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Samsung Galaxy S25 series rumors and leaks: Everything we know so far
Update: September 22, 2024 (12:52 PM ET): We’ve updated our Galaxy S25 series rumor hub with a leaked codename for the series.
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 Galaxy 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 design philosophy? Here, we’ll break down everything we know so far about the Galaxy S25.
Samsung Galaxy S25: At a glance
- When is it expected to come out? We're still waiting on an official announcement. However, Samsung's Galaxy S series phones tend to release at the beginning of the year. We expect the Galaxy S25 series to launch sometime between January and March of 2025.
- What new features could there be? There are no definitive answers yet, but a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip is expected. Rumors also suggest new cameras, faster storage, and an increase in display size.
- How much might it cost? We won't know the true cost of each model until Samsung makes an announcement. However, it wouldn't be surprising if the company sticks with its current pricing of $799 (base), $999 (Plus), and $1,299 (Ultra).
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.
To help bolster our confidence, we recently spotted a leaked codename for the Galaxy S25 series: “paradigm.” This adds fuel to the fire that we’re expecting the Galaxy S25 series to land on schedule.
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 expected 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 need to speculate on what the date could be.
The South Korea-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 Galaxy S25. Unfortunately, we’ll need 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 next year’s phones 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.
Galaxy S25 models
It stands to reason that the Galaxy S25 series will consist of the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. After all, Samsung has used this naming convention since the Galaxy S20 series.
Tipster Yogesh Brar made a rather interesting claim on August 16, though. The leaker claimed that Samsung could be thinking about a name change for the Plus and Ultra models. More specifically, Brar asserted that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could become the Galaxy S25 Note, while the S25 Plus could become the S25 Pro.
We’ve previously seen Apple offer the iPhone 15 Pro, which has more features than the iPhone 15 Plus. So we’re guessing an S25 Pro could be a more feature-packed offering than an S25 Plus. But this is just a rumor for now, so you shouldn’t hold your breath for this change. As of now, we’re still confident there will be vanilla, Plus, and Ultra models in the Galaxy S25 lineup.
Design
The design of the Galaxy S series has hardly changed in the last few generations. That’s why we were excited when leaker Revegnus 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.
Despite this news, in September, reliable tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) shared a look at what the Galaxy S25 Ultra could look like, and…it’s very similar to the past three years. The renders disclosed by the leaker do showcase a slightly new design that more resembles Sony’s Xperia flagships, but it’s hardly an overhaul:
The device appears to have flat sides and rounded corners, and Samsung’s signature camera setup is on the back. That said, tipster Ice Universe claims we may still see some changes to the texture of the camera setup shown in the leaked renders. Do note that details like the camera lens housing can be changed fairly easily late in the development stage.
Meanwhile, more leaks from Hemmertoffer and Android Headlines have given us possible glimpses into the designs of the standard Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus models. As per the leaks, the standard S25 appears to be getting a size reduction across the board compared to its predecessor, the S24. The rumored dimensions are 146.9 x 70.4 x 7.2mm, which is noticeably smaller than the S24’s 147 x 70.6 x 7.6mm dimensions. Interestingly, this shrinkage doesn’t seem to impact the display size, which is expected to remain around 6.17 inches and likely marketed as 6.2 inches.
There are a couple of other noteworthy tweaks. The camera setup is now rumored to feature rings around the lenses, similar to what we’ve seen in leaked renders of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Additionally, the bezels appear to be getting slimmer, while the flat sides are here to stay for another year. We can expect the Galaxy S25 Plus to also come with the same aesthetics with a slightly bigger screen size, as seen in Hemmerstoffer’s renders below:
Tipster Ice Universe also posted images comparing mock-ups of the Galaxy S25 Ultra to the Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16 Pro Max. This gives us a better idea of the thickness of Samsung’s phones. The leaker also posted images comparing the S25 Ultra to the S24 Ultra, revealing a thinner and lighter metal frame for the new phone.
Strangely enough, the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus are tipped to offer rather curious individual camera cutouts that look a bit like Super Mario warp pipes. We do have concerns about lint and dust gathering under the lip of these cutouts. Check it out in the Ice Universe image above.
Cameras
One of the first pieces of information to leak about the S25 Ultra was the camera specs. Early rumors were very conflicted, with some claiming massive overhauls (such as going with a simple, triple-lens setup) and a big upgrade for the primary 200MP lens. However, as the year has gone on, most of those early rumors have been shot down. The most recent info points to a few upgrades for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but not a complete overhaul.
Ice Universe posted a load of apparent Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specs on Weibo on May 27. They claimed that the Ultra phone would stick with a 200MP main camera and 50MP 5x periscope telephoto zoom but would switch to a 50MP ultrawide lens. Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t see a 50MP 3x telephoto camera to match, as the tipster says the Ultra phone will retain the current 3x 10MP telephoto lens.
Leaker Sperandio4Tech also posted info on sensor upgrades for those two upgraded lenses. Allegedly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultrawide lens could get “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” Meanwhile, the 3x telephoto lens could get “a new 1/3-inch Isocell sensor.”
The Galaxy S25 Ultra could offer upgraded 3x and ultrawide cameras, according to one significant leak.
On June 27, we finally got a closer look at what is likely to be the sensor for the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as the company announced several new sensors, but it was the ISCOELL GNJ that caught our eye. The GNJ has a sensor that’s roughly on par with the main camera sensor in the S24 and S24 Plus at 1/1.57 inches versus the 1/1.56-inch sensor found on the two S24 handsets. The new sensor also sports one-micron pixels, much like the sensor used on the S24 and S24 Plus.
Processors
Some of the biggest Galaxy S25 rumors so far have related to the processors. 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. This was after the much-welcome shift in 2023 of abandoning Exynos and offering Snapdragon processors for all handsets around the world.
In September 2024, a Korean outlet reported that the Galaxy S25 series would exclusively use Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chips, marking possible good news for folks who don’t like the Exynos/Snapdragon split. The website also suggested that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 for Galaxy chip is “specialized” for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This is the most recent and reliable info we have.
It's possible we could see a return to all-Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S25 phones in 2025.
If Samsung does go all-in on Snapdragon, it looks like the Galaxy S25 could get a nice speed boost. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that chips will hit 4GHz. This would be a notable improvement from the Gen 3 processor, which is capable of reaching 3.3GHz.
However, a conflicting report says Samsung is hoping to improve its Exynos 2500 chip yields so it can once again offer multiple chip configurations depending on the market. Furthermore, at least one leak claims the company could also utilize a MediaTek Dimensity SoC for select models. This seems less likely and it’s important to mention the sourcing is a bit questionable with this one, so a grain of salt is necessary. Still, it seems likely Samsung isn’t happy paying Qualcomm’s high pricing for its chips and is actively looking for other options.
Other specs
Moving on to the display, not much is currently known about display specs 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.
On to battery specs, 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.
Meanwhile, a report from GalaxyClub says the standard Galaxy S25 could have the same 4,000mAh capacity as the Galaxy S24. This isn’t bad news, but it might be disappointing for anyone hoping to eke out a bit more juice from the Galaxy S25. As for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, tipster Digital Chat Station says to expect a 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging. This was later confirmed through a Chinese regulatory listing, which shows that the phone supports 45W charging with 15V and 3A specifications. The same listing also suggests that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could feature satellite connectivity, something that was anticipated on the Galaxy S24 but never happened. What about the Galaxy S25 Plus? Well, GalaxyClub reports that you can expect the same 4,900mAh capacity as the S24 Plus.
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. However, the latest Android Headlines report strongly suggests that the base Galaxy S25 model will start with 12GB of RAM this year, possibly to allow for better handling of AI tasks.
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 pricing, 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 that there’s also not enough information to suggest that 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.
To add some weight behind our claim that we won’t see price increases, Apple’s prices for the iPhone 16 series — an accepted rubric for Samsung’s pricing — remained unchanged this year. This heavily suggests we won’t see changes from Samsung for Galaxy S25 pricing, at least in the US.
Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S25?
Unless you’re dead set on getting the latest and greatest from Samsung, there’s not really any reason to wait. The exception to that is if you’re not in immediate need of a new phone. In that case, it might be worth waiting to see how the Galaxy S25 series pans out.
If you need something now, 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 your needs. Likewise, you have your choice of perfectly capable non-Samsung handsets that range anywhere from premium to budget-tier and everything in between. For example, the Google Pixel 9 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.