Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Biggest expected upgrades

Samsung's next flagship, the Galaxy S25, will be here before you know it, with a likely launch date sometime in early 2025. And that means those considering an update will be eager to see how this upcoming phone will compare to the current Galaxy S24 and what kinds of new features and improvements Samsung will introduce.

That's why a Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S24 comparison matters, even at this early stage. Finding out a phone might change year over year can help you decide if it's worth an upgrade, whether that's from an older model or one of the more recent Galaxy S phones that make up the best Samsung phones available.

Galaxy S25 rumors tell us enough about the phone to make some early comparisons with the Galaxy S24. So read on to find out what kind of improvements could emerge from a Galaxy S25 vs. Galaxy S24 showdown.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Price

While it is still too early to say anything definitive about the price of Samsung's next generation of phones, there are some indications that we could see a price hike from what the Galaxy S24 lineup cost. Back in January, the Galaxy S24 debuted at $799 while the Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra cost $999 and $1,299, respectively.

Early reports indicate that component costs could rise for the Galaxy S25, particularly around the Snapdragon 8 Elite expected to power the upcoming phones. Other reports suggest that Samsung will find other areas to keep costs down to prevent an overall price increase.

Expect more clarity about potential Galaxy S25 prices to emerge as we get closer to 2025 and the expected January date for the next Galaxy Unpacked event.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and display

The Galaxy S24 featured a 6.2-inch screen, a slight increase from the 6.1-inch display on the Galaxy S23, with Samsung shrinking the bezels to add more screen space. Rumors tip the Galaxy S25 to have a 6.36 display which would match the size of the iPhone 16 Pro panel. Such a move could increase the size of the Galaxy S25 over the Galaxy S24

Samsung may cut display costs to keep the overall price of the Galaxy s25 unchanged, with rumors suggest the new phone will use the same M13 panel as the current model, rather than the M14 panels used by the iPhone 16 Pro and Google Pixel 9. This means that we can expect the same level of brightness as the Galaxy S24. We measured the S24 at 1,406 nits, which is bright, though well off the pace set by the Pixel 9.

Early renders of the Galaxy S25 suggest its going to look a lot like the Galaxy S24, save for that possible increase in size to accommodate a larger display. Galaxy S25 colors are rumored to include two different shades of blue along with silver and green. That would be quite a contrast from the standard black, grey, violet and yellow options for the Galaxy S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Cameras

The Galaxy S24 offered an impressive camera setup, with a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP Telephoto with 3x optical Zoom. All the rumors indicate that the next generation Samsung phone could feature very similar cameras, but there look to be some changes on tap.

Samsung recently announced three new camera sensors, which could form the basis of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus coming out next year. Of the three sensors, the ISOCELL GNJ has a 1/1.57-inch sensor size, which nearly matches the sensor sizes in the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus (1/1.56-inch).

While we don't know everything about the new sensors, Samsung has mentioned a few improvements — namely an anti-refractive layer and pixel isolation which would lead to better light capture, reduced reflections and improved color reproduction. Added to this is improved power consumption, including a 29% efficiency boost in preview mode and a 34% gain with 4K/60FPS video.

If all that's true, the Galaxy S25 could offer much clearer visuals, especially with the power of Galaxy AI to help with image processing and editing. We're eager to see what that means for the Galaxy S25 compared to some of the other top camera phones out there.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Performance & AI

Qualcomm just took the wraps off the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the top-of-the-line system on chip likely to power the best Android phones coming out over the next 12 months. That should include the Galaxy S25, as a leaker indicates that Samsung plans to use the chip in all of its phones.

That would be a contrast from Samsung's approach with its current smartphone lineup. Only the Galaxy S24 Ultra exclusively featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm's best chip at the time of release. The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus split the difference on which chip appeared in which model. North American phones featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while models in other parts of the world ran on the Exynos 2400, which is a step slower than Qualcomm's silicon.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was a strong performer, topping Apple's A16 Bionic in graphics testing and some speed benchmarks. The Snapdragon 8 Elite figures to be even faster, according to our initial benchmarks of Qualcomm's chipset. In those tests, a Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered reference device even managed to top the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro Max on some tests.

The bigger story with the Snapdragon 8 Elite could be its faster neural engine, which will surely help with the speed of Galaxy AI features, even opening the door for more of those features to run on the Galaxy S25 itself. It's almost certain that Samsung will introduce new Galaxy AI features as part of the Galaxy S25 launch, though no rumors have emerged yet as to what those will be. (It's also possible any features Samsung introduces with the S25 could find its way to the S24 in keeping with how Samsung has handled previous Galaxy AI additions.)

Finally, there's the battery, and there doesn't seem to be much change so expect the phone to have the 4,000 mAh battery as the current Galaxy S24. Hopefully, we hear some news about improved wireless charging soon, but there's nothing on that yet.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Battery

Battery rumors surrounding the Galaxy S25 have been few and far between. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra tipped to feature the same 5,000 mAh battery as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it's not out of line to assume the Galaxy S25 would keep a 4,000 mAh battery just like the S24.

We could still see a boost in battery life, though, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcomm says the CPU on the new chip is 44% more power efficient than its predecessor while the GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite is 40% more power efficient.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Galaxy S24: Outlook

We're still several months away from the rumored Galaxy S25 launch, so comparisons with the Galaxy S24 remain tentative at this point. The upgrade to the Snapdragon 8 Elite figures to be the biggest change, as it not only impacts performance but also AI features and battery life for Samsung's new phone. Additional details about the S25's cameras and display could still emerge as well.

We'll continue to keep an eye out for more Galaxy S25 rumors, comparing the likely changes to what Samsung currently offers with the Galaxy S24.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy S25 is official — and an XR device and a cheaper foldable could be on the way too
• No more Galaxy? Samsung just tipped to rebrand its flagship phones
• Millions of Samsung phones at risk of hacking — update these devices right now