Galaxy S25 Ultra: Everything that has leaked so far

From the looks of things, Samsung's mobile device launch strategy won't be fundamentally changing any time soon. The Galaxy Z6 and Galaxy S24 FE launch events are behind us and with just a few months left until the end of the year, Samsung's next big thing will be the flagship Galaxy S25 series.

We all expect Samsung to announce the Galaxy S25 series in early 2025. The tech giant hasn't said anything officially yet, but a lot has been rumored and revealed through leaks in recent months.

As usual, the series should consist of a base model, a Plus and an Ultra, but our focus is now on the top variant. Below is a summary of all relevant Galaxy S25 Ultra information that has surfaced from credible sources so far.

Galaxy S25 Ultra design

According to credible reports, one of the biggest changes that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will bring is to the exterior design. The boxy frame with sharp corners will be gone and instead the Ultra phone will have a flatter frame with more rounded corners. The front and back are also completely flat.

This move makes the Galaxy S25 Ultra look more modern and in line with the rest of the flagship series. But it won't be the only aesthetic upgrade for the Ultra series in 2025.

Leaks also suggest that the Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera rings are similar to those of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, with subtle grooves surrounding the lenses.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra will retain the S Pen, and early fan-made renders based on supply chain information say the S Pen holster will be on the left side.

Finally, Samsung seems to have put a lot of work into slimming down the frames of the S25 Ultra. The frame, which is said to be made of titanium, will be narrower than the frame of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is reportedly 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm in size. In contrast, the Galaxy S24 Ultra measures 162.3 x 79.0 x 8.6 mm.

Galaxy S25 Ultra display

Because of these design changes and thinner bezels, Samsung will reportedly include a slightly larger display in the Galaxy S25 Ultra – one that measures 6.9 inches instead of 6.8 inches.

We also expect Samsung to apply a similar anti-reflective coating to the Galaxy S25 Ultra's display as the S24 Ultra. It's a fantastic feature and we don't think the company will be without it next year.

As far as specifications are concerned, it is possible that Samsung will use M14 OLED panels for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung's display division has already supplied M14 generation OLED panels to Google and Apple for the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16, respectively. M14 generation panels are more efficient and brighter than the M13 OLED panel on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Based on what the Galaxy S24 Ultra already offers, additional display specs for the Galaxy S25 Ultra could include an LTPO backplane, QHD+ resolution, and a variable 1-120Hz refresh rate.

Update: While some leakers believe the Galaxy S25 Ultra will use M14 display materials, new information has come to light via Samsung's supply chain that suggests the Galaxy S25 Ultra display will use M13 materials instead.

Although the Galaxy S25 Ultra's screen is expected to have some improvements compared to the S24 Ultra's screen, it may not be as advanced as originally hoped.

Internal hardware of the Galaxy S25 Ultra

There has been a lot of talk about the choice of chipsets for the Galaxy S25 series. And with the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra now using a high-end MediaTek chip for the first time in the lineup's history, there's a chance that Samsung will use a MediaTek SoC, i.e. the Dimensity 9400, for its flagship Next generation phones are being used more than ever before.

According to some reports, it is more likely that Samsung will use the self-developed Exynos 2500 SoC in some regions and the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (also known as Snapdragon 8 Gen 4) in others. Other market observers assume that Samsung could rely entirely on the Snapdragon solution for the entire S series next year.

Either way, chances are that the Galaxy S25 Ultra in particular will feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in all markets.

Qualcomm's Elite chip was announced in late October and features the “fastest mobile CPU in the world.” It is equipped with new Oryon CPU cores, the first of which has a maximum frequency of 4.32 GHz.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chip features the fastest Hexagon NPU for multi-modal Gen AI support on the device. Overall, the chip is said to boast 45% single-core and multi-core performance improvements, 62% faster web browsing, and 45% faster NPU performance.

When it comes to power savings, the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite offers 44% CPU and 40% GPU power savings improvements.

Connectivity features include UWB and AI-powered Wi-Fi 7.

Additionally, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could have 16GB of RAM instead of 12GB, although there could also potentially be a base 12GB RAM option. In terms of storage, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is said to be offered in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.

We do not expect the battery specifications to change. According to available data, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 5,000 mAh device with 45W fast charging.

Galaxy S25 Ultra camera specifications

Samsung's next-gen flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra may not bring many changes in the camera department, but it won't be reusing existing hardware everywhere.

A significant upgrade could be a higher resolution ultrawide camera. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is said to have a 50 MP ultrawide shooter with an optical format of 1/2.52 inches, an aperture of f/1.9 and 0.7 µm pixels.

Apart from the ultrawide sensor, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is likely to come with a 200MP main camera, a 10MP 3x telephoto lens, another 50MP 5x telephoto camera and a 12MP selfie unit.

Galaxy S25 Ultra software

Everyone has high hopes for the upcoming One UI 7.0 update as it is said to be the biggest in the history of Samsung's proprietary One UI skin for Android. It's not available yet, not even in beta testing, but at SDC Samsung said One UI 7 should go public early next year.

At launch, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will run at least Android 15 and One UI 7.0, or likely an updated version called One UI 7.1.

Tipster @UniverseIce claims that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will perform admirably thanks to a combination of new software (One UI 7.1), more RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.

One UI 7 is expected to bring a fresh redesign with smoother animations, new icons, and better background blur effects.

At SDC24, Samsung said that the three core design principles of One UI 7 are:

• Simply. Striving for intentional simplicity throughout the user interface.
• Effective. Creating a new signature imprint for One UI.
• Emotionally. Creating UI elements, such as a new blur engine, that evoke a positive emotional response from users.

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Given Samsung's commitment to generative AI capabilities, we can expect the Galaxy S25 Ultra to run existing AI tools faster than any Galaxy phone before it, but also introduce new or updated Galaxy AI tools.

As for firmware support, we're confident that Samsung will support the Galaxy S25 Ultra for seven years with at least seven major OS upgrades.

Release and price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra

Samsung has not yet announced the date of the next Galaxy Unpacked event, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to be unveiled in January or February next year.

Pricing details are also unknown, but there are a few factors that could change the launch price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, most notably the cost of high-end chipsets.

The upcoming 3nm chips proved more difficult to manufacture, and while they are expected to deliver incredible performance, they could also cost more.

Market watchers believe the Snapdragon 8 Elite / Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 could cost about 20%, or about $40, more than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which could lead to a higher launch price for the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

For reference, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra went on sale in late January 2024 for $799, $999, and $1,299, respectively.