Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra battery and charging rumors — what you need to know

It's already been a banner year for battery life, with newly released devices like the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R producing impressive results in our battery testing. And soon, the new Galaxy S25 models from Samsung will have their chance to show just how long they can last on a charge.

Samsung will hold its next Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22, with its new flagship phones likely to be the center of attention. And while a lot of the Galaxy S25 focus will be on new Galaxy AI features coming to the phones as well as the camera improvements Samsung plans on making, battery life figures to be part of the discussion as well. How long a phone can go between charges is more important than ever, particularly as phone makers like Samsung pack in more demanding features on their devices. How much battery life the different Galaxy S25 models produce will go a long way toward convincing people it's time to upgrade their phones.

Certainly, things look promising for the Galaxy S25, at least if Samsung's recent track record with battery life is anything to go by. All three Galaxy S24 models released last year improved upon the battery test results posted by their predecessors when we took each phone and had it surf the web until it ran out of power. The Galaxy S24 Ultra posted the best time of all three models, lasting for 16 hours and 45 minutes. That landed the Ultra on our best phone battery life list, where it was also joined by the Galaxy S24 Plus.

While that's a lot for the new models to live up to, there's more to a phone's battery story than just how long it can last on a charge. There's also charging speeds, which have been pretty stagnant on recent Galaxy S models. That said, the Galaxy S25 phones could be changing things up on the charging front if recent rumors are to be believed.

Here's everything we've heard about the battery and charging features slated for the Galaxy S25 and what that might translate to in terms of battery life.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 battery rumors

If the most recent Galaxy S25 spec leaks are anything to go by, don't count on big changes to the battery sizes coming to the three new phone models Samsung is expected to introduce this month. According to those leaks, the Galaxy S25 is supposed to feature a 4,000 mAh battery while the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra are set to have 4,900 mAh and 5,000 mAh power packs, respectively. If those battery sizes sound familiar, it's because they match what the comparable Galaxy S24 models offered.

On paper, that would seem to suggest the new Galaxy S25 models would have a hard time matching, let alone exceeding the battery life times turned in by last year's phones. Power needs are always increasing, and with Samsung said to be developing more Galaxy AI features that run entirely on the phones themselves, that's going to mean a bigger hit on battery life.

But before you write off the chances of the Galaxy S25 models to offer improve battery life over recent Samsung phones, consider the new chipset likely to power the upcoming releases. It's widely believed that Samsung will turn to the Snapdragon 8 Elite for its new flagships. That wouldn't just be for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but for all Galaxy S25 models — including the S25 and S25 Plus versions that are released outside of North America. Recent Galaxy S phones have seen some models ship with Samsung's Exynos chips instead of the latest Snapdragon silicon, but it sounds like that won't be the case this year.

Using the Snapdragon 8 Elite across the Galaxy S25 lineup would be significant because improved power efficiency is chief among that system-on-chip's main benefits. Qualcomm says its latest silicon can deliver better performance while consuming less power. Specifically, the Oryon CPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite is supposed to offer a 44% improvement in power efficiency over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powered last year's Galaxy S24 models. GPU power efficiency is set to improve by 40%.

If those numbers prove accurate, the Snapdragon 8 Elite-equipped Galaxy S25 models could prove to be longer lasting than the Galaxy S24 models that impressed us so much a year ago. We'll need to run our battery tests on the phones once they're released, of course, but this is an area where we could see potential improvements year over year.

The OnePlus 13's performance on our battery test offers some indication of what the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings to the table for better power efficiency, as the OnePlus flagship also uses Qualcomm's latest silicon. The OnePlus 13 lasted 19 hours and 45 minutes on our test, up from 17-hour time the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered OnePlus 12 turned in. Of course, the OnePlus 13 also benefits from a bigger battery than its predecessor, so we can't fully credit the Snapdragon 8 Elite for that battery life gain.

Samsung Galaxy S25 charging rumors

Recent Galaxy flagships have stood in place when it comes to how fast they can charge. The current Galaxy S24 charges at 25W wired speeds, while the S24 Plus and S24 Ultra top out at 45W — specs that have been unchanged since the Galaxy S22 three years ago. Meanwhile, other Android phones have pushed the envelope on charging speeds, with the recent OnePlus 13 offering 80W wired charging for the U.S. version of that device.

We haven't heard that much about changes to wired charging speeds on the Galaxy S25, so expect those 25W and 45W speeds to remain in place depending on which model you're talking about. However, there could be some good news on the wireless charging front, with Samsung tipped to adopt a new charging standard for its latest phones.

That would be Qi2 wireless charging, the second-generation of the Qi wireless charging standard that first got approved back in 2023 but is only making its way onto Android devices now. Qi2 wireless charging brings a ring of magnets to the backs of phones to ensure a more reliable connection between your handset and a compatible charger. Qi2 wireless charging speeds are also faster than before, with support for adaptive charging speeds.

Samsung has said it plans to release devices that support Qi2 wireless charging in 2025. While not a specific confirmation of support for the Galaxy S25, it is an encouraging sign, especially with leakers spotting Galaxy S25 cases that supposed include telltale magnetic rings. Leaker Roland Quandt specifically tips the Galaxy S25 Ultra to get a boost in wireless charging to 25W, up from 15W in the current model. It's unclear if any other S25 model will benefit from faster wireless charging speeds, or if Samsung will limit the capability to its premium phone.

Samsung Galaxy S25 battery outlook

Just ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event, current rumors paint a contrasting picture of what to expect from the Galaxy S25 on the battery front. On the one hand, the phones are expected to see modest changes at best, with battery sizes and wired charging speeds unchanged from the current S24 models. But a more efficient processor could lead to improved battery life, while support for Qi2 wireless charging would brighten some prospects for charging speeds.

We'll soon see which of these Galaxy s25 battery rumors pans out and whether Samsung has any surprises for us when it comes to how long these devices will last on a charge.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung teases new Galaxy AI for Galaxy S25 ahead of Unpacked
• Galaxy S25 Ultra camera rumors may sound lame, but it could still beat the iPhone 16 Pro Max
• Samsung Galaxy S25 displays: What to expect from Samsung’s latest screens