Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Wishlist: 7 essential features for the next big phone

The Samsung Galaxy S series has always been at the forefront of innovation, setting benchmarks for what premium smartphones should offer. With the Galaxy S25 Ultra on the horizon, the expectations are sky-high. Here’s an in-depth list of desired enhancements that might position the Galaxy S25 Ultra as the top smartphone for 2025.

1. Design:

There’s a lot of rumor that Samsung might switch to a flat screen, but with rounded corners, mirroring the style of the Galaxy Note 20. This design doesn’t just look sharp; it’s also more comfortable to hold and helps prevent annoying accidental touches along the edges. Plus, using a titanium frame makes the phone tougher yet lighter, giving it a high-end look.

2. Display:

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has one of the best displays in the world. There should be a brighter screen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and other S25 devices: With competitors pushing display brightness, an upgrade to a display capable of reaching up to 3000 to 3,200 nits would be a welcome feature, ensuring visibility even in the brightest sunlight.

There’s a rumor that the bezels might be under 1.2mm, it would make the phone look even better and give you more screen space to work with, which is something I’ve always valued during my review time.

Based on official information, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has a display with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, which is quite impressive for visibility in bright environments like direct sunlight. However, for practical purposes, the S24 Ultra’s 2,600 nits already provide excellent outdoor visibility.

3. Performance:

Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with its custom Oryon cores could provide unprecedented performance for Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, potentially surpassing the A18 Pro in Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro.

The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset comes with significant advancements in both power efficiency and AI capabilities, making it a game-changer for smartphones.

The 8 Elite is reported to offer a 44-46% increase in power efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the chipset featured in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, thanks to a 3nm process.

Improvement in power efficiency means that devices using the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset could offer longer battery life or maintain performance at lower power consumption levels, which is crucial for smartphones where battery life is a significant concern.

The chipset introduces Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU, designed to handle complex, multimodal AI tasks efficiently. It offers up to 12 times the AI performance of its predecessor, important for real-time AI features like object recognition, language processing, and more.

In addition to the latest chipset, increasing the RAM capacity to 16GB in the Galaxy S25 Ultra would represent a significant performance enhancement. More RAM allows for smoother operation when switching between apps or running multiple applications simultaneously.

In addition to that, with software updates often increasing system requirements, having more RAM ensures that the device can handle future OS updates and new applications without performance degradation. FYI, the OnePlus 12 already has 16GB of RAM.

4. Camera:

I am looking for an enhanced ultrawide camera. Upgrading to a 50MP sensor for the ultrawide lens would significantly improve low-light photography and dynamic range, areas where previous models (the S24 Ultra has a 12MP UW sensor,) have room for improvement.

The 50MP sensor can significantly enhance low-light photography, allowing for better light gathering, reducing noise, and improving detail in dark or dim conditions. This sensor will capture more detail, which can contribute to a better dynamic range. It will capture scenes with both bright highlights and dark shadows with a lot more accuracy. We have seen the improvement in low-light conditions and dynamic range in the earlier models like the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you’re likely to see improvements in how photos are edited with the AI. The AI might suggest changes or just go ahead and adjust things like color balance and contrast, or even apply effects that it thinks you’d like based on your uses or edited history. There should be a more sophisticated handling of shake and motion blur.

5. Battery and Charging:

I am looking for faster charging in smartphones: While Samsung has maintained 45W charging for its Ultra models, it’s time to step up. Samsung could potentially offer 60W or even higher in some markets, drastically reducing charging times.

Implementing Battery AI could intelligently manage power consumption, learning from user habits to optimize battery life, which would be a significant leap forward in user experience.

Rumors are suggesting that the battery capacity will remain at 4,000 mAh for the Galaxy S25, similar to its predecessor, the S24. The Galaxy S25+ will have a battery capacity of 4,900 mAh, the same as the S24+. The S25 Ultra is rumored to stay at 5,000 mAh, the same as the S24 Ultra.

However, there’s mention of potential enhancements in power efficiency due to the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which might improve battery life indirectly.

6. Software:

With the promise of One UI 7, Samsung could introduce a smoother, more intuitive interface. Features like seamless updates, as seen in the Google Pixel devices, would prevent the need for reboots during updates, enhancing user convenience.

The One UI 7 could bring about features where the phone anticipates user needs without manual inputs, simplifying daily interactions. Samsung has officially confirmed that there will be a new version of One UI with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. There will be up to 7 years of software support for the Galaxy S25 series.

7. Additional Features

A larger vibration motor for better haptic feedback would enrich the tactile experience, something I’ve noticed can significantly affect user interaction, especially in gaming or when using the S Pen.

With the power of new chips, thermal management becomes crucial. A larger vapor chamber for cooling would ensure the device performs optimally even under heavy load.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has the potential to redefine what we expect from flagship smartphones. From design to performance, and especially in departments like AI integration and camera technology, Samsung could lead the flagship segment. However, all these features are based on leaks, rumors, and the logical progression of technology, so they remain speculative until official announcements.