Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Biggest expected upgrades

S25 vs s24
(Image credit: Onleaks x android headline for S25 image, S24 image owned by future)

With Galaxy Unpacked coming on January 22, the Galaxy S25 is closer than ever. So, if you're considering an update, you're no doubt eager to see how this upcoming phone will compare to the current Galaxy S24 and what kinds of new features and improvements Samsung will introduce.

On that note, we have a Galaxy Unpacked live blog that we are continuing to run up until the event. We will include all the new rumors and leaks as they happen, as well as the event itself.

That's why a Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S24 comparison matters. Finding out a phone might change year over year can help you decide if it's worth an upgrade, whether that's from an older model or one of the more recent Galaxy S phones that make up the best Samsung phones available.

Galaxy S25 rumors tell us enough about the phone to make some early comparisons with the Galaxy S24. So read on to find out what kind of improvements could emerge from a Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S24 showdown.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Row 0 - Cell 0 Samsung Galaxy S25 (rumored)Samsung Galaxy S24
Display size6.2 inches 6.2 inches
Refresh rate120Hz120Hz
ChipsetSnapdragon 8 EliteSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 / Exynos 2400
Storage128GB, 256GB, 512, possibly 1TB128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Rear cameras50MP main12MP ultrawide10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom50MP main12MP ultrawide10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom
Front camera12MP12MP
Battery size4,000 mAh4,000 mAh
ColorsMoon Night Blue, Silver Shadow, Sparking Blue, Sparkling Green. Onyx Black,Marble Gray,Cobalt Violet, Amber Yellow

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Price

While it is still too early to say anything definitive about the price of Samsung's next generation of phones, there are some indications that we could see a price hike from what the Galaxy S24 lineup cost. Back in January, the Galaxy S24 debuted at $799 while the Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra cost $999 and $1,299, respectively.

Early reports indicate that component costs could rise for the Galaxy S25, particularly around the Snapdragon 8 Elite expected to power the upcoming phones. Other reports suggest that Samsung will find other areas to keep costs down to prevent an overall price increase.

Recently a leaked retail listing for the European price listed the lowest memory as €964.90, while the highest memory cost is listed as €1,151.90. If we compare it to the older prices for the phones, then it seems Samsung is improving the price across the range by between 60-100 euros. While we don't know if the US will see the same price increase, it wouldn't be surprising.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and display

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra render leaked by Ice Universe

(Image credit: Ice Universe via Weibo)

The Galaxy S24 featured a 6.2-inch screen, a slight increase from the 6.1-inch display on the Galaxy S23, with Samsung shrinking the bezels to add more screen space. Rumors tip the Galaxy S25 to have a 6.36 display which would match the size of the iPhone 16 Pro panel. Such a move could increase the size of the Galaxy S25 over the Galaxy S24

Samsung may cut display costs to keep the overall price of the Galaxy s25 unchanged, with rumors suggesting the new phone will use the same M13 panel as the current model, rather than the M14 panels used by the iPhone 16 Pro and Google Pixel 9. This means that we can expect the same level of brightness as the Galaxy S24. We measured the S24 at 1,406 nits, which is bright, though well off the pace set by the Pixel 9.

The renders we've seen of the Galaxy S25 suggest it's going to look a lot like the Galaxy S24, save for that possible increase in size to accommodate a larger display. Galaxy S25 colors are rumored to include two different shades of blue along with silver and green. That would be quite a contrast from the standard black, grey, violet and yellow options for the Galaxy S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Cameras

The Galaxy S24 offered an impressive camera setup, with a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom. All the rumors indicate that the next generation Samsung phone could feature very similar cameras, but there look to be some changes on tap.

Samsung recently announced three new camera sensors, which could form the basis of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus coming out next year. Of the three sensors, the ISOCELL GNJ has a 1/1.57-inch sensor size, which nearly matches the sensor sizes in the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus (1/1.56-inch).

While we don't know everything about the new sensors, Samsung has mentioned a few improvements — namely an anti-refractive layer and pixel isolation which would lead to better light capture, reduced reflections and improved color reproduction. Added to this is improved power consumption, including a 29% efficiency boost in preview mode and a 34% gain with 4K/60FPS video.

If all that's true, the Galaxy S25 could offer much clearer visuals, especially with the power of Galaxy AI to help with image processing and editing. We're eager to see what that means for the Galaxy S25 compared to some of the other top camera phones out there.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Performance & AI

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset held in hand

(Image credit: Future)

Qualcomm just took the wraps off the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the top-of-the-line system on chip likely to power the best Android phones coming out over the next 12 months. That should include the Galaxy S25, as a leaker indicates that Samsung plans to use the chip in all of its phones.

That would be a contrast from Samsung's approach with its current smartphone lineup. Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra exclusively featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm's best chip at the time of release. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus split the difference on which chip appeared in which model. North American phones featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while models in other parts of the world ran on the Exynos 2400, which is a step slower than Qualcomm's silicon.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was a strong performer, topping Apple's A16 Bionic in graphics testing and some speed benchmarks. The Snapdragon 8 Elite figures to be even faster, according to our initial benchmarks of Qualcomm's chipset. In those tests, a Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered reference device even managed to top the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max on some tests.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
DeviceGeekbench 6(single/multicore)Speedometer 3 (Chrome)
Snapdragon 8 Elite reference device3,212 / 10,31833.2
Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3)2,300 / 7,24916.3
iPhone 16 Pro (A18 Pro)3,400 / 8,39128.1
iPhone 16 Pro Max (A18 Pro)3,386 / 830627.8

The bigger story with the Snapdragon 8 Elite could be its faster neural engine, which will surely help with the speed of Galaxy AI features, even opening the door for more of those features to run on the Galaxy S25 itself. In the lead-up to Galaxy Unpacked, we've seen Samsung push a fair bit about the improvements coming with One UI 7.

The biggest information we have seen relates to the improvements coming to Bixby. For instance, a recent trailer indicated that the Galaxy AI assistant is going to see some major improvements. It also appears that Google's Gemini will also work much better on the next generation of Galaxy phones.

Now, it is worth noting that the majority of these features will likely appear on some of the older Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy S24. However, thanks to the power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the best experience will undoubtedly be on the Galaxy S25 when comparing the two.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Battery

Battery rumors surrounding the Galaxy S25 have been few and far between. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra tipped to feature the same 5,000 mAh battery as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it's not out of line to assume the Galaxy S25 would keep a 4,000 mAh battery just like the S24.

We could still see a boost in battery life, though, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcomm says the CPU on the new chip is 44% more power efficient than its predecessor while the GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite is 40% more power efficient.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Outlook

We're not far off from the Galaxy S25 launch, and everything we've seen paints a strange picture regarding comparisons. From a basic hardware perspective, the Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S24 both appear pretty similar. The cameras, display, battery and more all seem pretty much the same. However, there's a little more to it than is initially obvious.

The main thing to note is that Samsung is improving the software, and the majority of those improvements will be more noticeable on the Galaxy S25. However, for users of the older phone, likely, you'll already see many of the new features. This makes upgrading difficult, especially with a price increase. At this point, we can only really wait until we have the official specs to see what the real differences will be.

We'll continue to keep an eye out for more Galaxy S25 rumors, comparing the likely changes to what Samsung currently offers with the Galaxy S24. If you want to watch the official release then we have a full guide on how to watch Galaxy Unpacked.

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Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.