Samsung is having a strong year and will mark a fresh start 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.
Sales of the Galaxy S24 series were 28% higher than the S23 series in early 2024. The vanilla model accounted for 27% of S24 units sold, ahead of the S24+. The S24 outsold its predecessor, the Galaxy S23, by about 8%.
Will the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 maintain that momentum and become even more popular? There are some key reforms that will boost this. However, the lack of upgrades in some areas will hamper its potential. Here’s a look at everything we (think) we know about the Galaxy S25.
coming this january
There’s no official “save the date” from Samsung yet, but reports have the Galaxy S25 series being announced on January 22 or 23 (confusion likely due to time zone differences). This will trigger a short pre-order period ending on February 6/7 when open sales begin (two weeks is the normal pre-order window).
snapdragon returns
Several leaks have emerged suggesting that the S25 series will use the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset globally. There are some reports that say otherwise, but at this point there’s enough evidence to believe that Samsung is going completely Snapdragon for the entire S25 series, not just the Ultra.
The smaller Galaxy S25 is getting another upgrade – 12GB RAM, finally! This was Samsung’s last flagship that was stuck at 8GB, even the Z Flip6 had 12GB.
Reportedly, the base storage will go up to 256GB, although this is not 100% certain as there are a lot of conflicting reports. This is of less concern, as Samsung’s traditional pre-order offer includes a free storage upgrade. Additionally, the Galaxy S25’s main rivals – the Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro – also start at 128GB.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Geekbench results
feeling frozen in time
The CAD renders of the Galaxy S25 show the familiar design that Samsung has been using for the past few years. The design of the camera lens may be slightly different, but you’ll have to tell your friends what’s new if you don’t want them to think you have a Galaxy S24.
Samsung Galaxy S25 (approximate 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 7.2 mm, compared to 147 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm for the S24. This is due in part to the thinner bezels, but the difference may be too small to reliably detect with the naked eye.
According to the leak, 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 only share a small color palette: silver, shadow, navy, mint, iceblue. Keep in mind that Samsung.com will have many specific colors, which may cause differences.
SIM trays for Galaxy S25 show 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 doesn’t mean there won’t be any upgrades, but they will be smaller. The S25 series will support Qi2 charging, although without directly implementing the magnetic power profile.
Instead, Samsung will release a Magnet Case that will allow the phone to be connected to a charger and (possibly) magnetic accessories to the phone.
Two third-party magnetic cases for the Galaxy S24
We’ve seen other Android manufacturers also choose to take this route, instead embedding magnets in the phone. Those who use their phones caseless will be missing out. Additionally, third-party case manufacturers already sell magnet cases for older S-series phones. This leaves the extended power profile as the only upgrade from switching to Qi2, but in practice users won’t notice any difference.
No change in screen and camera
This section will be shorter – the Samsung Galaxy S25 is expected to have the same display as the S24 (6.2” FHD+ LTPO 120Hz), except for the thinner bezels 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 remained effectively unchanged since the S22. Selfie camera should also be 12MP.
One UI is getting a facelift and more AI
Samsung is one of the strongest proponents of AI on mobile and owners of recent S-phones have been able to access Galaxy AI for free. The “free” part may end this year, at least for older models. However, Galaxy S25 buyers can get a free subscription to Gemini Advanced.
Google’s top-tier plan typically costs $20 per month, which includes the most advanced Gemini model and access to 2TB of Google Drive. However, this will be a short-term promo. S25 buyers will only get three months free, while S25+ and S25 Ultra buyers will get six and twelve months, respectively.
The Galaxy S25 series will be the first with the stable One UI 7, which will include several AI features. More importantly, it is also a major change to Samsung’s UI design.
same price
We haven’t heard from all markets, but leaked pricing information suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S25 will be priced the same as last year’s S24. The leak specifically states that pricing in Sweden will be the same as last year, so here’s how much the S24 series will cost at launch (we’ve also included Euro pricing, which should remain the same). Note that this is for the 128GB model – we’re still not sure if the “256GB base” rumors will prove true.
| storage | swedish price | german price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S24 | 128gb | SK 11,490 | EUR 899 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24+ | 256 GB | SK 14,490 | EUR 1,149 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | 256 GB | SK 17,990 | EUR 1,449 |
As always, this is a summary of leaks and rumors and may contain errors – the only way we’ll know is when it goes live during the Galaxy Unpacked event later this month.
