2025’s best phone might be almost here, as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is reportedly landing in January, and this handset could be tough to beat.
Leaks and rumors have now revealed many of the likely Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra specs and features, so we have a good idea of what to expect. But that’s not what this article is about.
Below, we’ve listed the five things that we most want from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Some of these things have been rumored, others haven’t, but they’re things that could really help cement this as the best phone you can buy.
1. 16GB of RAM as standard
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is sure to have a powerful chipset so we’re not going to bother wishing for that. But what we hope it also has is 16GB of RAM – and in every configuration, not just the top ones.
RAM is important for many things on phones, but it’s now becoming all the more so, as AI tasks can make heavy use of it. So the more the better if the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is going to deliver as an AI phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has 12GB of RAM, so our realistic wish is for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to have 16GB, and it looks like we might get that – at least in part.
Early leaks suggested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra would ship with 16GB of RAM, but more recently we’ve heard that the base Galaxy S25 Ultra configuration might have 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while pricier 512GB and 1TB models could come with 16GB.
That’s better than nothing, but ideally we don’t want to have to pay a premium for extra RAM, so we hope that this latter rumor is wrong, and every S25 Ultra model has 16GB, just like every Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra configuration comes with 12GB.
2. Improved software
One of the biggest complaints in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review was that the software was “aging and terrible,” with many of its best features being buried “under layers upon layers of settings and menus.”
Software like that is a major issue for any phone, but particularly ones as high-end and expensive as Samsung’s Ultra models. So we want to see a huge overhaul for the interface on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
It’s likely that the phone will run One UI 7, which is currently in beta on the Samsung Galaxy S24 line, so we have some idea of what to expect. Based on that beta, some improvements might be made, but it’s not looking likely that the interface will get the complete overhaul it desperately needs.
3. Upgrades to the ultra-wide, telephoto, and front cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has excellent cameras, but some of them are better than others. In particular, we’d like to see new sensors for the ultra-wide, 3x telephoto, and front-facing cameras, as they’re all rather low in megapixel counts.
Now, megapixels are far from the only factor in a good sensor, but they do have an impact. And with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra we don’t want to feel like some of the cameras are compromised.
Based on leaks, it seems like we might partially get this wish, but not fully. Several sources have said that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s ultra-wide camera will be upgraded to 50MP (from 12MP currently), but there’s no sign that the other sensors will be replaced.
4. A return to 10x optical zoom
As well as more megapixels in some of the sensors, we’d also like to see Samsung bring back its 10x zoom periscope camera.
For several generations this helped the Ultra models stand out from most other Android phones, but for whatever reason Samsung switched to a 5x optical zoom with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
A number of other Android phones such as the Pixel 9 Pro XL also have a 5x optical zoom, as do the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, so Samsung no longer has this extra zoom length as a selling point.
We’d also argue that 5x zoom isn’t dramatically different from 3x zoom, so having both focal lengths is less useful than a 3x and a 10x. So we’d really like to see the 10x zoom make a return, but sadly no credible leaks point to this happening.
5. Speedier charging
While the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra largely had cutting-edge specs at launch, one exception to that was its charging speeds, with just 45W wired and 15W wireless charging.
For whatever reason Samsung has never chased the fastest charging speeds, perhaps because Apple and Google don’t either. But some brands such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, and others do, with their flagships sometimes charging at 100W or more wired and often 50W or more wireless.
These are speeds that Samsung’s phones just can’t compete with, but with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra we’d like to see the company try. Sadly, while there haven’t been many charging speed leaks yet, one tip suggests the Galaxy S25 Ultra will once again charge at 45W.