Image: Samsung Samsung has announced the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, its latest flagship smartphones. The phones have a heavy emphasis on AI, but also feature the company's highest-end camera systems.
The Ultra is the highest-end model and has a 6. 9" display and four rear-facing cameras. The company says the phone's ultrawide camera is an upgrade from the previous generation and uses a new 50MP sensor behind an F1. 9 lens – the S24 series' ultrawide camera used a 12MP Type 1/2. 55 (5. 6 x 4. 2) sensor. The company hasn't released specifics on the new sensor's size, but we've reached out for details and will update this story if we hear back.
The S25 Ultra, shown here, features four rear cameras. The S25 and S25 Plus have three cameras, with the same 10MP 3x telephoto, but lower resolution wide and ultra-wide sensors.
Image: Samsung
Beyond the ultrawide, the S25 Ultra's camera layout appears to be relatively unchanged compared to the S24 Ultra. It still has a 200MP F1. 7 main shooter – the S24 Ultra used a Type 1/1. 3 (9. 8 x 7. 4) sensor, which is likely unchanged – as well as two telephoto cameras: a "3x" F2. 4 lens in front of a 10MP sensor, and a "5x" F3. 4 lens in front of a 50MP sensor. In the S24 Ultra, these cameras used Type 1/3. 94 (3. 7 x 2. 7) and Type 1/2. 52 (5. 7 x 4. 3) sensors, respectively.
The cameras on the 6. 2" S25 and 6. 7" S25 Plus, however, appear to be unchanged. They still use the previous-generation 12MP ultrawide, and the main camera and 3x telephoto appear to be the same 50MP Type 1/1. 56 (8. 2 x 6. 1) and Type 1/3. 94 (3. 7 x 2. 7) models as their predecessors.
Main Camera
Ultrawide Camera
Telephoto Camera
S25 / S25 Plus
50MP, F1. 8, OIS
12MP, F2. 2
3x - 10MP, F2. 4
S25 Ultra
200MP, F1. 7, OIS
50MP, F1. 9
3x - 10MP, F2. 4, OIS
5x - 50MP, F3. 4, OIS
Many of the S25's camera improvements come from software, such as the Virtual Aperture feature.
Image: Samsung
While there may not have been many hardware updates, the company did announce some new software tricks for the phones. A feature called "Virtual Aperture" lets you control how much simulated depth-of-field your image has, and the S25 now features a Galaxy Log color mode, which should help anyone who hopes to color grade the footage they take with their phones. The company also says it's updated its image processing, saying that it's upgraded its object recognition system and improved how it handles skin tones.
The custom filter feature attempts to replicate the look of a reference photo, which you can then apply to your other shots.
Image: Samsung
The S25 also features filters that the company says are inspired by classic film photos. In addition to the pre-made options, it allows you to create your own custom filter based on a photo that you give it; it'll try to tweak parameters like saturation and color balance to match the reference image.
The 25 Plus and Ultra also include a feature called "ProScaler," which the company says "delivers a high-definition viewing experience without having to adjust the display settings. "
The phones are powered by a chipset called the "Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy," which utilizes Qualcomm's latest technology. Samsung says it delivers "a performance boost of 40% in NPU, 37% in CPU and 30% in GPU compared to the previous generation. "
New generations of AI can give you tips on how to improve your pictures of your pets.
Image: Samsung
The company's announcement also placed a heavy focus on AI. In a demo of Google's Gemini Live AI, Samsung showed a person asking the assistant about how they could improve a photo they took, with the assistant giving tips on how to improve composition and color, as well as suggestions on what type of edits the person could make.
The company also announced that it's working with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to ensure that AI-generated images from its phones will have metadata marking them as generated imagery.
Image: Samsung
The phones will be available starting on February 7th. The standard S25 starts at $799 and comes with 128GB of storage, while the S25 Plus costs $999 and comes with 256GB. The S25 Ultra will start at $1,299 – by default it has 256GB of storage, but you can upgrade it up to 1TB.
Details of the phones are currently being announced via a Samsung live stream, which you can watch here.
Developing story. . . please check back for updates.
. dpreview.com2025-1-23 21:24
