Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Features: What We Know So Far

[dirtywoman]

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Features: What We Know So Far

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Update: Thursday January 2, with details on potential Google Gemini Advanced offers, and details on the Galaxy S25 chipset and performance implications.

Galaxy S24 Ultra on show at Galaxy Unpacked, [+]January 17 2024, London, United Kingdom.
EWAN SPENCE
Update: Wednesday January 1, with details on the Galaxy S25 chipset and performance implications.


Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in January 2024 saw the launch of the current Galaxy S24 Ultra flagship, alongside the other S24 handsets, the debut of Galaxy AI, and a preview of the Galaxy Ring. With the first Galaxy Unpacked of 2025 expected to happen in a few weeks, how will the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra build on the success of 2024? Which features will help the handset stand out from the crowd?

Qualcomm or Exynos For Galaxy S25 Ultra?​

Update: Wednesday January 1. The Samsung community has been waiting to see if the Galaxy S25 family will have their preferred option of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 across the portfolio or if some territories would adopt the slower Samsung’s own Exynos 2500 chipset.


Another round of benchmark testing online through Geekbecnh—whose results are publicly available—shows the various Galaxy S25 models all sporting the preferred Snapdragon option. This should positively impact each handset's battery life and overall performance, as well as leverage Qualcomm’s custom AI-focused hardware.


While this has not been conclusively stated by the South Korean manufacturer, it follows reports that Samsung’s mobile processor development team were not able to complete the necessary work to have the Exynos 2500 chipset ready for the Galaxy S25 family due to South Korea’s strict limits on weekly working hours. Instead, the advanced chipset should debut on the Galaxy Z Flip7, due in the Summer of 2025.

Samsung logo in the window of the Samsung [+]Experience Store on Oxford Street in London (Photo by Olly Curtis/Future via Getty Images)
Future via Getty Images

Galaxy S25 Ultra Display​

The look of the Galaxy S25 Ultra will iterate on the current S24 Ultra, a sharper edge to the corners is one of the few visible changes to the design. The display should have one unexpected strength, debuting Corning’s second generation of Gorilla Glass Armour.

The first-generation featured on the Galaxy S24 Ultra offered a notable increase in protection. Yet it was the anti-reflective coating, helping the S24 Ultra display quality in brightly lit indoor areas and under strong sunlight, that gathered critical acclaim. As the protection increases, so will the view of the pixels.

Galaxy S25 Ultra Camera​

Much of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s main camera system will carry over from the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Forbes’ contributor Pail Monkton has highlighted one upgrade new users will see: the ultrawide camera will have an increased sensor size of 50 megapixels, offering broad equality with the camera choices in the Pixel 9 Pro and many of the upcoming 2025 flagships. Crucially, this should allow for more detail in photography, and allow 8K recording when in use.

Galaxy S25 Ultra And Galaxy AI​

The launch of the Galaxy S24 ULtra was tightly bound with Galaxy AI—Samsung's push into generative AI software—and the S24 family were the top-selling “AI-powered” handsets in the first half of 2024. That allowed Samsung to set the commercial tone of generative AI for the year, following Google’s scene-setting to the industry with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro’s Google AI facilities.


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Google has set the scene for the second generation of smartphone AI with Gemini and is pushing this and the Pixel 9 family online. Samsung’s powder will stay cool until the S25 family launches, and you can expect the S25 Ultra and Galaxy AI to offer a potent package thanks to the increased performance on-device and a year of AI development work.

The Samsung logo is being displayed on their [+]pavilion at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain (Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images

Update: Thursday January 2. Tucked away in the beta code of OneUI, which is expected to launch first on the Galaxy S25 family, are references to various trial offers of Google’s Gemini Advanced software suite. The team at Android Authority have highlighted code snippets that talk about both the upsell and its availability.

It appears that the offer will be scaled to the specific handset. According to the pre-release code, the Galaxy S25 is tagged for a three-month trial of Gemini Advanced, the Galaxy S25+ for six months, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra for an entire year.


The S25 Ultra offer will match Google’s Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold offer for a twelve-month trial period. Samsung’s offer is far more generous with the lowest model. While Google does not offer a trial period or Gemini Advanced with the entry-level Pixel 9, the details suggest that the Galaxy S25 will come with a three-month trial of the AI suite.

Where this offer sits next to Samsung’s own Galaxy AI suite isn’t clear. Launched alongside the Galaxy S24 family, Galaxy AI is available for free, but Samsung’s TnCs reserved the right to start charging for the service during 2025. How the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy AI interact with Google Gemini Advanced will set the tone for generative AI on 2025’s smartphones.

An employee is wearing a sweater with the slogan [+]''Samsung's Galaxy AI is here'' (Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images

Galaxy S25 Ultra Safety Features​

Although the hardware that allowed for car crash detection was present in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it was never ‘turned on’ by software. Looking through the current beta of the OneUI software that will debut with the S25 Ultra, the team at Android Authority has discovered new references pointing to car crash detection software. The software should be there, and the hardware is present, so will this be the year to have it turned on?


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Galaxy S25 Ultra Satellite Connectivity​

Samsung has spent many years working on satellite connectivity for its Galaxy handsets—indeed, it was expected to be announced as a Galaxy S24 Ultra feature. That did not come to pass. With the increased focus on this channel, both through Samsung’s beta code and Google’s code contributions to Android integrating the principle deeper into the code, this is another feature that many are waiting for.

When Will We See The Galaxy S25 Ultra?​

Samsung is widely expected to hold the next Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22nd 2025, with pre-orders opening a few days after the launch, and the S25 handsets shipping on February 7th.


Now read the latest thoughts on a mysterious fourth handset that will join the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the mysterious Specia Edition...

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Ewan Spence


Ewan Spence is a BAFTA-nominated podcaster and reporter

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[eatshitndie]

gook luck if you’re using google gemini ai. it’s a piece of shit.

 

[congo9]

The Samsung and android maker is having a tough time.
Samsung product is not worth the high price. Plus china phone makers are trying to beat each other by providing more and more feature in their android OS. The resale value of the phone is suffering like shit.

Apple is different, it has the prestige and the class. Their device can retain value at that 2nd hand market compared to Android.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

If it's the exynos processor...I will give it a pass bcos it's shit

 

[Patriotmissile]

Samsung has S pen. This is one of the main differentiators.

 

[shock888]

I stick to Apple for now. Samsung is going through a bad patch now.