Design leaks with specs that surpass the iPhone 16 Pro

According to a new report, next year’s Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will feature a thinner, lighter body and a significantly improved camera model.

Updated September 12 with details on controversial new Galaxy S25 Ultra renders and battery life. This story was originally published on September 10

Let’s start with the camera: The ultra-wide-angle camera is expected to see significant improvements, allowing for more detailed photos and videos to be captured, and potentially enabling new shooting modes that outperform the iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Big camera improvements

According to the well-known tipster Ice UniverseThe Galaxy S25 Ultra gets a brand new 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a brighter F/1.9 aperture lens. This upgrade is a significant improvement over the 12-megapixel version on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and should significantly increase the level of detail in ultra-wide-angle photos, especially close-up macro shots.

The higher resolution would also potentially enable 8K video recording with the ultra-wide-angle lens for the first time, although there is no guarantee that Samsung would enable this option.

The report suggests that the new 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor will retain the dimensions of the 12-megapixel version of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, meaning each pixel will shrink from 1.4µm to 0.7µm. Smaller pixels often result in more noise and grainier images, but Samsung could mitigate this by enabling an optional lower-resolution mode to boost performance in low-light shots. Additionally, increasing the lens aperture to F/1.9 (up from F/2.2 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra) would capture around 34% more light in each shot, which would further improve image quality, especially in darker scenarios.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s improved ultra-wide-angle camera would put Samsung on par with Apple’s recently announced iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which also feature improved ultra-wide-angle cameras, upgrading from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. Unlike Samsung, however, Apple has not increased the aperture, which remains at F/2.2. Also, note that the iPhone cannot currently record 8K video, even though the new sensors on the iPhone 16 lineup have a higher resolution.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – thinner and lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max

The same source also expects the Galaxy S25 Ultra to be significantly smaller and lighter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with a thickness of just 8.2mm compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 8.6mm. The overall dimensions of the Galaxy S25 Ultra are listed at 162.8mm x 77.6mm x 8.2mm and the weight is 219g, compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 233g.

If these leaked dimensions prove to be accurate, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be both thinner and lighter than Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max.

It is safe to assume that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S25 series in January 2025, so there is still plenty of time for further updates.

Update September 12: Controversial new renderings of the Galaxy S25 Ultra revealed

We now have a better idea of ​​what the Galaxy S25 Ultra might look like, thanks to some new renders from well-known informant Onleaks, revealed in a report by Android HeadlinesThe renders confirm the dimensions leaked above and show a slot for Samsung’s “S-Pen” stylus.

The most noticeable differences in the design of the Galaxy S25 Ultra are, as shown, the flatter edges and more pronounced rings around the camera lenses.

However, you shouldn’t consider these renders to be 100% accurate at this point. Samsung leaker Ice Universe points out that the Onleaks renders are based on CAD drawings and contain at least two possible errors. The first is an inaccurate depiction of the display edges and the second is that those prominent lens rings have been carried over from the Galaxy Z Fold6 – a decision that Ice Universe says is not only speculative but also unlikely.

Ice Universe also noted that Samsung’s next-generation flagship will feature the “smallest symmetrical bezels in smartphone history” and posted its own alternate render.

The report further claims that despite its smaller dimensions, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have the same 5,000mAh battery capacity and 45W fast charging feature found in all Galaxy S Ultra models since 2022’s Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, Samsung is expected to upgrade the processor to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, which the report says will be more efficient than the current Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, allowing for a significant increase in battery life over this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra.

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