Samsung Galaxy S25 series rumors and leaks: Everything we know so far

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series launched in the middle of January 2024, arriving a little earlier in the year than the last couple of generations. Along with it, the company introduced Galaxy AI, a titanium frame, new camera tricks, and a number of other features. But now that the S24 launch has come and gone, it is time to start thinking about the next iteration in the series. How will the Galaxy S25 series set itself apart from its predecessor? What new features will Samsung come up with for the next generation? Will 2025 finally be the year we see a major shift in the Galaxy S’s design philosophy? Here, we’ll break down everything we know so far about the Galaxy S25.

Will there be a Samsung Galaxy S25?

Samsung releases a new Galaxy S series phone on an annual cadence, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop at the Galaxy S24. But if that’s not enough to convince you, there have already been plenty of leaks and rumors about the incoming family of handsets that we’ll get into later on. Obviously, nothing is official until Samsung announces it. The company could always suddenly decide to shut down development, but that is extremely unlikely given how profitable its smartphones are. We would say it’s less of a question of whether Samsung will release a Galaxy S25 and more of a question of when it will launch in 2025.

What is the most likely Samsung Galaxy S25 release date?

• Galaxy S22 — February 9, 2022
• Galaxy S23 — February 17, 2023
• Galaxy S24 — January 31, 2024

The Galaxy S24 lineup launched in January, so we’re still a fair distance away from the release of the Galaxy S25 series. As such, it will be a while before Samsung provides an official launch date for the device. As far as leaks and rumors are concerned, there’s not really anything on that front, either. Given the lack of information, we’ll have to speculate on what the date could be.

The South Korean-based firm usually launches its Galaxy S phones near the beginning of the year. For the last three years, the release date has fallen in the months of January and February. We assume Samsung will keep the same cadence for the S25. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait to find out the exact date.

What rumored specs and features could the Samsung Galaxy S25 have?

Even before the Galaxy S24 launched in January 2024, we were hearing rumors about the Galaxy S25. Now that it has been a while since the release of 2024’s Galaxy phones, the rumor mill for the S25 has picked up a lot of steam. These rumors and leaks span the gamut from the SoC to the design and more. Let’s take a moment to break down all of the available information.

Design

The design of the Galaxy S series has hardly changed in the last few generations, but we might finally be in store for something a little different with the next iteration. Leaker Revegnus (via SamMobile) said that Ilhwan Lee, a former Mercedes-Benz designer, has been tasked with making the Galaxy brand feel “fresh” and that design changes are expected.

With the release of Samsung’s 2024 flagship devices, the company introduced titanium to the Galaxy S line. There is reason to believe Samsung will continue to use the same metal in its next handset. The question, however, is whether the firm sticks with the same type of titanium that appeared in the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

In a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), the tipster claimed “I have doubts about the rumors of the Highest-Grade titanium in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.” In case you didn’t know, titanium comes in different grades. For example, Apple gave the iPhone 15 Pro series Grade 5 titanium, which is an alloy made of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, uses Grade 2 titanium, which is all titanium. The difference is that Grade 2 titanium is softer, cheaper, and easier to work with than the Grade 5 version. If PandaFlash is correct, then it looks like the tech giant may stay on the same path.

On March 19, 2024, a tipster who goes by Kro on X (formerly Twitter) posted a brief but interesting statement. That statement simply reads “S25 Series CAD Drawings in Development.” While these drawings have yet to leak, this would suggest Samsung is currently working on the design.

Another rumor, this one originating from a now-deleted social post from PandaFlash (via Android Headlines), suggests Samsung is testing four prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Although the tipster didn’t have renders of these prototypes, they did create mock-ups of what they thought the Ultra might look like based on their information.

According to the rumor, the main changes seem to revolve around the frame and bezels. We could see thinner bezels but the same frame as before, a thinner and flatter frame with slimmer bezels, thinner sides but a thicker top and bottom, or a thinner frame with rounded edges. Outside of that, it appears the front of the device will look mostly the same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Meanwhile, leaker Bennett Buhner claims that Samsung might increase the display size to something closer to 6.9 inches. This could mean that the device will be slightly bigger, but it could also just mean the screen has smaller bezels, giving it a slightly different aspect ratio.

The Ultra isn’t the only model rumored to see some design changes. Korean blogger yeux1122 has claimed on Naver that the base Galaxy S25’s screen size could grow by 0.16 inches, putting it at 6.36 inches. If this is true, it would be the second time in the last three generations that Samsung has increased the diagonal screen size of the base model.

Specs

One of the first pieces of information to leak about the S25 was the camera specs. Back in December 2023, tipster Revegnus claimed in a now-deleted post that the flagship series would get a 1-inch sensor with 0.8µm pixels, dual-pixel autofocus, and in-sensor crop zoom. While they didn’t specify which model the new sensor would be in, the leaker did say in another social post “The S25 and S25+ will no longer use the dreadful GN3 sensor.”

Samsung makes the GN3 sensor, so the Galaxy S series could use a Sony-made sensor instead of its own. The tipster also shared a camera roadmap that suggests that the wide-angle lens and folded telephoto lens will be upgraded with variable capabilities. Adding that the ultrawide angle lens will be upgraded to 50MP.

On a related note, Korean outlet ET News reported that Sony was planning to relocate some parts of its image sensor production process to South Korea. Although it doesn’t draw a direct line to Sony producing sensors for the S25 series, the report does mention that Samsung will use a mix of Sony sensors and its own in future smartphones.

Not much is currently known about the display outside of the rumor that the series could go bigger. However, Samsung has been working on next-generation OLED displays that would allow fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen, as well as open up the ability to scan multiple fingerprints simultaneously. At the time, the CEO of Isorg, Dieter May, predicted that Samsung would be ready to deliver these displays by 2025.

Samsung brought back its tradition of offering the Galaxy S series with a Snapdragon processor in selected markets and an Exynos chip for the rest of the world with the S24. There have been rumors suggesting Samsung could switch to an all-Exynos strategy in 2025, but a report from DigiTimes appears to contradict this possibility. This report suggests that Samsung will continue its two-pronged strategy with some regions getting a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC and others getting the Exynos 2500.

The tipster PandaFlash (via SamMobile) has also claimed that the Exynos 2500 will be built on Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm fabrication process. This new process is said to deliver improved power efficiency not only compared to the Exynos 2400, but also compared to the 3nm process Qualcomm will use for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

One rumor you’ll want to take with a pinch of salt is the suggestion that the Exynos 2500 will feature a dedicated AI accelerator built by Google. Samsung has been developing its own AI silicon for the last two generations, so Samsung suddenly deciding to work with Google would be an admission that its AI accelerator doesn’t cut it. However, Samsung and Google do have a history of working together, particularly with the development of the Tensor chip series and AI software like Galaxy AI.

Speaking of AI, a report popped up on April 17, 2024, saying Samsung executive Cho Cheol-min, MD at the company’s System LSI Division, confirmed that the Galaxy S25 series will run Gemini Nano 2. The executive also reportedly said that the company plans to double its workforce to develop on-device AI solutions for Exynos chips. This would seem to align with the rumor that the S25 series will be powered by a new Exynos 2500 processor featuring a dedicated AI accelerator made by Google.

If Samsung does continue its forked approach, it looks like the Galaxy S25 could get a nice speed boost. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that “Tongzi” — supposedly the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4’s codename — chips will hit 4GHz. This would be a notable improvement from the Gen 3 processor, which is capable of reaching 3.3GHz.

The power these new chips are rumored to have will likely result in them being more battery-hungry. Digital Chat Station on Weibo alleges that Samsung will compensate for this increased power draw by giving the next flagship bigger batteries. The tipster asserts that they have seen three 5,500mAh batteries that feature “customized high-density battery core materials.” A few days later, the leaker added in a new post that the batteries could even get close to 6,000mAh. Typically, most Android phones have batteries that range between 4,000mAh to 5,000mAh.

It’s possible Samsung could be planning to use stack technology for the battery in the S25 series, according to a report from The Elec. This tech is commonly used in electric vehicles, but it appears Samsung’s research and development department is considering bringing it over to smartphones. Stacking refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged, which can lead to a higher energy capacity inside a smaller volume. According to the report, the arrangement could provide a 10% improvement in energy density.

Although signs seem to hint that the Galaxy S25 series could have either a larger or higher-capacity battery, another rumor claims the opposite. A leaker we’re not too familiar with, Sawyer Galox, claims the S25 Ultra will have a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging. That post was followed up with another one alleging that Samsung was planning to give the S25 Ultra a stacked battery with 65W charging, but now the company is saving it for the S26 Ultra to keep prices down.

Meanwhile, in a reply to a social post from Samsung, tipster Ice Universe claims that the base Galaxy S25 will once again have 8GB of RAM. Presumably, the leaker is suggesting that only 8GB of RAM will be available, regardless of the configuration. If true, this would mean the S25 will have the same amount of memory as Samsung gave the S24 and S23.

While it is possible we won’t see a change in the amount of memory, the storage story could be different. Samsung Semiconductor released a roadmap for the next generation of UFS. That roadmap states the company will release UFS 4.0 4-lane CS in 2025 before jumping to UFS 5.0 in 2027.

Based on the roadmap, UFS 4.0 4-lane CS will double the read/write rates of the current UFS 4.0 standard. The additional speed will provide a number of benefits, like faster load times and more efficient on-device AI applications.

What might the Samsung Galaxy S25 price be?

• 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)

When it comes to price, Samsung has stayed fairly consistent over recent years. For the last three years, in fact, the base and Plus models have remained at $799 and $999, respectively. The only price change that happened during this time span was with the Ultra model, which went up by $100 in 2024. The good news is there’s not enough information to suggest there will be a price increase for any model. On the other hand, the bad news is there’s also not enough information to suggest Samsung won’t implement a price bump. If we had to guess, however, we believe the cost will be the same as it was in 2024.

Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S25?

Unless you’re deadset on getting the latest and greatest from Samsung, there’s not really any reason to wait. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 ($859.99 at Amazon), Galaxy S24 Plus ($1119.99 at Amazon), and Galaxy S24 Ultra ($1419.99 at Amazon) can likely serve all of your needs. The exception to that is if you’re not in immediate need of a new phone or if the S25 launch is only weeks away.

Not to mention, if you want an Android phone, you have your choice of perfectly capable handsets that range anywhere from premium to budget-tier and everything in between. For example, the Google Pixel 8 Pro ($999 at Amazon) is a solid device that has great cameras and neat AI features powered by Gemini. There’s also the Nothing Phone 2 ($699 at Amazon) if you want a flagship smartphone that won’t hurt your wallet.