Samsung is coming off a strong year and will begin the new one with the launch of the new generation of Galaxy S phones – the S-series is a pillar for the company and its members rank among the best-selling Galaxy phones.
The Galaxy S24 series outsold the S23 series by 28% in early 2024. The vanilla model accounted for 27% of S24 units sold, moving ahead of the S24+. The S24 outsold its predecessor, the Galaxy S23, by around 8%.
Will the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 keep that momentum and become even more popular? There are some key improvements that will give it a boost. However, lack of upgrades in some areas will hamper its potential. Here is a look at everything we (think we) know about the Galaxy S25.
Coming this January
There is no official “save the date” from Samsung yet, but reports place the Galaxy S25 series announcement on January 22 or 23 (a confusion likely caused by time zone differences). This will lead into a short pre-order period ending on February 6/7 when open sales will begin (two weeks is the usual pre-order window).
Snapdragon returns
There have been multiple leaks suggesting the S25 series will use the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset globally. There are some reports that say otherwise, but at this point there is enough evidence to believe that Samsung is going all-in on Snapdragon for the whole S25 series, not just the Ultra.
The small Galaxy S25 is getting another upgrade – 12GB of RAM, finally! It was the last of Samsung’s flagships stuck on 8GB, even the Z Flip6 had 12GB.
Allegedly, the base storage will go up to 256GB, though this isn’t 100% certain as there are plenty of contradictory reports. This is less of a concern, since Samsung’s traditional pre-order offers include a free storage upgrade. Also since Galaxy S25’s chief rivals – Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro – also start at 128GB.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Geekbench result
Looks frozen in time
CAD renders of the Galaxy S25 show the familiar design that Samsung has used for the last few years. The design of the camera lenses might be a bit different, but you’ll have to point out what’s new to your friends if you don’t want them thinking that you have a Galaxy S24.
Samsung Galaxy S25 (speculative renders)
Samsung has managed to shave off fractions of a millimeter here and there: the Galaxy S25 will measure 146.9 x 70.4 x 7.2mm, compared to 147 x 70.6 x 7.6mm for the S24. This is in part thanks to slimmer bezels, but the difference might be too small to reliably detect with the naked eye.
According to leaks, the Samsung Galaxy S25 (and S25+) will be available in these colors: Blue, Black, Coral Red, Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Pink Gold and Silver Shadow. Other leaks have only shared a smaller color palette: Silver, Shadow, Navy, Mint, Iceblue. Keep in mind that there will be several Samsung.com exclusive colors, which could account for the difference.
SIM trays for the Galaxy S25 show the different case colors
The case material should be some version of Armor Aluminum.
Same battery, magnets optional
The Samsung Galaxy S25 is expected to have a 4,000mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging – the same as the S24. This is not to say there won’t be any upgrades, but they will be small. The S25 series will support Qi2 charging, though without directly implementing the Magnetic Power Profile.
Instead, Samsung will release Magnet Cases that will allow the phone to snap to chargers and (presumably) for magnetic accessories to snap to the phone.
Two third-party magnetic cases for the Galaxy S24
We’ve seen other Android makers elect to go this route too, instead of embedding the magnets into the phone. People who use their phone caseless will miss out. Plus, third-party case makers already sell magnet cases for older S-series phones. This leaves the Extended Power Profile as the only upgrade in the switch to Qi2, but in practice users won’t see any difference.
No changes to the screen and cameras
This section will be short – the Samsung Galaxy S25 is expected to have the same display as the S24 (6.2” FHD+ LTPO 120Hz), save for the thinner bezels we mentioned above and perhaps a new Gorilla Glass version.
The camera department will keep the 50MP main, 10MP 3x telephoto and 12MP ultra-wide for another year. This has been effectively unchanged since the S22. The selfie camera should be the same too at 12MP.
One UI is getting a new look and more AI
Samsung is one of the strongest proponents of AI on mobile and owners of recent S-phones have been using Galaxy AI for free. The “free” part might be coming to an end this year, at least for older models. However, Galaxy S25 buyers may get a free subscription to Gemini Advanced.
Google’s top tier plan normally costs $20 a month, which includes access to the most advanced Gemini models and 2TB of Google Drive. This will be a short-lived promo, however. S25 buyers will only get three months for free, while S25+ and S25 Ultra buyers will get six and twelve months, respectively.
The Galaxy S25 series will also be the first with stable One UI 7, which will incorporate a number of AI features. More importantly, it is also a major overhaul of Samsung’s UI design.
Same price
We haven’t heard from all markets, but leaked pricing info shows that the Samsung Galaxy S25 will cost the same as the S24 did last year. The leak specifically said that the price in Sweden will be the same as last year, so here is how much the S24 series cost at launch (we’ve also included the euro pricing, which should also remain the same). Note that this is for the 128GB model – we’re still not sure whether the “256GB base” rumors will prove true.
| Storage | Swedish price | German price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S24 | 128GB | SEK 11,490 | EUR 899 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24+ | 256GB | SEK 14,490 | EUR 1,149 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | 256GB | SEK 17,990 | EUR 1,449 |
As usual, this is a summary of leaks and rumors and may contain errors – the only way we will find out is live during the Galaxy Unpacked event later this month.
