Samsung Galaxy S25: Release date, price, specs and more

The Samsung Galaxy S25 has broken cover at last, so we can finally take a good look at what Samsung's flagship phone offering for 2025 can do for us.

Galaxy Unpacked has revealed that, as expected, there are three models in total: the S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. This page will be focusing on the S25 and S25 Plus, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra getting a page of its own due to its unique characteristics.

Compared to the Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S25 beefs up the performance and memory while adding lots of new software to play with via the One UI 7 OS update and fresh Galaxy AI features. The price has stayed the same as last year too, which should keep these phones among the best Android phones and best phones overall that we've tested to date.

Check on our Galaxy Unpacked 2025 live blog for updates as they happen, as well as details of Samsung's other announcements from today's event. Or read our Galaxy S25 hands-on review and Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on review for our first impressions of these phones in real life. But let's now get into a full rundown of the specs and features of the Samsung Galaxy S25.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25: Price and availability

The Galaxy S25 still starts at $799/£799 for the basic 6.2-inch model, or $999/£999 for the Galaxy S25 Plus. The Galaxy S25 Ultra meanwhile starts at $1,299/£1,249.

All of the S25 models are up for pre-orders from today (January 22nd) and on regular sale from February 7th, in about two and a half weeks' time from the reveal date.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Design and display

Samsung has elected to go for rounder-cornered designs across the S25 line-up, so all models now have a clearer family resemblance. The black surrounds on the cameras on the back do give the phones a little extra personality, and help differentiate them from the Galaxy S24 series.

As with last year's models, the Galaxy S25 comes with either a 6.2-inch FHD or 6.7-inch QHD display, depending on if you're looking at the standard or Plus. These 120Hz AMOLED screens offer a 2,600 nits peak brightness according to Samsung, but we'll be testing that claim for ourselves once we lure a Galaxy S25 into our laboratory.

One difference from older Galaxy S phones is the new "ProScaler" system found on the Galaxy S25 Plus. This helps whatever you're watching or playing better fit the screen, regardless of the source resolution.

Like the S24, the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus use Gorilla Glass Victus 2 toughened glass front and back, along with Armor Aluminum sides, to shrug off damage. But Samsung has still managed to make the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus 6 grams and 7 grams (0.21 and 0.25 ounces) lighter than last year respectively.

The color choice is the same for both the S25 and S25 Plus: you can pick one of Navy, Icy Blue, Mint and Silver Shadow. On top of those, Blue Black, Coral Red and Pink Gold are online exclusives available if you buy your device from Samsung itself.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Cameras

The 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide (not the new 50MP sensor seen on the Ultra) and 10MP 3x telephoto camera on the back of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as well as the 12MP selfie camera on the front, are no different from the Galaxy S24's cameras. But as a consolation prize, there is now a Next Gen ProVisual Engine processing the S25's photos, which is designed to minimize the noise in photos and bring out the details, especially in low-light situations.

You can also shoot in 10-bit HDR for more detail in your still images, and in a new Galaxy Log format for high-quality, highly-editable video. Maximum resolution remains at 8K/30fps.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Performance

The Galaxy S25 series uses a customized Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, known as the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, worldwide, switching back to a unified chipset rather than offering a Samsung-built Exynos chip in some markets. We've not benchmarked this version of the 8 Elite silicon yet, but going by the original, we should see some excellent test scores.

Samsung further sweetens the deal by offering 12GB RAM on all versions, not 8GB like previous years. Great for multi-tasking and AI processing. There is also better thermal management, with a 15% larger vapor chamber and updated materials to keep heat away from the hardest-working parts of the phone's internals.

Starting storage is 128GB on the standard Galaxy S25 model, with a 256GB edition costing a little more, and a 512GB version costing a little more on top of that. The Galaxy S25 Plus starts with 256GB, with 512GB offered for those who need it.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Battery and charging

As with last year's Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus use 4,000 mAh and 4,900 mAh batteries respectively. Charging also follows the existing models, with the basic S25 using 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, and the S25 Plus 45W wired and 15W wireless.

Neither phone is strictly compatible with the Qi2 standard, despite the rumors suggesting that this would be the case. But Samsung is selling magnetic cases that allow the magnet-equipped chargers to attach to the phones should you want that.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Software and Galaxy AI

The Android 15-based One UI7 is Samsung's latest operating system, and what the Galaxy S25 series runs out of the box. The S25 is promised to get seven years of full security updates, and seven generations of OS updates. Android generations have up to now come annually, but with Google allegedly speeding up development of Android 16, it's possible we'll start seeing full version updates more regularly, hence the change in wording.

But enough of that, let's dive into the features. Galaxy AI is back from the Galaxy S24 series, with a number of enhancements to make life easier. For instance, AI Select is a development of good old copy/paste, allowing you to lasso around an object on-screen then perform relevant actions like turning it into a GIF, editing it, sharing or saving it. Galaxy AI can also chain tasks together, such as helping you find a restaurant that meets your dietary requirements, then booking out time in your calendar and sharing the details with your fellow diners.

Natural language search, something we've seen in apps like the photos Gallery, can now be used with the Settings app. This could be particularly useful as it in theory will help you find an option you want to tweak without having to dive into sub-menus or search for its exact name to find it.

One UI 7 and Galaxy AI come together in harmony with the new Now Bar, which keeps ongoing notifications in view so you can see them, like the Dynamic Island of recent iPhones. The AI part comes in with the Now Brief, which will draw relevant information from your chosen apps to give a rundown of the day ahead or summary of what you've done as you're heading to bed. This includes calendar events, photos, reminders and passes and coupons from your on-device wallet.

Samsung's also made image and video editing more powerful with Galaxy AI. A new Audio Eraser for videos lets you separate the sound in a clip into separate types, and then increase or decrease their volume as you need to. Images can benefit from an improved Generative Edit tool for removing elements from or adding them to an image, thanks to a new LLM underpinning it. And your selfies can get a makeover with the more realistic colors and expressions in Portrait Studio, which redraws images in popular artistic styles.

Any info you provide the Galaxy S25's AI features is kept securely in the Personal Data Engine, which Samsung claims is secured by "post-quantum enhanced data security" on the device.

Samsung Galaxy S25: Outlook

There's plenty of new stuff to check out with the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, and we'll be trying it all in our upcoming reviews. But based on our hands-on time so far, it still looks like the Galaxy S25 will be a good entry point for users wanting the essential Galaxy S experience, with the Plus there for users who prioritize display size and battery endurance but don't want to splash out on an Ultra model.

The rumored Galaxy S25 Slim could change how we view the range, if and when it arrives in certain countries. Plus we've got detailed comparisons with the OnePlus 13, Google Pixel 9 series and iPhone 16 series to make to figure out where Samsung's latest creations belong in the flagship phone pecking order. We'll get back to you as soon as we can with our final verdicts, but for now don't forget to read our Galaxy S25 hands-on.