Samsung usually unveils a new Galaxy smartphone at the beginning of each year and, indeed, has announced a Galaxy Unpacked event for January 22.
Unsurprisingly, the rumor mill is full of speculation about the S25’s looks, features, cameras and pricing. One that has sparked a lot of interest is the possible introduction of a new “Slim” model, something Apple is said to be considering for the iPhone 17 as well.
Until Samsung executives take the stage at Unpacked on the 22nd, here’s what insiders and broadcasters think the Korean phone giant has in store.
When will Samsung reveal the Galaxy S25?
Samsung announced that it will hold Galaxy Unpacked 2025 on January 22. The event is scheduled about a week later than the 2024 event. It is set to take place in San Jose, CA.
The event begins at 10 a.m. PT and will be streamed live on Samsung.com and the company’s YouTube channel.
Galaxy S25 Design and Display
In September, Android Headlines published images of the base model S25, which showed that Samsung could use flatter edges and rounded corners. Earlier this month, noted leaker Ice Universe backed up the claim in an X post.
Another image posted by Ice Universe in October hints at extremely thin bezels for all three models. According to Android Headlines, these thinner bezels won’t necessarily result in bigger screens — instead, they could make the phone’s overall profile smaller and lighter.
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While the screen size for the S25 Ultra may remain around 6.8 inches, the weight may only be 7.73 ounces, less than the S24 Ultra (8.18 ounces) and the iPhone 16 Pro Max (8.0 ounces). For the regular S25, the screen size may remain at 6.17 inches and be marketed as 6.2 inches. And for the S25+, it could be 6.7 inches.
Surprisingly, not much has been said about the display panel itself. Samsung faced backlash for washed-out colors on the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display, and display analyst Ross Young said in October that Samsung would likely continue to use the same M13 OLED panel in the S25 to keep costs under control. Like Young, Android Police has reported that Samsung will likely continue with its 2X WQHD, 120Hz AMOLED displays from last year. Competing flagships like the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16 Pro already use Samsung’s latest M14 OLED panels.
On the back, the cameras for the S25 Ultra are expected to get thicker rings around the lens, like on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Inside, all three phones are also expected to have magnets that support MagSafe charging and tons of magnetic accessories. Samsung may not be able to use the term “MagSafe” as it is trademarked by Apple, but it can use the basic mechanisms.
Regarding color options, Young tips that the S25 and 25+ can come in Silver Shadow, Navy, Icy Blue, Mint, Blue Black, Pink Gold and Coral Red, and the S25 Ultra can come in seven titanium colors: black, silver blue, grey, white silver, jet black, green jade and rose gold.
Galaxy S25 performance
Samsung has used Qualcomm chips in its flagships for quite some time, so the S25 series is expected to get the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chips. Android Police reports that the chip will be called Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy and will be a slightly overclocked version of Qualcomm’s default 8 Elite chip. It is expected to significantly improve the speed, efficiency and artificial intelligence of the device.
While there were reports that the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip could only be reserved for the S25 Ultra, Ice Universe says that all S25 units worldwide will use the 8 Elite chip. This is great news for Samsung fans as outside of North America, the company has sold the S24 and S24 Plus units with an Exynos chipset while retaining the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for the S24 Ultra.
Samsung is also expected to increase the RAM on all models to better handle the Galaxy AI. The S25 and S25 Plus can have at least 12GB of RAM, while the S25 Ultra can support up to 16GB for select markets. Storage options for the Ultra may continue to be 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.
As for software and UI, the S25 series will almost certainly come with One UI 7 and Android 15 out of the box. In a press release published in December, Samsung confirmed that its latest user interface will “be supported on future Galaxy S series devices.”
When it comes to other features, Bixby is expected to have AI capabilities, just like Siri with Apple Intelligence. Samsung even released a teaser video that hints at what its voice assistant might be able to do. The devices can also get collision detection, something Apple and Google already offer on their phones.
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Galaxy S25 cameras
Cameras have always been a big talking point for Samsung flagships and it will be no different after the launch of the S25 series.
Ice Universe claims that the S25 Ultra will retain the 200MP main camera, 50MP telephoto camera with 5x zoom, and 10MP telephoto camera with 3x zoom, but will upgrade the ultra-wide camera to 50MP (from 12MP on the S24 Ultra).
Samsung announced new camera sensors in June, but rumors suggest that the company may not use them in the S25 series. Sadly, there haven’t been any solid leaks about the cameras for the S25 and S25 Plus, so we might have to wait a little longer or just find out early.
Galaxy S25 battery
Samsung may bring EV battery pack technology to its S25 series, according to Korean outlet Elec. This technology can allow the anode, cathode and other components to be stacked on top of each other to make the battery compact and increase its energy density.
Battery capacity is expected to remain the same: the S25 will have a 4,000 mAh battery, the S25+ will have a 4,900 mAh battery and the Ultra will have a 5,000 mAh battery. However, according to an FCC listing discovered by 91Mobiles, the regular S25 model may not support 45W charging, like the S25 Plus and Ultra. Instead, it will stick to 25W charging like its predecessor. That would put it behind competing phones at the same price point.
Galaxy S25 price
Samsung has remained fairly consistent on pricing for the past three iterations of the S series, so a massive change isn’t expected next year. The regular variant may carry a starting price of $799, the Plus variant may start at $999 and the Ultra variant may start at $1,299. This would keep the Galaxy S25 priced in line with the cost of Apple and Google smartphones.
We’ll be covering the announcement on January 22, so be sure to check back soon for more details.
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