Samsung’s next generation of flagships is almost here (we expect to hear official news on the Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra by the end of the month) and I suspect this year’s biggest Galaxy update will be without anything. to do with the appearance of the new phones.
It’s easy to get excited about the prospect of cutting-edge technology every time a phone maker announces a new flagship model, but in reality, we’ve generally seen year-over-year progress slow down when it comes to major phone components and features. Modern smartphones, at least the ones you can see.
The Samsung Galaxy series, meanwhile, has had roughly the same form factor for half a decade; The Google Pixel series has focused on stabilizing performance with each version; and the iPhone 16 is Apple’s first truly innovative phone in years.
We again expect to see a number of slightly improved specs for the S25 line-up this January, particularly on the base model S25 and its identically specced bigger brother, the S25 Plus; Both will miss out on the higher-end upgrades headed to the S25 Ultra. For the two “standard” models, the latest S25 spec predictions suggest a bit more RAM, a slightly larger screen, and perhaps some improved storage options. The cameras and battery sizes will remain the same. It’s not Christmas, is it?
However, there is one category where we expect to see a much bigger improvement this year, and it’s not one you can see, at least not without breaking your phone in half (which TechRadar advises against).
Each and every Galaxy S25 model is expected to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the latest in Qualcomm’s line of class-leading mobile chipsets. Simply put, this could be a game-changer in terms of performance and instantly launch Samsung into pole position in the performance race with Apple. Let me explain why.
Elite by name, elite by nature
For those who don’t know, the Snapdragon 8 Elite follows the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is already one of the most powerful mobile chipsets ever produced, and improves (according to Qualcomm’s own metrics) single- and multi-core performance of that chipset by 45%. ; It also offers greatly improved energy efficiency.
When TechRadar’s US mobile editor Philip Berne ran preliminary benchmark tests on the 8 Elite, he found that Qualcomm’s latest effort nearly doubled the scores achieved by the A18 Pro on the iPhone 16 Pro.
Note that, at a predicted price of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, the entry-level S25 will compete with the iPhone 16 and its less powerful A18 chipset, rather than the iPhone 16 Pro. If these benchmarks are translate into real-world performance, the race between Apple and Samsung could end up looking like me chasing a Dodge Charger on foot (according to our Google Pixel 9 Pro review, the chipsets Google’s Tensor are not in the conversation yet).
What does this mean for the average user? Basically, an even faster Galaxy phone: faster loading times, smoother app switching, and expanded AI capabilities. “Benchmarks aren’t everything,” Qualcomm told us at the Snapdragon Summit last year, and while, as mentioned, the 8 Elite’s benchmark scores are certainly impressive, Qualcomm is just as keen to shout about the tangible benefits. and real from its latest chipset.
With rumors of a massive AI push from Samsung this year, we could see the S25 line enter our list of best AI phones thanks to this increased hardware power, which should allow users to make better use of of Samsung’s productivity and generative AI alike. What’s more, the S25 and S25 Plus are expected to launch with 12GB of RAM, 4GB more than the previous generation, giving these new phones even more room for artificial intelligence and multitasking.
We don’t even need to wait for the launch of the S25 series to see the Snapdragon 8 Elite in action – the first globally available phones with the new chipset arrived in December 2024 in the form of the Asus Rog Phone 9 and Rog Phone 9. Gaming Phones professionals. In our review of the Asus Rog Phone 9 Pro, the latter earned a performance score of 5/5 thanks to its exceptional consistency, improved gaming, and excellent graphics performance. It will be up to Samsung to optimize the needs of the everyday user with the S25 series.
Samsung has never been a slouch when it comes to performance – in our Galaxy S24 review, we found that the company’s latest entry-level flagship is hot on the S24 Ultra’s heels in the power department – but the gains made by the The Snapdragon 8 Elite could prove truly superlative and may even give S24 users a compelling reason to upgrade this year.
All that said, most of the above is still based on rumors at the moment, so be sure to stay up to date with our Samsung phone coverage for the latest official information as you hear it from Samsung.
