Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra: Release date, pricing, colors, and everything else!

You can’t get a new year started without a fleet of Samsung’s best new smartphones, bringing together the hottest hardware advancements, most impressive AI features, and the latest and greatest edition of One UI.

Let’s not waste any time, as there is a ton you’ll want to know about the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here we go!

Samsung Galaxy S25 series: Release date, price, and availability

• Samsung Galaxy S25 (12/128GB): $799.99
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus (12/256GB): $999.99
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (12/256GB): $1,299.99

Samsung formally introduced the Galaxy S25 series at its first Unpacked of the year on January 22, 2025 — and just like last time around, hosted the event in San Jose, California. Following the pre-reservation period that could score you a $50 credit, pre-orders for the phones opened as Unpacked concluded. General retail availability is set to get underway on February 7.

Approaching this generation of Galaxy flagships after a year when seemingly everything got more expensive, we were curious if Samsung would leave pricing unchanged, or take advantage of inflationary trends to push prices to a new extreme. As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about, and Samsung came back with the same pricing breakdown we saw last year. That means the Galaxy S25 starts at $799, and the Galaxy S25 Plus starts at $999. Those two have maintained that position for years and, with a little luck, will for at least a few more to come.

While Samsung raised pricing for its highest-end flagship model with last year’s S24 Ultra, it looks like the company has managed to get that urge out of its system, and the S25 Ultra also comes back this year at the same $1,299 level.

With microSD expansion having gone the way of the dodo, you’re going to want to make sure you pick up a Galaxy S25 model equipped with all the storage you’ll need not just for today and tomorrow, but for the next seven years of Android updates you’ll be getting. Here’s what your options look like:

Samsung is selling the Galaxy S25 in markets all around the world, from the United States, to the United Kingdom, to the company’s own South Korea. What’s special this year is that we’re not seeing a split between the choice of processor across markets. That said, the availability of different storage configurations may vary depending on where you live.

For instance, in the US, Samsung won’t be selling the 512GB storage model of the standard Galaxy S25; the highest storage you can get on it will be 256GB. Similarly, you won’t be able to pick up an S25 Plus with 1TB storage in the US, but you might have that variant available in other countries.

While in the past Samsung has brought Snapdragon-powered Galaxy models to markets like the US, you’d find Samsung-produced Exynos chips in Galaxy flagships in many international markets. That’s not the case in 2025, and all Galaxy S25 phones run the custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.

When it comes to buying a Galaxy S25, carriers can offer some fantastic deals, but the best spot for getting your order in is often directly with Samsung itself. That gets you access to not only some unique promo offers, but is also the only place you’ll find the S25 Ultra in its Jetblack colorway.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series: Specs

We’ve already let the cat out of the bag when it comes to a couple of the biggest shifts in hardware with this year’s Galaxy S models, as Samsung bumps base RAM up to 12GB for the Galaxy S25 and commits to Snapdragons all around with its processors. But there’s just a bit more than that going on here, so peruse this table at your convenience for all the details.

Samsung Galaxy S25 series: Features

Watching Samsung work on the One UI 7 beta for the past couple months, we already knew a lot about new features coming to Galaxy smartphones, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. As the latest flagship line, the Galaxy S25 series isn’t just equipped with some solid hardware upgrades, but picks up some noteworthy software enhancements and exclusives in the process. These are the highlights you’re absolutely going to want to check out:

Camera

Once again, Samsung saves its best camera package for its premium model, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra delivers with its quad-camera array, including a 200MP main camera and the return of the 50MP periscope telephoto option we saw debut with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. But even with those specs lining up, we still get new hardware here, like a new ultrawide angle (UWA) lens for the phone’s other 50MP shooter.

Some of the improvements in this generation might be a little bit subtle, but Samsung is definitely upping its game behind the scenes. That includes upgrades like increasing HDR fidelity from 8-bit to 10-bit, and cleaner macro performance due to less sensor crop. Another one you may feel more than you consciously notice is a big reduction in shutter lag.

One upgrade arriving in this generation brings a new spatio-temporal filter to Samsung’s cameras, helping with image processing by making it easier for these phones to distinguish between still and moving image elements. We’re also seeing that same system used to enhance portrait mode performance.

For its smaller phones here, Samsung’s not delivering any surprises, and the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus end up as camera twins for another year. Sadly, neither of these two pick up the new UWA lens from the Ultra for their own 12MP ultrawide cameras. All three phones return with a 12MP front-facer; if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Performance

With the introduction of the Galaxy S23 a couple of years back, Samsung broke from tradition and, rather than splitting markets between S23 phones built with Snapdragon and Exynos processors, chose to go Snapdragon across the board. While the S24 was a return to that division, the S25 brings us back to a unified Qualcomm landscape, and every S25 model you can buy will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.

Samsung and Qualcomm have a close working relationship, and that “for Galaxy” label should be all the hint you need that there are some special changes going on under the hood here. Compared to off-the-shelf Snapdragon 8 Elite components, the chips Samsung is using have been overclocked for even speedier performance.

One particular area where these Snapdragon 8 Elite chips are getting some extra attention is their image signal processor (ISP), which has been heavily modified for Samsung’s needs.

We’ll be putting the S25 family through our own performance tests, but at least according to Samsung’s own figures, this year’s phones can deliver 37% more CPU performance and offer a 30% faster GPU than last year’s Galaxy S24 models.

The other nice performance upgrade Samsung is doing this year concerns the baby Galaxy S25. With the S24 series, while Plus and Ultra phones were only available with 12GB of RAM, the smallest model could be found with just 8GB. That was a little on the low end, so with the S25 Samsung’s hooking all sizes up with a full 12GB.

Display

Samsung’s not taking its flagship Android line back to the drawing board, and the look and feel of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra just carry the S24’s influence into a new generation. While there’s plenty that’s evolving in 2025, there are also a lot of places where Samsung has already gotten to the point where it wants its phones to be — and that includes some display details. But even as the base Galaxy S25 and the S25 Plus keep their 6.2- and 6.7-inch screen sizes, respectively, the S25 Ultra upgrades from 6.8 to 6.9 inches.

Despite that size increase, the phone itself shouldn’t feel any larger than the S24 Ultra, thanks to smaller bezels that allow Samsung to squeeze more display real estate into hardware that’s the same size.

Samsung taps Corning for screen protection once again, giving the S25 and S25 Plus the same Gorilla Glass Victus 2 we saw with last year’s models. The S24 Ultra helped introduce us to Corning’s advanced Gorilla Armor, and we had heard to expect an upgraded version this time around. Sure enough, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is our first chance to experience second-generation Gorilla Armor, claiming a 40% improvement in durability.

Considering how the original Gorilla Armor saw Samsung dealing with a 60% decrease in service requests for screen damage compared to the S23 Ultra, we can only imagine how that might continue to drop off in the years to come. In addition to the strength improvements, Corning has also upgraded its anti-reflection coating for optimum visibility in conditions of all kinds.

Design, colors, and build quality

It really feels like this year is one of subtle refinement for Samsung’s Galaxy S series, and while some fans will be disappointed to not see the company taking a bolder approach to design, those who have been craving a few targeted improvements may find a lot to appreciate here.

Even as the overall look of the S25 series largely mirrors that of S24 phones, Samsung’s pushing the appearance of its Ultra model closer to alignment with its smaller siblings as the phone adopts curved corners this year. That seems like it’s a further step away from the idea of the Ultra as a Note replacement — and honestly, this change is just going to feel a whole lot less pokey in our pockets.

The silhouettes of our S25 trio don’t diverge much from their S24 predecessors, but all three have gone on a diet, and weigh in noticeably less than last time around. While the S24 series tipped the scales at 168, 197, and 233 grams, the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra only come in at 162, 190, and 218 grams, respectively. With the Ultra particularly, that’s an immediately obvious improvement, and the phone feels stunningly light from the moment you pick it up.

There’s also a decrease in thickness across the board, though on a scale of fractions of millimeters. All three S25 phones should be reasonably well equipped to resist environmental damage, with IP68 ratings and metal frames — aluminum for the S25 and Plus, and titanium on the Ultra.

If you’re a fan of blue-ish, metallic shades, boy does Samsung have just the lineup of colorways for you. The Galaxy S25 gets us started with four main colors: Icyblue, Navy, Mint, and Silver Shadow. Those are the same four options you have with the Galaxy S25 Plus, and Samsung’s giving both these phones access to the same online exclusive colors if you order direct from the manufacturer: Blueblack, Coraled, and Pinkgold.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets its own selection of colors, but really these do not come across as hugely distinct from the rest of these silvery hues. All told, you have your choice of Titan Black, Titan Gray, Titan Silverblue, and Titan Whitesilver. Online you may find those joined by Titanium Pinkgold, Titanium Jetblack, and Titanium Jadegreen. Did you remember that the S25 Ultra has a titanium frame? Samsung seems afraid you’ll forget.

Especially with these online-exclusive colors available at Samsung.com, the company tends to limit availability to specific markets, so you probably won’t have your choice of all of them. You’re definitely going to want to check out Samsung’s site in your own country to get an accurate look at the options available to you.

Battery life and charging

No matter how flashy a new phone is, it’s no good to anyone with a dead battery, and power endurance continues to be a major concern for smartphone buyers everywhere.

With phone hardware that doesn’t make any major size changes compared to last year, it shouldn’t be any surprise that we’re looking at the same battery capacities across the lineup. That spells a 4,000mAh battery for the Galaxy S25, the return of a nice, big 4,900mAh component for the Galaxy S25 Plus, and the S25 Ultra going with the same 5,000mAh battery size these models have used since time immemorial.

We’re also not seeing any changes when it comes to charging speed. With the Galaxy S25, that means that you’re going to top out at using the phone with a 25W charging adapter. For the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can go as high as 45W — just keep in mind that you’ll need to pick up a compatible phone charger to take full advantage.

It looked hopeful for a moment that we might score some upgrades this generation in terms of wireless charging, maybe even getting 25W support, but we’re stuck with the same 15W wireless maximum. There’s also no magnets built into any of the Galaxy S25 models for Qi2 support, and while Samsung has worked with case manufacturers to make sure that third-party options that add magnets will align precisely with Samsung’s charging coils, that’s hardly the graceful solution we craved.

All three Galaxy S25 phones support Wireless PowerShare for fueling your other devices in a pinch.

Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen

Samsung’s active stylus solution has long been a big selling point for Galaxy flagships, with the Note having passed the torch to Galaxy S Ultra models. But while past years have pushed limits in terms of S Pen functionality and ergonomics, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra we see Samsung’s priorities begin to shift.

The big change this year is that Samsung is dropping support for the S Pen’s Bluetooth functionality. This means losing access to Air Control and a host of other Bluetooth-connected features. This isn’t just about the Ultra’s built-in S Pen, either, and even if you bring your own S Pen Pro, the phone won’t connect to it over Bluetooth. That’s a bummer, but Samsung says that not enough users were taking advantage of the support to justify keeping it.

It’s not all a wash, though, and Samsung has tweaked the way the S Pen docks in the Ultra to feel more flush this time around. On the downside, that can make getting it out a little more difficult, but we’re sure a lot of owners will still appreciate this.

One UI 7: Software and updates

Samsung already set a high bar for itself last year when it met Google to offer seven years of software support for the Galaxy S24 series. That practice is only set to continue with its new Galaxy S25 phones, and all three of these models are due not just seven years of security updates but seven years of new Android releases. Sure, most of us are going to upgrade our handsets long before we even get close to that cutoff, but we are still so grateful to see manufacturers like Samsung even giving us the option to keep using devices for this very long.

Google’s rollout of Android 15 was a little weird last fall, and even the company’s own Pixel 9 phones arrived without it. Samsung got its own public beta program going much later than we’re used to, inviting owners of Galaxy S24 phones to help test One UI 7. The company just wrapped One UI 7 testing up ahead of the Galaxy S25’s launch, making this Samsung’s first hardware to debut running Android 15 and this latest incarnation of the company’s skin.

The Galaxy S24 already showed Samsung’s clear investment in AI-powered features, and it’s only doubling down on that commitment with One UI 7 on the Galaxy S 25. That includes some big changes, like Gemini rising to join Bixby as your AI assistant tag team. That can’t have been an easy decision for Samsung, but is one that’s probably going to be the best for Galaxy S25 users.

Gemini is only a taste of all the AI functionality Samsung has prioritized with the Galaxy S25 and One UI 7, so let’s get right into what you can look forward to.

Galaxy AI features

Once again, Samsung is back with Galaxy AI branding to summarize all the AI-fueled features you’ll find on its flagship phones, including those cooked up in-house and those that tap into Google’s own AI prowess. While some hardware upgrades this generation are only available on the company’s highest-end Ultra model, we’re happy to see that there’s no such exclusivity when it comes to Galaxy AI, and these features are available across the entire Galaxy S25 lineup.

Between the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip claiming a 40% boost in NPU performance for AI tasks, and Samsung’s move to give all its S25 phones 12GB of RAM, this series is better equipped than ever before for doing some seriously advanced AI number crunching right on your phone. But just like we’ve seen in the past, other Galaxy AI features are going to tap into the flexibility of the cloud for a little extra help.

Here are just a few of the Galaxy AI features you’ll find in each of those categories.

On-device you’ll find things like AI Select, Writing Assist, Call Summary, Read Aloud, and this pair of “Now” tools:

• Now Brief: Remember Google Now back in the day? Google’s old service could offer you a summary of your day. Samsung’s Now Brief feels a lot like a modern reincarnation of this tool, keeping you updated throughout the day with information it thinks you’ll find useful.
• Now Bar: You can think of the Now Bar as a companion to Now Brief, bringing you that same kind of daily content but condensed down into a bite-sized chunk that lives at the bottom of your lock screen.

Cloud-based functionality includes Draw Assist, Sticker Generation, and some Google stuff like Gemini Live and one recently enhanced favorite:

• Circle to Search: This Google-created feature gets an upgrade with the launch of the Galaxy S25, as AI Overviews come to Circle to Search. Google was already leaning hard on AI to recognize the on-screen elements you’re trying to search, and this expands that usage to also quickly give you a summary of the best information it was able to find. Other tweaks include recognizing phone numbers and URLs.
• Draw Assist: Galaxy AI uses a combination of text you write, images you upload, or just a quick sketch you throw together to help generate synthesized artwork.

There are also a number of Galaxy AI features that straddle both sides of this line, with both on-device and cloud support. Just like we’ve seen Samsung do before, with the S25 series it gives you control over which of these AI tools you want active on your device. Especially with cloud-based ones, if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of your data being exposed, you can always opt to have your phone just act like they don’t even exist.

ProVisual Engine

While Galaxy AI represents the flashy tools stealing all the spotlight, lots of Samsung fans come back year after year for the company’s reliable camera performance, with a ton of powerful features all wrapped up in the ProVisual Engine banner. With the S25 series, Samsung is only giving those users more of what they love.

Here are only some of the new capabilities you’ll find from the ProVisual Engine on top of everything Samsung’s bringing back from past generations:

• 10-bit HDR: We already touched on this one, but making 10-bit the new default bit depth for HDR means that Samsung’s able to squeeze significantly more dynamic range into the photos the Galaxy S25 phones shoot. That should especially be noticeable in low-light conditions, where Samsung really says the S25 shines.
• Audio Eraser: Like Google’s Audio Magic Eraser, Samsung has implemented its own tool for cleaning up the audio from video recordings. The system identifies the different components making up the sound in your footage, letting you selectively isolate things like voices, music, and crowd noise. Then, you can adjust the levels on all those individually to get the perfect balance.
• Galaxy Log: Professionals who lean on the flexibility of Samsung’s pro video mode can now access tools for accurate color grading, with the help of exclusive lookup tables.
• Virtual Aperture: A physically varying aperture allows cameras to instantly change characteristics like depth of field, but smartphones rarely offer such flexibility. With the Galaxy S25, Samsung’s Expert Raw app will try to achieve the next best thing, letting you simulate the same sort of effect during the editing process.

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