We're going to get our first official look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 very soon, with credible rumors pointing to a Galaxy Unpacked 2025 launch event later this month. And once that event happens — whether it's on January 22 as rumored or at some later date — we'll finally find out if Samsung's latest phones offer enough to get existing Galaxy owners to upgrade their handset.
The answer to that question will certainly depend on what you want from a phone and just how long you've been holding on to your current Galaxy model. Year-over-year phone changes tend to be pretty modest, so if you jumped on the Galaxy S24 train last year, you're likely less inclined to seek out a new device. If your current phone is getting up there in years, though, an upgrade is more likely to feel like a big leap forward.
We could still be surprised by new revelations at the Galaxy S25 launch that might sway an upgrade decision. But based on the rumors we've heard so far about Samsung's next phones, there are going to be three factors that determine whether you'll upgrade to a new Galaxy S25 model — the phone's chipset, the new Galaxy AI features and how much Samsung is going to charge for the total package.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite takes center stage
We expect the Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon from Qualcomm to power Samsung's new phones — not just the premium Galaxy S25 Ultra, but all S25 models. And unlike with the Galaxy S24, which used different chipsets depending on where in the world the phone was released, all Galaxy S25 models are expected to turn to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, at least according to rumors.
That would be a significant move on Samsung's part, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers big performance improvements. The new Oryon CPU on board the Snapdragon Elite is supposed to deliver a 45% improvement over last year's Qualcomm chip in both single- and multicore tasks, while the updated Adreno GPU can boost performance by 40%.
Forget about some of the Galaxy S25 benchmarks that have leaked out — I've had a chance to run Snapdragon 8 Elite tests on a reference device, and this is a very capable silicon that should give the Galaxy S25 a big performance boost, especially over older models.
It's not just about performance, though; the Snapdragon 8 Elite also promises better efficiency, producing faster speeds while expending less power. That should translate to a boost in battery life, even if Samsung doesn't increase the battery sizes over last year's phones. For anyone upgrading from a Galaxy that's a few years old, the gains should be quite substantial.
Normally, I'd also include camera improvements as a key factor influencing whether to upgrade or not, but the fact is, Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus rumors don't include any major camera changes. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is tipped to get a higher-resolution ultrawide lens and improvements to the telephoto lens, which could prove significant. But it's the increases to performance and battery life delivered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite that really figure to be the star of the show across all three S25 models.
Galaxy AI comes into focus
It's no secret that artificial intelligence figures to be Samsung's big focus with the Galaxy S25. And exactly what kind of AI tools debut on this year's phones will go a long way toward determining whether you should upgrade.
Last year's Galaxy AI debut was certainly promising, with Samsung putting a lot of focus on practical tools that fit well into what people use their phones for. Tools like live translations, Instant Slow-Mo and Circle to Search represent the best use of AI — simplifying and speeding up tasks that would otherwise consume a lot of brain power. Not every Galaxy AI tool panned out — Chat Assist stands out as a particularly superfluous addition — but for the the most part, Samsung was on point with its AI additions.
It's hard to tell what the company plans to do for a follow-up, as few leaks have emerged about Samsung's AI plans. A few reports have suggested that Bixby, Samsung's take on a digital assistant, will be getting an AI make-over, gaining contextual awareness. That enhancement would allow Bixby to take action with the content on your screen, looking up directions when it detects an address or adding events to your calendar, based on invitations you get via text. It's a promising idea, though we'll have to see just how well Samsung implements it.
There's another factor around Galaxy AI you'll need to consider when deciding whether the Galaxy S25 is worth an upgrade — will Samsung extend any new AI features to older phones? Last year, Samsung was very aggressive about making sure recent flagships gained the same AI capabilities it introduced with the Galaxy S24. If it continues to add features via software updates, that's less incentive for anyone with a Galaxy S23 or S24 to upgrade.
What will all this cost?
Ultimately, a lot of upgrade decisions come down to price. And the Galaxy S25 could deliver some bad news in that regard.
Reportedly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is not an inexpensive addition to smartphones. Throw in higher costs for components overall and political unrest in Samsung's home country of South Korea, and a lot of analysts expect prices to rise for the Galaxy S25 compared to recent Samsung flagships.
It's unclear if all three Galaxy S25 models will see higher prices than before or just one or two. Samsung could also hold prices steady in some regions while raising them in another. And of course, talk of higher prices could turn out to be just that — talk, as Samsung surprises everyone by keeping the prices unchanged from the Galaxy S24.
Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S25?
With the understanding that any upgrade plans will hinge entirely upon what Samsung does announce at Unpacked, it helps to have some idea whether you ned to plan ahead for picking up a new phone. And rumored upgrades to the Galaxy S25's system on chip plus new Galaxy AI features should give you some idea if an upgrade is in the cards.
Galaxy S24 owners will probably be inclined to pass on the new phones, unless you're the sort of person who needs to have the latest and greatest hardware. While the Snapdragon 8 Elite figures to outperform last year's Qualcomm silicon, it's not as if the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was a laggard in either performance or battery life. And given Samsung's past history with software updates, the Galaxy AI features coming to the Galaxy S25 are likely to find their way to the S24.
The same thing potentially holds true for the Galaxy S23, assuming that there's no specific hardware requirements for any of the Galaxy AI features Samsung plans to introduce. Upgrading to the Galaxy S25 should yield noticeable improvements to both performance battery life over the S23, but you'd have to determine if that justifies the expense of an upgrade — particularly if S25 prices are higher than before.
For anyone with a Galaxy S22 or older, though, the changes rumored for the new generation of Samsung flagships may be too good to pass up, regardless of what Samsung charges. A new generation of AI tools coupled with much more capable chipset would provide big jump for older devices.
All of that depends on what Samsung shows off when it's ready to launch the Galaxy S25. And based on the rumored dates for Unpacked, it sounds like it will be time to make that call on upgrading your Galaxy phone sooner rather than later.
More from Tom's Guide
- What to expect from Samsung Galaxy in 2025
- The best (and worst) AI phone features from last year
- Samsung Galaxy S25 could come with this great AI freebie for millions
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