Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the most awaited phone after the iPhone 16 Pro Max debut. Consumers are waiting to witness Samsung’s technological innovations while Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is already rumored to bring 5 biggest changes.

A new processor, enhanced display, refined design, upgraded ultrawide camera and more RAM are the 5 biggest changes rumored to feature in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Most of the rumors will come true as given arrival from credible sources.

Here are the five biggest changes:

1. Overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite

Back in October, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Samsung will indeed use the latest processor in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, scheduled for a January 2025 launch.

This year’s Snapdragon chip brings Qualcomm Oryon CPU as well as enhanced GPU and NPU. The fabrication process has also improved as compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy.

Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to be shipped with an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. In early benchmark tests, the flagship performed stunningly well, rivaling the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | Image: S25U CAD – Onleaks / One UI 7 Screenshot – TekAvenue/X

2. New design philosophy

Samsung switched to a Note-like boxy design in the Galaxy S series, starting with the S22 Ultra. Galaxy S21 Ultra was the last S Ultra model that featured rounded corners like its predecessors.

After three generations, Samsung is abandoning the sharp corner design approach. Well, it doesn’t mean that the S25 Ultra is bringing rounded corners that we’ve seen in the S21 Ultra.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to maintain the design elegance of the S24 Ultra. The frame corners will be slightly rounded in order to quash the sharper ones for better handling.

As seen in the renders, dummy units, and alleged hands-on video, the S25 Ultra is flat from the screen size, while the frame joins the back panel with minimal edges to feel soft in hand.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Dummy Model | Image: Ice Universe / Weibo

3. Enhanced OLED with M13+ material set

Samsung’s S24 Ultra reported having grainy display issues. Early buyers of the device observed grainy textured colors on the OLED, which affects the screen visibility.

It features OLED with an M13 material set, and it’s rumored that the S25 Ultra won’t get M14 OLED. Recent rumors suggest that the enhanced M13 + may be used in the S25 Ultra.

Samsung is said to have fixed grainy display issues in the panels to be used in the S25 Ultra. It will be a significant upgrade that will eliminate a weird hardware problem on the Samsung flagship.

4. 50-megapixel Ultrawide camera

Galaxy S25 Ultra could disappoint you if you are waiting for a zoom camera upgrade. Samsung is said to have installed a new ultrawide sensor in the next Ultra flagship, skipping the Telephoto.

While the 3x Telephoto deserves to be upgraded, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumored to be equipped with a new 50-megapixel ultrawide using the Samsung ISOCELL JN3 sensor, with 0.7um pixel size.

The S24 Ultra replaced S24 Ultra’s 10MP 10x telephoto with a new 50MP 5x solution. However, the S25 Ultra’s 3x telephoto may remain the same as the S24 Ultra, S23 Ultra, S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra.

5. More RAM

12Gb is the maximum RAM available on this year’s S24 Ultra. As Samsung targets AI Phone lead, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to get a significant upgrade, in terms of RAM configuration.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumored to be available in 12Gb and 16Gb RAM options. While the exact configuration is a mystery, the 1Tb storage model may be paired with 16Gb RAM.

12Gb is still a decent RAM installation on Samsung’s flagship, but an even larger option would result in faster processing, a reliable gaming experience, and seamless multitasking.

Galaxy S25 Ultra Launch – What we know

Samsung is rumored to unveil the Galaxy S25 series in late January next year. The company may officially announce the Unpacked in early to mid-January. However, the release could start in the first week of February.

A price hike is rumored on all models due to the increased costs of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Samsung is trying hard to freeze the price, with cost-cutting visible in terms of display and camera image sensor configuration.

Check out the rumored specs table and price…

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S25 5G

Google has extended Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series’ Android updates support by two years. Now, the devices belonging to these lineups will get two additional OS upgrades. Samsung Galaxy S21, S22, and S23 series also deserve an extension in Android OS update support.

Google recently revised its OS support plan for older Pixel phones. The company will now provide five years of OS and security updates to Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series. These models were launched right before the Galaxy S21 and S22 series.

Samsung should consider extending software support for these Galaxy models:

Galaxy S Series: Galaxy S23, S23 FE, S23+, S23 Ultra, as well as Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra, S21, S21+, S21 Ultra, S21 FE

Galaxy Z Series: Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Z Fold 3, and Z Flip 3

Galaxy Tablets: Galaxy Tab S9, Tab S9+, Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S8, S8+, and S8 Ultra

Samsung Software Support – How it evolved

Way back in August 2020, Samsung introduced its software update policy. The company promised that the Galaxy S20 series and later models will receive up to three generations of Android OS upgrades and regular security patches.

Beyond that, Samsung has taken software support to a whole new level. In February 2022, the company promised four major Android upgrades and five years of security patches to flagship Galaxy phones released in 2021 and later.

This made the Galaxy S21 series eligible for an additional OS upgrade and two more years of security updates. Well, Samsung offered the same OS support to select Galaxy A and M series smartphones.

In 2023 and 2024, the Korean tech giant has completely changed the OS upgrade game. While rivals replicated Samsung’s policy, it has confirmed flagship-grade longevity to budget and mid-range smartphones.

2024 marked the biggest breakthrough in the mobile industry. Starting with the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung flagships are now eligible for seven years of Android upgrades and seven years of regular security updates.

While Samsung’s software support improved gradually, the Galaxy S21, S22, and S23 series are now lagging in competition. The S21 series will have its last major update next year, with two and three OS updates remaining for S22 and S23, respectively.

Samsung is the last among all Android smartphone makers to release an Android 15 based software upgrade for its devices but it seems that the One UI 7 delay is highly relative to the Galaxy S25 series user experience.

Last year, Samsung released the One UI 6 beta program in August, right after the Android 14 release. The software is packed with new personalization features.

This year, Google also pushed the Android 15 release to October, which allowed Samsung to delay its beta activity by a few months and take the stable release around the Galaxy S25 series release in January 2025.

Yesterday, the phone maker started the One UI 7 beta rollout for the Galaxy S24 series. The program first landed in Germany, the US, and the UK and will expand through other markets.

The latest software is designed with a new approach and differentiates from the current One UI version. Among these, Samsung has paid full attention to UI and animations.

The first beta revealed that the old-school quick settings panel is now divided into two sections. One is dedicated to notifications and the other is for quick settings.

The notifications panel uses onboard AI to manage your notifications and decide the priority for what’s important. The new quick settings help you organize the icons better than One UI 6.1.

It has sections organized for easy access, media, connectivity, and volume sliders. Furthermore, the edit option is reinvented for a more personalized user experience.

Samsung has changed the app icons for a fresh look and the touch response has been improved as well.
The key attraction for the software also brings us to animation.

The changes made to the UI are directly related to the transitions throughout the software, which include the lock screen, lock and wake-up sequence, switching apps, and more.

The minimalistic Now Bar widgets are unique and catch attention. For example, the mini widget in the bottom allows you to tap and enlarge it in the center. It offers key options to manage their essential features without unlocking the device.

However, the concept here is to improve the finger’s reach at the bottom. Also, the animation of enlarging the widget is very smooth.

The existing One UI version keeps such widgets in the center by default and doesn’t offer such flexibility, especially not at this scale.

One UI 7 (Credit – Samsung)

Galaxy S25

The next-gen Samsung flagship is coming with a new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. This is the fastest Snapdragon chip Qualcomm has ever designed for mobile devices. It has a better neural processing unit for generative AI, allowing the S25 devices to deliver new AI features.

One UI 7’s user experience will also rely on this new chip. The enhanced performance will take power from Snapdragon 8 Elite to render the visuals and animations on screen.

As a result, the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup will be able to visualize the entire One UI 7 experience like never before.
Furthermore, the new flat screen and low bezels in Galaxy S25 Ultra will maximize the One UI 7 further.

Check our S25 series section to know more.