We've likely still got a few months left to go before Samsung unveils its next big flagship, the Galaxy S25. But for those out there thinking about upgrading, comparing the Galaxy S24 Ultra with the rumored Galaxy S25 Ultra specs can give you a good idea of whether to start saving up for a new phone now or hold off for another generation.
With the Galaxy S25 Ultra set to arrive early next year, now's the perfect time to compare it with the current flagship. And while the Galaxy S24 Ultra tops our ranking of the best Samsung phones, the question is whether the Galaxy S25 Ultra will offer enough new upgrades to make people consider forking over the money to upgrade to a new phone.
Below, we've collected all the rumors and leaks that have surfaced so far about the Galaxy S25 Ultra to see how it stacks up to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specs
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Price
While it's too early in the rumor cycle to say definitively when the Galaxy S25 Ultra will get here, if history stands, we'll see it hit stores sometime in early 2025, likely in January of February.
For reference, this year's Galaxy S24 release was the earliest in the flagship's history to date, with a Galaxy Unpacked event taking place on January 17 and the S24 models shipping out two weeks later on January 31.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra also saw a price increase over its predecessor, jumping to $1,299 from the Galaxy S23 Ultra's $1,199 price tag. For the Galaxy S25 Ultra, that price could go up even higher, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 expected to power the upcoming flagship could drive up the phone's cost. But nothing more concrete has surfaced at this time.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and Display
The Galaxy S24 Ultra already sports a hulking 6.8-inch screen, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra could bump that up slightly. Noted leaker Ice Universe reported back in August that the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 6.86-inch display — not a huge difference, but one that puts it in step with its competitor, Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max.
What's notable about the larger screen is Samsung's tipped to shave down the flagship's bezels, decreasing the phone's overall dimensions despite the bigger display. The same leak claimed the S25 Ultra will be 77.6mm wide, a slight drop from the 79mm width found on the current S24 Ultra. We've also heard reports that Samsung is switching to rounded corners for the S25 Ultra and ditching the squared-off corners its Ultra phones have had since the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Between the curvier design, slimmer bezels and narrower frame, the S25 Ultra should be a bit easier to hold for long periods than its predecessor.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Cameras
The Galaxy S24 Ultra ranks high on our list of the best camera phones, packing a main 200MP main, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP telephoto lens with a 3X optical zoom, and a new 50MP telephoto camera with a 5X optical zoom.
Early Galaxy S25 Ultra camera rumors suggest we could be in for some modest upgrades, like the ultrawide lens jumping from 12 MP to a 50MP sensor on the upcoming flagship. The 200MP main camera, 12MP selfie camera, and 50MP telephoto cameras are expected to remain unchanged, though they could receive some under-the-hood tweaks that make for a smoother user experience.
Rumor has it the telephoto lens on the S25 Ultra will get "variable capabilities" that may involve fixed focal lengths between 4-5x zoom and then again between 6-7x zoom, thus streamlining the process when recording video. Another rumor suggests Samsung may ditch the second telephoto entirely, leaving the S25 Ultra with three camera lenses instead of four.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Performance
Given the use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, odds are the Galaxy S25 Ultra will sport a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset. Qualcomm has already confirmed we'll be seeing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in October, which lines up with an early 2025 release for Samsung's flagship series.
However, leaked early Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 benchmarks aren't exactly worth writing home about. According to the leaked Geekbench results, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 matches the top score produced by an A18 Bionic-powered iPhone. In our testing, the iPhone 16 Pro produced Geekbench single- and multi-core scores of 3,400 and 8,341, respectively, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max came close at 3,386 and 8,306 — while one report of a Galaxy S25 Ultra running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 produced results of 3,069 and 9,080 respectively.
Another credible rumor suggests that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will gain faster UFS 4.1 speeds, which would boost the phone's performance even more. RAM capacity could also see a jump, increasing from the 12GB found on the current Galaxy S24 Ultra to 16GB for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. That would make it better equipped to handle multitasking and processing Galaxy AI requests.
Speaking of AI features, odds are the Galaxy S25 Ultra will add more once it launches, similar to what we saw with the S24 lineup, but there's no word yet on what those could be.
In terms of battery life, the Galaxy S24 Ultra already landed on our best phone battery life list with its 5,000 mAh cell capable of lasting nearly 17 hours in our battery tests. Rumors suggest the Galaxy S25 Ultra could keep the same 5,000 mAh battery and 45W charging speeds.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Outlook
It's still a bit early to say definitively whether you should consider upgrading to the Galaxy S25 Ultra when it comes out. Based on what we know so far, the hardware upgrades over the Galaxy S24 Ultra seem minimal, but Samsung could have some fancy new tech or AI-powered features up its sleeve to sweeten the deal.
Given that Apple came out as the clear frontrunner in our iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra face-off, Samsung has a lot of ground to cover with its next flagship phones. We should learn more about what to expect with the S25 Ultra as we get closer to launch, but in the meantime, it may be worth holding off on upgrading for now.
