If you’re still running the Samsung Galaxy S22 and have upgrading on your mind, January probably can’t come soon enough. The Samsung Galaxy S25 is rumored to be unveiled on Wednesday January 22 at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, and while it’s probably going to be an incremental boost over the S24, a fair amount has changed since 2022 when the S22 arrived on the scene.
So just how much better will the S25 be than the S22? Here are the biggest expected upgrades.
Samsung Galaxy S25 (rumored) vs Galaxy S22 specs
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| Display size | 6.36 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 120Hz |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Memory | 12GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 1TB | 128GB, 256GB |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom | 50 MP main 12 MP ultrawide 10MP Telephoto with 3x optical zoom |
| Front camera | 12MP | 10MP |
| Battery size | 4,000 mAh | 3,700 mAh |
| Colors | Navy, Silver Shadow, Icy Blue, Mint. | Phantom Black, White, Pink Gold, Green, Graphite, Sky Blue, Violet, Cream, Bora Purple. |
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S22 price
As you would expect when comparing a rather old phone with an upcoming one, the only real advantage the former has is price.
When it launched in 2022, the Samsung Galaxy S22 cost $799. You’d struggle to find one new now, but shop around, and you’ll find pre-owned models for as little as $350.
The Samsung Galaxy S25, meanwhile, could be fairly pricey. Best case scenario is that the starting price remains at $799. But with talk of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite adding a big markup, we’re bracing ourselves for at least $899.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S22 design and display
Multiple leaks suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S25 is going to look an awful lot like the Galaxy S24 — which itself was a solid design improvement on the S22. Gone is the raised area for the triple camera array, with the three lenses now seamlessly emerging from the handset’s back panel. It’s a cleaner look, overall.
But fans of smaller phones may not consider every change a positive one. The S22 has a 6.1-inch panel, which crept up to 6.2 inches in 2024 and is set to rise again in 2025 with a 6.36-inch display tipped. We’re still expecting the OLED panel to be full HD, too, so things may look a touch less sharp when stretched over a (slightly) larger canvas.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S22 performance
This is where you’ll really feel the difference. On every single performance metric, the Galaxy S25 is set to be a huge improvement on the S22.
The most obvious of these is the processor. The S22 used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while the S25 will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and its benchmarks look hugely promising.
While the S22 manages average scores of 1,438 and 3449 in Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Elite reference chip managed 3,212 and 10,318 for us. GPU performance was also enormously improved, with the S22 managing 60fps in the Wild Life Unlimited to the new chip’s 150.9fps.
But a more efficient processor also leads to better battery life, and we’re expecting the S25 to offer far more than the 7 hours and 51 minutes the S22 achieved in our web surfing test. The S24 managed 13 hours and 28 minutes on this test, and we’re hopeful that the S25 will be even better.
The S25 is also set to have an extra 4GB RAM over the S22, taking it to a total of 12GB. While this should lead to better multitasking performance across the board, the real advantage is that it helps Galaxy AI — the suite of artificial intelligence software that S22 owners got a taste of with the One UI 6.1 update.
There are too many Galaxy AI features to go into here, but if you like the idea of artificial intelligence summarizing content, helping you write, editing photos and translating phone conversations in real time, the S25 will perform far better — and will probably bring some new tricks with Bixby integration.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S22 cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S22 saw big changes on its predecessor in terms of physical hardware. The 12MP main sensor was replaced with a 50MP number that let in a lot more light, and the phone also welcomed 3x optical zoom for the first time.
Since then, Samsung has kept things largely the same. On paper, the S25’s camera specs — a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom — appear unchanged for the third year running.
But the company’s image processing has improved by leaps and bounds, as you can see when you compare the S22’s camera shots to the S24’s. Add in the Galaxy AI’s generative AI photo editing elements, and you’ve probably got enough reasons to upgrade there.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S22 outlook
Unlike the Ultra phones, the regular Galaxy S has been a story of small, iterative upgrades each year. But if you’re jumping from the 2022 model to the 2025 one, you’ll get three years’ worth of benefit in one go.
From speed and cameras to battery life, the Galaxy S25 should be quite the upgrade for those still holding onto their Galaxy S22. Now may well be the time to make the leap — unless you want to go all-in on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra instead.
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