suggest that Samsung is prioritizing camera enhancements, aiming to set a new benchmark for top-tier camera performance in the smartphone market.
In the ever-evolving realm of rumors, it’s still too premature to pinpoint the exact arrival date of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. With Samsung’s spotlight on the upcoming July 10 event for the launch of new foldable phones, the anticipation for the S25 only intensifies. While a tentative early 2025 release timeframe has been suggested, the actual unveiling remains shrouded in uncertainty.
In a noticeable trend, Samsung has progressively advanced the release schedule for the Galaxy S series over the past years, departing from the traditional February/March debut. This shift was most apparent during this year’s Galaxy S24 release, marked by an unprecedented January 17 Galaxy Unpacked event followed by the S24 models hitting the shelves on January 31.
Considering the possibility of an even earlier release of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, there’s a potential clash with CES 2025—an event typically dedicated to Samsung’s TV and smart home offerings. Therefore, the most plausible scenario would see another mid-January Galaxy Unpacked event showcasing Samsung’s latest lineup of smartphones.
Samsung recently upgraded the frame of the Galaxy S24 Ultra to titanium, suggesting a similar feature for the S25 model might not be anticipated. The brand has maintained a consistent design pattern for recent Ultras, positioning the cameras in vertical rows at the back, with lenses protruding slightly. It seems that this design is likely to continue, although leaked CAD renders expected in the upcoming months will provide conclusive evidence.
Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S25 suggest potential changes, such as an increase in the display size of the entry-level model to 6.36 inches, up from 6.2 inches on the Galaxy S24. Another rumor hints at the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s screen possibly expanding to 6.9 inches from the current 6.8 inches, although the reliability of this information is uncertain.
Several phone manufacturers, including Samsung, have been in a race to enhance the maximum brightness of their devices’ displays. Samsung boosted the peak brightness of the Galaxy S24 Ultra to 2,600 nits, following the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 1,750 nits. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Galaxy S25 Ultra pushes this boundary even further.
Notable leaks suggest that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could feature a more curved design compared to recent Ultras, although the front might remain flat. Additionally, the device could potentially become the thinnest Ultra yet, with a thickness of 8.4 mm, reminiscent of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Despite this slim profile, the wider display on the S25 Ultra might improve handling ease.
The Ultra model is known for its exceptional camera features, with Samsung favoring a 200MP main sensor and a 100MP Space Zoom feature. Anticipate a potential upgrade to this setup next year, as early rumors about the Galaxy S25 Ultra camera indicate. A leak suggests that the wide-angle lens on the Galaxy S25 Ultra could receive an unspecified enhancement, while the ultrawide lens may see a significant jump from a 12MP sensor to a 50MP sensor on the new device.
The same leaker who accurately predicted the upgraded 50MP telephoto lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra before its release now hints at “variable capabilities” for the telephoto lens on the S25 Ultra. This feature could involve interchangeable focal lengths between 4-5x zoom and 6-7x zoom, resulting in smoother zoom transitions, especially during video recording.
Though there are talks of Samsung experimenting with a prototype that eliminates the second telephoto lens, potentially reducing the total to three camera lenses on the S25 Ultra, another rumor suggests that a 3x crop zoom feature could be introduced from the main lens instead.
While the standard Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus may see minimal changes in their camera setups compared to their predecessors, speculation around the Galaxy S25 Ultra points to potential upgrades for the ultrawide and second telephoto lens sensors, both potentially being enhanced to 50MP sensors. This would mean both telephoto cameras on the S25 Ultra would feature 50MP zoom lenses with zoom capabilities of 3x and 5x.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is likely to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset, following the utilization of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The upcoming release aligns with Qualcomm’s confirmation of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 debut in October, hinting at an early 2025 launch for Samsung’s device. Initial benchmarks for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 have surfaced, showcasing promising performance that rivals the A18 Bionic-powered iPhone based on leaked Geekbench scores. With rumors suggesting a 4.3GHz prime core for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, a significant power increase poses a challenge for Samsung and Qualcomm to efficiently integrate the chipset into the mobile device while preventing overheating issues. A reliable rumor indicates that the Galaxy S25 lineup is expected to feature a combination of Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Exynos 2500 chipsets, similar to the setup used in the Galaxy S24. If Samsung continues in the footsteps of the Galaxy S24, this would mean that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is likely to remain exclusively with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, while the S25 and S25 Plus variants may incorporate the Exynos chip in specific cases. This distinction holds significance since our Galaxy S24 benchmarks suggested that the Exynos-powered models slightly trailed behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 devices.
Fortunately, there are indications that the Exynos 2500 chip could be more efficient due to its new architecture. Therefore, the possibility of it being utilized in the Ultra model may not be as unfavorable as initially thought.
Additionally, there are rumors that Samsung could opt for a MediaTek chip for certain Galaxy S25 models. Although this remains speculative without further substantiation, it is unlikely that the Galaxy S25 Ultra would be one of the models equipped with this silicon.
A new rumor suggests that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is set to receive a speed upgrade to faster UFS 4.1, potentially enhancing the phone’s performance significantly. This improvement appears exclusive to the S25 Ultra model, making it an even more appealing choice. With the upgraded speed, the device would not only support on-device AI functions but also enable features like direct 4K video recording to a storage drive, similar to the functionality of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Additionally, rumors point to a potential increase in RAM capacity for the Ultra model, possibly up to 16GB compared to the current 12GB in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This boost in RAM will prove beneficial for tasks such as multitasking and accommodating AI-related operations.
Regarding battery life, while uncertainties remain about Samsung’s ability to fit a larger power pack than the 5,000 mAh battery seen in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, previous performance indicates promising endurance. Although speculations suggest that the same 5,000 mAh battery and 45W charging speed will carry over to the S25 Ultra, advancements in GPU efficiency could still lead to potential battery life enhancements. The size of the battery might be growing to accommodate the power requirements of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, according to another report. Therefore, even with a potential capacity boost, there may not be an observable improvement in actual battery life due to the chipset’s power demands.
When the Galaxy S25 Ultra is released, Android 15 will have already been launched, with the second developer preview currently available. It is expected that the Galaxy S25 lineup will also receive seven years of software support like the Galaxy S24.
Additionally, anticipation is high for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to introduce more Galaxy AI features similar to those introduced with the S24 series. Details on these new features are still unknown, including whether some will be exclusive to the premium Ultra model. Notably, the Galaxy S24 offered the same Galaxy AI features across all three models, allowing even the entry-level S24 to perform tasks on par with the top-tier Ultra.
Samsung executives have hinted at a potential Galaxy AI update, with discussions led by Won-Joon Choi, Samsung’s executive vice president of the mobile division, exploring the potential of enhancing the Bixby personal assistant with generative AI capabilities.
Apart from AI improvements, rumors of satellite connectivity are making their way to the Galaxy S25 lineup. With the feature already seen in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series, it seems plausible for Samsung to incorporate this technology into its devices as well.
