Samsung Galaxy S25: latest news, rumors and everything we want to see
Samsung’s Galaxy S handsets consistently rank among the best phones of any given year, so they’re always a source of excitement. That’s why, even though the Samsung Galaxy S25 line is still several months away, we’re already looking ahead to what it might bring to the mobile table.
Plus, while Samsung’s latest phones – that’s the Samsung Galaxy S24, Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, Galaxy S24 Ultra – are undeniably superb, they also have room for improvement, as you’ll see in our Samsung Galaxy S24 review, our Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review and our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.
With that in mind, we’ve created a wish list of all the key upgrades we want from the Samsung Galaxy S25 line, as well as a list of the biggest rumors that have already emerged about these upcoming best Samsung phone contenders.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next non-foldable Samsung flagship
- When is it out? Probably early 2025
- How much will it cost? Likely upwards of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399
Samsung Galaxy S25: potential release date and price
Given that the Samsung Galaxy S24 line landed in January of this year, it’s likely that the Samsung Galaxy S25 series will launch in or around January of 2025. Certainly, we’d expect these phones early in 2025 anyway, as while Samsung sometimes launches new models in February, recent generations have always arrived early in the year.
These phones might be expensive though, as it’s likely that in at least some regions they’ll be powered by the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which itself is expected to have a price increase.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S24 starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, so that’s probably the absolute minimum you can expect to pay for the Galaxy S25. But if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 does cost more than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, then Samsung will probably pass that price rise on to consumers. And, of course, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will also cost more than the base model.
For reference, the Galaxy S24 Plus starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699, while the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199, so you’ll probably be paying that much or more for the next models.
Samsung Galaxy S25: news and leaks
With regards to the chipset set to power the Samsung Galaxy S25, things are a little unclear. Initially, it was thought that Samsung wanted to offer different chipsets in different regions with the Galaxy S25 line, as it did with the Galaxy S24 line.
Specifically, the company was reportedly planning to ship the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus with its own Exynos 2500 chipset in Europe, India and South Korea, while giving the US market Qualcomm’s as-yet-unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 across the board.
Then, it became clear that Samsung was struggling to meet production demands for the Exynos 2500, which led tipsters to believe that the company might use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset in every Galaxy S25 model, regardless of region.
Most recently, though, we’ve heard that Samsung is considering turning to MediaTek for help with Galaxy S25 chipset production, owing to the high price demanded by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. If indeed Samsung does pen a deal with MediaTek, it could mean that some Galaxy S25 models in Europe, India and South Korea are equipped with a MediaTek chip – presumably the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 – while others use Samsung’s own Exynos 2500.
As with the Galaxy S24 line, the US market will likely remain Qualcomm-exclusive across the board, and it’s also worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, specifically, looks set to be offered with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in every region.
In any case, whichever chipsets Samsung decides to use, it seems certain that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be significantly more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, with tipsters claiming that it might have a clock speed of up to 4GHz (up from 3.39GHz in the Gen 3 version used by the S24).
We’ve also heard that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 might support faster RAM, which could allow phones equipped with that chipset to handle more AI tasks on device.
In another post, @Tech_Reve also claimed that the Samsung Galaxy S25 will have “significant design changes.” So don’t count on these phones looking like the current models. It’s not yet clear what form these design changes might take, but one tipster has claimed on X that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could have a slightly larger screen that’s closer to 6.9 inches than the 6.8 inches of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. And the reputable Ice Universe has claimed that the Galaxy S24 Ultra could replace its sharp corners with new rounded edges, which could make it more comfortable to hold.
Across several other posts on X, @BennettBuhner has also claimed that the S25 line could have bigger batteries than its predecessors, and that the S25 Ultra could have a new 200MP main camera with a larger 1-inch sensor, plus an improved 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP 10x zoom telephoto camera, and a 50MP 3x-5x variable zoom telephoto camera. They note, however, that these are incredibly early leaks, so we’d take them with a pinch of salt.
Indeed, a more recent leak (and from a more reputable source) claims that the Samsung Galaxy S25 will have a 4,000mAh battery, just like its predecessor.
On the software front, Samsung has finally started offering seamless Android updates in its new phones, so presumably the Samsung Galaxy S25 will get this too.
Samsung Galaxy S25: what we want to see
The Samsung Galaxy S25 series could be even more impressive than the Galaxy S24 line, if Samsung makes the following changes.
1. A new design
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and its siblings all look quite a lot like their predecessors, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra even looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. So we’re hoping for some more substantial design changes with the Samsung Galaxy S25 line.
The good news is that big changes are rumored, though it’s unclear what form they’ll take. But a fresh new design would help build excitement for these upcoming phones, while staying the same could leave them feeling stale.
2. Improved AI
Samsung packed the Galaxy S24 line full of AI tools and features, but as our reviews attest, these features are a mix of cool and useless, and they can even cause performance problems.
The Galaxy S24 line also lacks some of the Google Pixel 8’s best AI tools, such as the ability to sharpen old, out of focus shots.
So for the Samsung Galaxy S25 we want more AI tools and improvements to the ones that are there.
3. Slicker software
Samsung loves to stuff its phones full of near endless features, but this has led to bloated, clunky software, with many of the best features – including AI tools – buried several layers deep in the settings menu.
This makes the phones complex and unintuitive to use, and it’s something we really want Samsung to improve for the Galaxy S25.
4. No chipset split
The Samsung Galaxy S24 has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset if you buy it in the US, but if you’re shopping for it in most other places then you’ll get an Exynos 2400. It’s the same deal with the Galaxy S24 Plus, though the S24 Ultra has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 everywhere.
With the Samsung Galaxy S25, we don’t want this split, as it means you essentially get a different phone depending on where in the world you are, and one chipset is inevitably better than the other.
Usually it’s the Snapdragon that’s better, so we’d ideally like to see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 used in all regions with the Galaxy S25, but we’d even take Exynos everywhere over different chipsets in different regions. At least that way it would be clearer to buyers which phone they’re getting, and whether the reviews they’ve read reflect what’s available to them.
5. The return of 10x zoom
One of the more surprising decisions Samsung made with the Galaxy S24 Ultra was replacing its predecessor’s 10x optical zoom with a 5x one. This wasn’t a terrible decision, as the sensor used was a better 50MP one (up from 10MP) and it still allowed for a 10x optical quality crop.
However, it did mean the S24 Ultra’s camera lost a lens that helped it stand out from rivals – a number of which have 5x zoom cameras of their own.
So we’d like to see the 10x zoom return to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but with an improved sensor and more megapixels, so that it can perhaps offer a 20x optical quality crop.
If Samsung also ups the number of megapixels in its 3x zoom camera then we could probably get a 5x crop from that. Or – as one leak suggests – the S25 Ultra might even have both a 10x telephoto and a variable optical zoom, that can switch between 3x and 5x.
Samsung’s Galaxy S handsets consistently rank among the best phones of any given year, so they’re always a source of excitement. That’s why, even though the Samsung Galaxy S25 line is still several months away, we’re already looking ahead to what it might bring to the mobile table. Plus, while…
