Samsung Galaxy S25: news, rumored price, release date, and more

Two Samsung Galaxy S24 units standing upright next to each other.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Joe Maring / Digital Trends

While Samsung releases a slew of phones every year, its flagship is the Galaxy S-series. In January 2024, we got the Galaxy S24 lineup, which is only several months old at this point. But we don’t expect Samsung to stop with that — next year should give us an even better Galaxy S25 family of devices.

It’s still pretty early to even think about the Galaxy S25 series, but the rumor mill never stops. Here’s everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S25.

Samsung Galaxy S25: release date

Samsung executive TM Roh
Dr. TM Roh at Galaxy Unpacked 2021 Samsung

Historically, Samsung has always launched its flagship S-series smartphones at the beginning of the year. This typically means between January and March.

For the Galaxy S24, it came a little earlier than its predecessors. There have been no solid leads on when to expect the Galaxy S25, so let’s take a look at the past few years of announcements:

Galaxy S22: Announced February 9, 2022, released February 25, 2022

Galaxy S23: Announced February 1, 2023, released February 17, 2023

Galaxy S24: Announced January 17, 2024, released January 31, 2024

Based on previous announcements and releases, we think that the Galaxy S25 will be unveiled in either January or February, or March at the latest. Again, there are no leads on the next release window, so we can only guesstimate for now.

Samsung Galaxy S25: price

Samsung logo sign at the Mobile World Congress.
David Ramos / Getty Images

Samsung has remained pretty consistent in pricing for its devices, at least with the base and Plus models of the Galaxy S family. Let’s take a look at what we’ve seen in the past:

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)

For the base and Plus models, the prices have consistently remained at $799 and $999, respectively, for the past three years. However, Samsung did bump up the price of the Galaxy S24 Ultra by $100 from previous years while keeping the base storage the same (though it has more RAM).

It’s unlikely that we’ll see a price bump again for the Galaxy S25 family, though we won’t know for sure until we get closer to the phones’ release.

Samsung Galaxy S25: design

A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Galaxy S24 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

For the most part, the design of the Galaxy S series has not changed all that much in the past few years. However, the Galaxy S25 may shake things up.

In December 2023, leaker Revengus posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Ilhwan Lee (a former designer at Mercedes-Benz and current Design Team Leader of Samsung’s MX division) has been given the task of redefining the Galaxy brand and provide a “fresh” feel. That means that we should expect significant changes in design from the S25 onward.

With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung began using titanium in the body, similar to what Apple did with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. We should expect the S25 Ultra, at least, to continue using titanium. It’s unknown if Samsung has plans to implement titanium in the base and Plus versions.

A report from Android Headlines in March 2024 revealed that Samsung has been testing four different prototypes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Some renders of what these prototypes could have looked like were also included.

Rendered prototypes of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra display.
@PandaFlash/X

Overall, the renders of the prototypes look similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, though we can only see the front of the device. The first one looks like the S24 Ultra but with thinner bezels. The second render appears to have a flatter frame with very thin bezels all around. The third one shows off thinner left and right bezels but thicker ones on the top and bottom. The fourth and last render has a thinner frame with rounded frame edges.

Though these renders are all different, they’re basically just a variation of a singular design. But again, they only show off the front, so we don’t know how the sides or back will look. Until we see CAD-based renders, the design remains an enigma.

Other rumors have suggested that the S25 Ultra could have more rounded corners compared to the sharper ones on the S24 Ultra we have today. The boxy design will still be there, but having rounded corners would make the phone slightly more comfortable in the hand.

Popular leaker Ice Universe on X posted in late June that the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s rounded corners could be similar to the Galaxy Note 7. They also indicated that the body will be about 8.4mm thick, which would be the thinnest Ultra model in recent years.

There haven’t been many rumors about design changes for the base Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus. But we might see a slight increase in size for the regular S25, as the screen may be 0.16 inches larger, making it 6.36 inches instead of 6.2 inches.

Samsung Galaxy S25: display

Samsung galaxy S24 Ultra display.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra display Prakhar Khanna / Digital Trends

Again, the rumor mill is fairly light on specifics about displays for the Galaxy S25 series. But as mentioned earlier, we may see another small bump in overall display size, at least for the standard Galaxy S25.

Another report from Android Authority suggests that Samsung is working on next-generation OLED displays that could possibly make an appearance on the S25 line. This new OLED display features technology that allows fingerprint scanning anywhere on the screen and not just in one particular spot, as well as the ability to scan multiple fingers simultaneously for more security.

There’s a chance we may see this kind of display in 2025, which would be when the Galaxy S25 would be announced and released, but there’s no solid evidence so far.

Samsung Galaxy S25: performance and software

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S Pen stylus on its screen.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Samsung has relied on Qualcomm’s chips for the last few years while also using its own Exynos chips in certain regions. Currently, the S24 series uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chips for all three S24 phones sold in the U.S. In other markets, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus use the Exynos 2400 chip.

We should expect the Galaxy S25 to continue using Qualcomm chips, specifically the unreleased Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. However, there may be some changes coming too.

It’s been reported that Samsung may be adding a third chip to the mix. While Galaxy S-series phones in the U.S. traditionally use Snapdragon chips, other regions get Exynos ones instead. But with the Galaxy S25, Samsung could introduce phones with MediaTek chips.

It’s all up in the air for now, but based on what we’ve seen from the past few iterations, the main chip should still be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Reports have indicated that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will be a big improvement over the Gen 3, as it should reach 4GHz speeds, while the Gen 3 caps out at 3.3GHz.

According to Ice Universe, the base Galaxy S25 should have 8GB RAM, the same amount of RAM that is currently in the Galaxy S24. If Samsung follows that trend, then the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra may have more RAM — at least 12GB.

The Galaxy S25 will be released after Android 15 launches, so we should see Android 15 running on all S25 smartphones. That would also mean Samsung has One UI 7 layered on top. Samsung also has a four-year guarantee of software upgrade support, which should also apply to the S25 line.

Samsung Galaxy S25: cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Orange and in Titanium Silver.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Galaxy S25 Ultra may see some nice improvements for the cameras.

Samsung will reportedly continue with the 200-megapixel main camera lens and 50MP periscope telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. However, rather than keeping the 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, it could switch to a new 50MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Similarly, the ultrawide camera could be upgraded to a 50MP lens.

The sensors will also be upgraded. Leaker Sperandio4Tech on X said that the ultrawide lens would have “a new version of the 1/2.76-inch JN1 sensor.” The 3x telephoto lens should also get a better 1/3-inch Isocell sensor. Both of these upgraded sensors should mean improved resolution.

In late June, Samsung announced three new camera sensors coming to future devices — one of which we suspect will be the main camera in the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus. The sensor is called the “GNJ,” and it’s a 50MP sensor that looks very similar to the one in the S24 and S24 Plus. So far, it looks like the biggest hardware upgrade is better efficiency in preview mode and with 4K video at 60 fps.

Samsung Galaxy S25: battery life

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Gray with S Pen on side showing battery levels.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

According to a report from The Elec, Samsung is testing a new battery stacking method. This method is commonly used in electric vehicles, but Samsung could be working on bringing this technology to smartphones. The stacking method refers to the way cells in the battery are arranged. It could have higher energy capacity in a smaller volume.

Other than that, we don’t have a lot of news about the battery life on the Galaxy S25 line aside from the base model. It’s suggested that the S25 may have the same 4,000mAh capacity that you’ll find in the S24. Of course, those who may have been hoping for a larger battery capacity may be disappointed. But the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is quite power efficient, so if Samsung uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, then the S25 should also see great battery life as well.