Galaxy S25 Leak: Sleek Design Or An Extreme Case Of iPhone 16 Envy?
by Aaron Leong · HotHardwareSamsung's Galaxy S25 smartphone lineup is expected to arrive in the first half of 2025 and the leaks so far have painted a picture of phones with markedly improved innards and evolutionary (read: boring) changes in design. This latest leak of some early Galaxy S25 mock-ups further solidifies how Samsung—like other brands—are moving towards flat displays with slab sides and curved corners. In other words, the S25 could end up looking like an iPhone 16.
Reliable tipster OnLeaks recently shared some photos of what seem like Galaxy S25 Ultra dummy phones, leaving not much left to the imagination in terms of size and shape. You can see that the phones have the same flat sides and rounded corners as we had previously reported back in October. From these photos we also have a better sense of what the camera bumps look like—resembling black vinyl washers that somebody glue to the back of the phones.
If this design pans out, it would look like Samsung has taken the middle ground between the S24 and S24+ (which have high-radius corners) and the S24 Ultra with its squared-edge Galaxy Note-like profile. In doing so, however, it brings the S25 more in line with recent phone designs like the Pixel 9 and the iPhone 16. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as we've kind of grown weary of waterfall curved displays and/or edges. Unprotected by cases, they prove easier to damage when dropped, plus they tend to be more challenging to use one-handed.
As one of the most highly-anticipated devices on any given year, Samsung's Galaxy phones have a lot to live up to. Same old design notwithstanding, the Galaxy S25 phones are expected to be powerhouses thanks to the use of the Snapdragon 8 Elite (for all markets) paired with 12 GB RAM (up from the current 8 GB) and 256 GB available on even the base model.
The S25 and S25+ are thought to have the same imaging hardware alongside the imaging processor from the Elite. There will be an improved 50MP ultra wide sensor for the S25 Ultra. Otherwise, that's about it for camera upgrades.
Samsung isn't upgrading the battery capacities or charging speeds for the new phones either, perhaps relying on the efficiency of the Elite 8 to boost endurance.