Samsung Galaxy S25+: what to expect

The Samsung Galaxy S+ was never the favorite child of the S series – neither of Samsung nor of buyers. A report from Counterpoint Research indicated last year that the Galaxy S24 Ultra accounted for 52% of total sales, the small S24 27% while the Galaxy S24+ only accounted for 21% of sales.

And that was with major upgrades compared to the S23+: a new LTPO display with QHD+ resolution, 12GB RAM and a slightly larger battery. Okay, not mind-blowing upgrades, but it’s more than the S24 got.

Samsung Galaxy S25+ (speculative renders)

And what about this year’s model? Here’s an overview of what we expect Samsung Galaxy S25+ are.

Coming later this month

Samsung has set the date for the next Galaxy Unpacked event January 22. If everything follows the known plan, pre-orders will start the day after and will last around two weeks – the open sale usually starts on Friday, so January 31 is the likely date.

Samsung normally offers a free storage upgrade for people who pre-order and we expect to see the same this year. If you’re in the US, you can reserve and receive a device now $50 Samsung Credit.

Snapdragon 8 Elite for everyone

The story goes that Exynos 2500 returns were poor, forcing Samsung to switch exclusively to Snapdragon. Whatever the truth, it’s almost certain that all Galaxy S25 models sold in all markets will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Samsung has reportedly chosen more efficient RAM to also pair with the new chip, although it is still LPDDR5X so don’t expect any major upgrades. The base RAM capacity – perhaps the only capacity option for the Plus – is expected to remain 12GB. Storage starts at 256GB and there should be a 512GB option.

Thinner housing, same battery

Based on leaked information, the Galaxy S25+ will be 7.3mm thick and weigh 190 grams, compared to 7.7mm and 196 grams for the S24+. The slimmed down chassis doesn’t negatively impact battery capacity – you get the same 4,900mAh with the same 45W wired and 15W wireless charging.

That’s nice, but the competition has moved on – 5,500 mAh and even 6,000 mAh are not that uncommon these days. Samsung is reluctant to go for faster charging, but it could have at least given the 2025 phones a few hundred milliamp-hours more.

Samsung Galaxy S25+ in a magnetic case

As you may have already heard, Samsung will adopt the Qi2 standard for the S25 series. However, there’s no word on faster charging speeds, so that’s why we’re assuming 15W. Samsung will partially take over the magnetic side of Qi2 by using Magnetic coversalthough third-party retailers already offer such cases for older S-series phones.

Same screen, same cameras

As we mentioned at the beginning, the Plus model already got a 1440+ resolution and an LTPO panel (the S23+ had a 1080p+ non-LTPO screen). While the Ultra gets a new ultrawide camera, this isn’t the case for the Plus and vanilla models, so we’re still looking at a 50+10+12 MP setup (and the same selfie camera, too).

The competition leaves Samsung behind: the iPhone 16 Pro has a 48 MP ultra-wide camera, while the Pixel 9 Pro also has a 48 MP telephoto camera. The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro may get one similar telemodule.

One UI gets a new look and more AI

Samsung is one of the strongest proponents of AI on mobile devices, and owners of recent S phones use 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 plan normally costs $20 per month, which includes access to the most advanced Gemini models and 2TB Google Drive. However, this will be a short-lived promo. The S25+ splits the difference and gets six months of Advanced, while buyers of the S25 and S25 Ultra get three and twelve months respectively.

The Galaxy S25 series will also be the first with stable One UI 7, which will include a number of AI features such as new Bixbywhich will be a “true AI companion”. More importantly, it’s also a major overhaul of Samsung’s UI design.

The threat of the Galaxy S25 Slim

The rumored fourth member of the S25 series, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim, is expected to be even thinner (as thin as 6.5mm), with a 6.66-inch screen, the same Snapdragon 8 Elite and better cameras – 200 MP main camera, 50 MP ultra-wide angle and telephoto. Check out our what-to-expect article for more details.

This begs the question: Price aside, why would anyone buy a Galaxy S25+ instead of the S25 Slim? We recently heard that the Slim may only be delayed by a few months launching in Mayso timing can also be a consideration. But other than that, the Slim will hands down be the better phone, assuming the rumors are true of course. And if so, we don’t think the S25+ will be able to match the S24+’s 21% sales figure.

Same price

We haven’t heard from all markets yet, but leaked pricing information shows that the Samsung Galaxy S25+ will cost the same as the S24+ last year. The leak specifically said that the price in Sweden will be the same as last year, so here’s how much the S24 series cost at launch (we also included the prices in euros, which should also remain the same).