The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could be the best Android phone of 2025, and you probably won’t have to wait until late in the year for it, with this handset likely to land in January or February.
As the launch is now fast approaching, we’ve unsurprisingly heard plenty about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra through apparent leaks and rumors, so we have a good idea of what to expect. This includes a bigger screen, a powerful new chipset, an upgraded ultra-wide camera, and possibly even a new name.
Below, you’ll find all the credible claims we’ve heard about this phone so far, and we’ll be regularly updating this article, so check back soon to stay in the loop.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra latest rumors and leaks
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next top-end Samsung phone
- When is it out? Possibly January 22
- How much will it cost? Likely upwards of $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199
A very high price
- Could launch on January 22
- Could cost more than the S24 Ultra
Surprisingly, we haven’t heard many release date rumors yet, but one source claims the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will be announced on January 23. A day later, another source said the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra would instead land on January 22. Given time differences in where those sources are based these two leaks don't conflict, but the more likely date for those in the US and the UK is January 22.
That timing would make sense, as Samsung usually launches new Galaxy S models in either January or February, so we’re expecting the same next year, meaning there’s probably not long to wait.
News about the potential price of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is less promising though, as numerous sources have said the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset that we’re expecting it to use will cost more than its predecessor.
One source claimed the Snapdragon 8 Elite would cost around $40 more, with another saying the Snapdragon 8 Elite will be roughly 20% more expensive, and even Qualcomm itself (which makes the chipset) has said the Snapdragon 8 Elite will be pricey.
In which case, there’s every chance Samsung will pass that cost increase on to buyers, which means we might be looking at a starting price higher than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199.
Can you trust these rumors?
A January 22 launch is certainly possible, especially as we've essentially heard that date from two different sources.
We predict the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will probably cost more than the S24 Ultra, given that its chipset is almost certainly more expensive, but we doubt it will be a drastic price increase.
A possible name change
- Could instead be called the Samsung Galaxy S25 Note
In one surprising claim, we’ve heard that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra might instead launch as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Note.
There’s some logic to this, since the Ultra line in its current form is quite similar to Samsung’s discontinued Galaxy Note line anyway, but it’s something that so far only one source has mentioned.
Can you trust these rumors?
We're very skeptical of this claim, as while there could be some logic to a name change, it's only something we've heard from one source.
A bigger screen
- Could have a larger 6.9-inch display
- Likely to have more rounded corners than the S24 Ultra
Rumors suggest the main design change coming the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra could simply be more rounded corners.
You can see this change in leaked Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra renders below. We’ve seen Galaxy S25 Ultra renders from multiple sources, and they all show more rounded corners, and an otherwise similar design to last year.
You can also see this design in claimed leaked images of a Galaxy S25 Ultra case, and a leaked photo seemingly showing dummy units of all three Samsung Galaxy S25 models. We've also now seen leaked images of cases for every Galaxy S25 model.
Beyond that, we’ve heard from tipster @Jukanlosreve that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 6.86-inch screen, but that disappointingly it will use the same M13 panel technology as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, meaning it might not be as efficient or have as long a lifespan as the M14 used by the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Serial phones tipster @UniverseIce has likewise said that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 6.86-inch screen. This would likely be marketed as 6.9 inches, and would be marginally larger than the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
They added that the display will be 73mm wide, making it a little bit wider than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s, but that thanks to smaller bezels and a slimmer frame the overall handset width of the Galaxy S25 Ultra would be slightly slimmer at 77.6mm.
The same source has said the full dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will be 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm. Another source has pointed to similar Galaxy S25 Ultra dimensions of 162.82 x 77.65 x 8.25mm.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm, so that would make the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a tiny bit taller, but narrower and thinner. We’ve also heard that the Galaxy S25 Ultra might be lighter at 219g, rather than the 232g of its predecessor.
And we have an idea of the colors it might be available in, with one Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra colors leak pointing to Black, Blue, Green, and Titanium shades. That said, another Galaxy S25 Ultra colors leak instead hinted it will come in Titanium Black, Titanium Blue, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Silver shades, so there's some disagreement.
Another S25 Ultra colors leak, from the same source as the one directly above, has added that there might also be Titanium Jade Green, Titanium Pink Gold, and Titanium Blue/Black shades as Samsung store exclusives.
Can you trust these rumors?
We've now seen numerous leaked images of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, so we're quite confident of the design. As for a screen size increase, that's believable too as it would bring the phone in line with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
A new ultra-wide camera
- Could have a new 50MP ultra-wide camera
- The other cameras are likely to be the same as on the S24 Ultra
We’ve not heard much about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras yet, but the most recent and credible leak on that front suggests the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a new 50MP ultra-wide camera, up from 12MP on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
However, they add that the other sensors will have the same megapixel counts as their predecessors, meaning a 200MP main camera, a 50MP periscope camera (likely with 5x optical zoom), and a 10MP telephoto camera (likely with 3x optical zoom).
Way back in February we did hear a different selection of camera specs from leaker @BennettBuhner. They claimed that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP 10x zoom camera, a 50MP 3x-5x variable zoom telephoto camera, and a new main camera that will stay at 200MP but have a larger 1-inch sensor. However, not only is this an early leak but they don’t have a very good track record.
Can you trust these rumors?
We've heard surprisingly little about the cameras, so it's hard to say for sure what might feature, but a new 50MP ultra-wide sounds believable. The older camera claims mentioned here seem less likely.
A powerful Snapdragon chipset and more RAM
- Likely to use a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
- Could have 16GB of RAM
- Might once again have a 5,000mAh battery
There has been some debate over which chipset certain Samsung Galaxy S25 models will use, but the consensus seems to increasingly be that every model will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite – and even when there was a debate, most sources suggested that the Ultra at least would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Numerous sources have now spoken of the Snapdragon 8 Elite being used in the Galaxy S25 line, while talk of the other potential options – namely the Exynos 2500 and the MediaTek Dimensity 2400 – has died down, with the former apparently encountering major manufacturing difficulties, and the latter perhaps just being used in the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE. That said, we can’t completely rule them out yet.
All of these are top-end chipsets in any case, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite sounds particularly impressive, and should provide a major improvement to both the phone’s AI capabilities and its gaming skills.
Indeed, an early benchmark for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra using this chipset suggests it could be even more powerful than the A18 Pro powering the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and we've since seen a second Galaxy S25 Ultra benchmark which has even higher scores.
Along with a powerful new chipset, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra might also have 16GB of RAM, which is up from 12GB in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and that should also help with AI.
On the software front, it's likely that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will get seamless updates.
As for the battery, one leak points to a 5,000mAh one in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which would mean no change from the current model’s capacity. We've since heard similar from another source, which said the Galaxy S25 Ultra's battery would be rated at 4,855mAh and marketed as 5,000mAh.
Can you trust these rumors?
We'd be very surprised if the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra didn't use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Claims of more RAM and the same battery size this year are believable too, though as we've only heard these things from one source we'd take them with a pinch of salt.
You might also like
- Best Samsung phone: top Galaxy handsets ranked
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: taken to the extreme
- Best phone: top smartphones you can buy in the US
