Samsung's Galaxy S25 phones offer a big performance boost and even more AI

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with S Pen resting on the back.
The S25 may look mostly the same as last year's model, but it's what's on the inside that counts. (Image credit: Laptop Mag/Sean Riley)

Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S25 series of phones during its annual Unpacked event, ushering in the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra.

The phones are solid spec upgrades over the S24 series from last year, but many of the big changes have come via Galaxy AI, offering the latest on-device LLM support compared to the previous generation.

Here's everything you need to know about the Galaxy S25 series.

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Galaxy S25 Series: Features

Leaked images purporting to be official Samsung Galaxy S25 promotional materials.

Image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra camera array, showcasing all five cameras on the flagship smartphone. (Image credit: Evan Blass / Samsung)

Samsung's Galaxy AI launched first on the S24 series last year, and we got to test it out on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but things have changed a bit this year. The new Galaxy AI focuses heavily on on-device AI features baked into the operating system. Because the new Galaxy AI features are on-device, you've got increased security for your personalized AI that can support you and offer suggestions and integrations across multiple apps with your personalized, multi-modal AI Agent.

All three Galaxy S25 series phones feature the new 3-nanometer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite CPUS. Samsung claims these new chips offer a performance boost of 37% in CPU performance, 30% in GPU performance, and 40% in NPU performance over the S24 series.

The Galaxy S25 series also features Samsung's fast charging technology for charging from a wall outlet — Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, and Wireless PowerShare. The Galaxy S24 Ultra charged to 71% after 30 minutes of wired charging on a 45W charger. Since the S25 series features the same charging technology, we can expect similar or better charging speeds from the S25 generation.

The Galaxy S25 series includes the same biometrics we expect from Samsung, with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader and face recognition through the selfie camera.

Other features include the Now Bar, Now Brief, Audio Eraser for better sound quality on videos, ProScaler for QHD+ display support, and an improved cooling system. Additionally, the S25 Ultra features an embedded S Pen.

Galaxy S25 Series: Specs

All three Galaxy S25 series phones feature new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm) processors, Android 15 with a Samsung One UI 7 overlay, 12GB of RAM, and AMOLED 2X displays.

All three come in Icyblue, Navy, Mint, and Silver Shadow colorways.

The full specs for all three Galaxy S25 Series phones are below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Samsung S25 spec comparisons (no camera, see table below)
Header Cell - Column 0 Galaxy S25 Galaxy S25+ Galaxy S25 Ultra
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm) Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm) Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm)
Memory: 12GB RAM 12GB RAM 12GB RAM
Storage: 128GB - 256GB 256GB - 512GB 256GB - 1TB
Display: 6.2" FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate 6.7" QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate 6.9" QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate
Battery: 4000mAh 4900mAh 5000mAh
Dimensions: 2.78 x 5.78 x 0.28 inches 2.98 x 6.24 x 0.28 inches 3.05 x 6.41 x 0.32 inches
Weight: 0.36 pounds 0.42 pounds 0.48 pounds
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 7 5G, Wi-Fi 7 5G, Wi-Fi 7
OS: Android 15 / One UI 7 Android 15 / One UI 7 Android 15 / One UI 7
Durability: IP68, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Armor Aluminum (Frame) IP68, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Armor Aluminum (Frame) IP68, Enhanced Corning Gorilla Armor (front glass), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (rear glass), Titanium (Frame)

Galaxy S25 Series: Camera Specs

One of the most important parts of a smartphone can be the camera array. And for Samsung's flagship Galaxy phones, that's never been more true than the last few years as Samsung has added more and more cameras to the rear camera array.

In case you're not sure of the camera differences between the three phones, we've included the full camera specs for the S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra below.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Samsung S25: Camera spec comparisons
Header Cell - Column 0 Galaxy S25 Galaxy S25+ Galaxy S25 Ultra
Main camera Row 0 - Cell 1 Row 0 - Cell 2 Row 0 - Cell 3
Wide 50MP Wide AF OIS 50MP Wide AF OIS 200MP Wide AF OIS
Ultra wide 12MP Ultra Wide 12MP Ultra Wide 50MP Wide AF OIS
Telephoto 10MP 3x Tele AF OIS 10MP 3x Tele AF OIS 10MP 3x Tele AF OIS 50MP 5x Tele AF OIS
Zoom 3x Optical Zoom
(2x Optical Quality)
30x Space Zoom
3x Optical Zoom
(2x Optical Quality)
30x Space Zoom
3x, 5x Optical Zoom
(2x, 10x Optical Quality)
100x Space Zoom
Video 4K @ 60fps
8K @ 30fps
4K @ 60fps
8K @ 30fps
4K @ 120fps
8K @ 30fps
Selfie camera Row 6 - Cell 1 Row 6 - Cell 2 Row 6 - Cell 3
Wide 12MP Wide AF 12MP Wide AF 12MP Wide AF
Video 4K @ 60fps 4K @ 60fps 4K @ 60fps
Miscellaneous camera features ProVisual Engine, HDR Portraits, Selfie AI ISP, Nightography, Log Video, False Color, Zebra Pattern ProVisual Engine, HDR Portraits, Selfie AI ISP, Nightography, Log Video, False Color, Zebra Pattern ProVisual Engine, HDR Portraits, Selfie AI ISP, Nightography, high-res Marco shots, high-res zoom photos/video, Log Video, False Color, Zebra Pattern Memory /

Outlook

first official renders of the samsung galaxy s25 series phones

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

We'll need to see how well the phones perform in our lab and hands-on tests to know for sure if those new 3 nanometer Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processors are worth the price tag, or if the new Galaxy AI provides a smooth, seamless experience. But from our first look at the Galaxy S25 series, these do look like a decent upgrade from the previous generation.

If you haven't upgraded from the Galaxy S22 or S23 yet, the S25 series is worth the upgrade. Owners of the S24 can probably get another year or two out of their smartphones, but if you want the latest and greatest Galaxy AI you will need to switch to the S25 series. However, non-AI enthusiasts will still have plenty of performance and battery life on the S24 series to last at least another year.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 start today. The phones will be on shelves starting February 7, 2025.

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Madeline Ricchiuto
Staff Writer

A former lab gremlin for Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, and TechRadar; Madeline has escaped the labs to join Laptop Mag as a Staff Writer. With over a decade of experience writing about tech and gaming, she may actually know a thing or two. Sometimes. When she isn't writing about the latest laptops and AI software, Madeline likes to throw herself into the ocean as a PADI scuba diving instructor and underwater photography enthusiast.