Galaxy S25 Series Wishlist

[DaverZ]

Hello, Samsung.

Here is a generalized wishlist of features for the Galaxy S25 series smartphones and beyond. I will add more features to this list if and when I think of them. Feature requests applyto all variants unless otherwise noted. Thank you for your consideration.

Estimated Reading Time: approx. 5 to 7 minutes

Last Updated: Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 @ 10:59pm EST

(1) Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip worldwide (see #22 for details)

(2) satellite phone and internet

(3) flat displayswith rounded corners

(4) at least Corning Gorilla Glass Armor on the frontand back

(5) revert the Ultra's titanium frame back to aluminum for better cooling; titanium traps heat inside the device, as does glass

(6) manual battery bypass/direct power available whenever charging, regardless of activity, with settings for automation and scheduling; this feature would increase battery longevity, reduce heating when charging or using DeX, and make overnight charging completely harmless

(7) a smaller one-handed model which could be called the "Galaxy S25 Mini"

(8) larger batteries:

Mini model: 3,400mAh

base model: 4,300mAh

Plus model: 5,000mAh

Ultra model: 6,000mAh

(9) Qi2 magnetic wireless charging (MagSafe for Android)

(10) faster wired charging:

Mini model: 30 watts

base model: 45 watts

Plus model: 65 watts

Ultra model: 80 watts

(11) wider range of storage and RAM options (see #24 & #25 for more details):

Mini & base models:

• 256GB + 12GB
• 512GB + 12GB

Plus model:

• 256GB+12GB
• 512GB+12GB
• 1TB+18GB (yes, 18GB, not 16GB, due to having six memory channels instead of the usual four; see #24 for more details)

Ultra model:

• 512GB+12GB
• 1TB+18GB
• 2TB+24GB

(12) flush rear cameras with no bumps, while keeping the back panel perfectly flat

(13) sapphire crystal lens covers on the rear cameras

(14) upgraded rear camera cluster:

Mini model:

• 64MP 1/1.33" main/wide-angle sensor
• 16MP 0.5x ultrawide sensor
• 16MP 2-5x variable periscope telephoto sensor

base & Plus models:

• 64MP 1/1.33" main/wide-angle sensor
• 16MP 0.5x ultrawide sensor
• 16MP 2-5x variable periscope telephoto sensor
• 8MP IR-enhanced night vision sensor
• 320×180 thermal/infrared sensor

Ultra model:

• 256MP 1.0" main/wide-angle sensor
• 16MP 0.5x ultrawide sensor
• 64MP 3-10x variable periscope telephoto sensor
• 8MP IR-enhanced night vision sensor
• 320×180 thermal/infrared sensor

(15) under-display 16MP selfie camera in the centre of the screen (eliminates the perspective problem), with locally-processed AI dehazing, and OIS with Super Steady Video

(16) small touchscreen beside the rear cameras:

• provides a viewfinder for taking close-range group photos and selfies with the rear cameras
• can also show notifications, the Always On Display, playback controls and other things when the phone is lying face down
• flush with the back panel; no screen bump or bezel
• at least Corning Gorilla Glass Armor cover glass
• 16:9, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Diamond PenTile, HDR10+, LTPO 5.0, 1-120Hz, 3,000 nits
• Mini model: 1.75", 768×432 @ 504ppi
• base model: 2.0", 896×504 @ 514ppi
• Plus model: 2.25", 1,024×576 @ 522ppi
• Ultra model: 2.5", 1,152×648 @ 529ppi

(17) improved front displays:

• new name denoting the under-display selfie camera: "Infinity-U"
• 20:9, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Diamond PenTile, HDR10+, LTPO 5.0, 1-120Hz, 3,000 nits
• Mini model: 5.5", 2,400×1,080 @ 479ppi
• base model: 6.4", 3,200×1,440 @ 548ppi
• Plus model: 6.7", 3,200×1,440 @ 524ppi
• Ultra model: 7.0" 3,200×1,440 @ 501ppi
• again, Corning Gorilla Glass Armor or better

(18) improved S-Pen for the Ultra model:

• double the pressure sensitivity from 4,096 to 8,192 levels of pressure
• add a second function button to the S-Pen
• make both buttons programmable for various functions such as playback controls

(19) programmable volume buttons on the phone without the need to install Good Lock, with the option to press and hold to skip forward and backward, whether the phone is locked or unlocked

(20) programmable multifunction button in between the volume buttons, with a tactile bump, effectively giving the phone the same physical controls as a pair of headphones (please keepall buttons high enough to attach a phone cooler at the centre of the phone)

(21) programmable camera shutter button on the left side near the top when holding in portrait orientation

• for taking pictures when using either the front or rear display
• can be assigned other functions when not taking pictures

(22) Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip worldwide:

• TSMC N3P 2nd generation 3-nanometre manufacturing process
• 8-core Nuvia-designed CPU: • 2+4+2 core configuration • at least 16MB of shared L3 cache • single-core Geekbench 6 score of roughly 3,000 points • multi-core Geekbench 6 score of roughly 10,000 points • real-world performance roughly matching the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U laptop CPU from 2023, or the Apple M2 MacBook Air
• next gen Adreno GPU: • roughly 7 teraFLOPs of peak performance • real-world performance roughly matching the Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q laptop GPU from 2019
• 2x more powerful NPU than the previous generation once again, for radical on-device AI capabilities
• at least 24MB of system-level cache

(23) large, multi-level hybrid cooling system comprising a copper vapour chamber behind the screen, a copper vapour chamber behind the rear glass, and graphite sheets

(24) six-channel/96-bit LPDDR6 RAM @ 12,800MHz & 153.6GB/s, the same amount of memory bandwidth as the MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip

(25) quad-lane UFS 4.0 storage

(26) Thunderbolt 5 (TB5) port:

• DisplayPort 2.0 Alt Mode
• Multi Stream Transport for multi display output
• PCIe tunneling for an external GPU and storage
• these capabilities are mostly for DeX/desktop mode (see #29)
• yes, smartphone SoCs are easily powerful enough to drive multiple displays, and here's the logic supporting this idea: the 2020 MacBook Air M1 is still a powerful ultrabook in 2024, even with its passive cooling system→many desktop PCs could easily drive multiple displays 20 years ago→the MacBook Air M1 is ludicrously more powerful than any PC from 20 years ago→laptops much less powerful than the MacBook Air M1 easily support multiple displays→the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is roughly neck-and-neck with the MacBook Air M1→smartphones could easily drive multiple displays
• yes, smartphone SoCs are easily powerful enough to support eGPUs, and here's the logic supporting this idea: laptops less powerful than the S9 series phones have supported this technology since 2011→the processing power of smartphones increased rapidly after the S9 series→smartphones and laptops are almost neck-and-neck now, all things being equal→as stated previously, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is roughly neck-and-neck with the 2020 MacBook Air M1→smartphones could easily handle external GPUs

(27) Wi-Fi 7 tri-band

(28) Bluetooth 5.4

(29) substantial QoL improvements to DeX mode including, but not limited to:

• fully-desktop-grade web browser, email client, office suite, and file manager, all with a dynamic and scalable UI, and multi-instancing capability
• greater efforts to bring more desktop-grade software to Android, diligently optimized, and again with a dynamic and scalable UI, and multi-instancing capability
• inter-app communication in the foreground and background (also in phone mode)
• a lineup of Samsung-branded lapdocks with TB5, multi display passthrough via TB5, external graphics passthrough via TB5, Wireless DeX, a Qi2 magnetic wireless charging phone holder which flips around from the backside of the screen, a small compartment for a short TB5 ribbon cable, a trackpad with proper false touch rejection and palm rejection, 2-in-1 functionality including a reversible touchscreen with S-Pen support, reasonably large batteries, an HDMI input, and assorted I/O typically found on ultrabooks
• support for hover mode when using a stylus-enabled lapdock, a pen display/drawing tablet, or a screenless graphics board
• up to 4K output without installing Good Lock
• HDR10+ output
• unrestricted broad-spectrum support for various resolutions, aspect ratios, and refresh rates
• up to 165Hz output
• multi display output over TB5 via Multi Stream Transport, with support for at least two external displays, and ideally three (again, mobile SoCs are easily powerful enough to do this; see #26)
• support for external graphics over TB5 via PCIe tunneling (again, mobile SoCs are easily powerful enough to do this as well; see #26)
• a lineup of Samsung-branded external GPUs/eGPUs based on Qualcomm Adreno architecture, with a TB5 interface, and performance ranging up to the equivalent of an Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti, but with half as much power consumption or less, and a slim and portable form factor
• Wireless DeX output increased to at least 1080p @ 60Hz with HDR10+
  
• system backup button in the App Drawer and on the phone screen for one-click backup of the phone's internal storage to an external drive and/or the cloud; of course after the first backup, only new files are copied, and only modified files are overwritten
• safe disconnect button in the App Drawer and on the phone screen for one-click decoupling of all external hardware before unplugging the phone; cannot be used while performing file operations or system backup
• air mouse via the phone's motion sensors
• trackpad, air mouse, and air gestures via Galaxy Watch
• resizable and sortable App Drawer
• more sophisticated interface for window snapping, similar to the one in Windows 11, with the App Drawer available for launching apps in a pre-snapped configuration
• relocatable taskbar
• portrait orientation available on all external displays individually, including a lapdock
• manual rotation control for all external displays individually, including a lapdock, and also in phone mode
• multiple desktop pages in like manner to multiple homescreen pages
• system monitor with detailed readouts (also in phone mode)
• widgets
• live wallpaper (also in phone mode)
• customizable UI elements including colour schemes, themes, and icon packs
• screensavers
• sound effects
• a phone/tablet screen viewport in the notification area of the taskbar
• XR mode
• game console mode

*extra mentions:

• DeX available on the inner screen of the Z Fold, already strongly requested by nickthaskater, and the most liked topic on the Samsung Members Canada forum - https://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-z/dex-on-fold-s-inner-display/td-p/13827668
• DeX on the Z Flip
• DeX on the A Series devices

Thank you again.

[DaverZ]

Thank you for these details.

Yes, passive USB4 can sustain 40Gbps at up to 2.6 feet or 0.8 metres. Active cables can sustain 40Gbps at up to 3 metres.

I found out that USB4 and Thunderbolt can use their full bandwidth in one direction to maximize resolution and/or refresh rate, so USB4 Gen 3×2 can actually do 4K120 without compression. 4K120 HDR requires Display Stream Compression/DSC. Of course using all the bandwidth in one direction hampers data transfer if I'm not mistaken.

I also just found out that even DP 1.4 Alt Mode supports DSC which greatly increases the maximum resolution and refresh rate. I thought only 2.1 supported it. That's awesome.

I think USB4 has to be at least Gen 4 Symmetric @ 80Gbps to support 16K even at 30Hz, and that's with DSC too.

"...but unlike TB4 there is NO dual monitor support."

I thought USB4 optionally supported multi display output via Multi Stream Transport/MST within DP Alt Mode. If it doesn't, then I'm changing request (26) to a Thunderbolt 4 port.

EDIT: I changed it to Thunderbolt 5 for optimal eGPU performance.

[Anderson199214]

That's a very amazing S25 series specs

[DaverZ]

Thank you. 🙂 The S25 series doesn't necessarily have to include every single one of these features, but all of these features ultimately should be added to Galaxy phones going forward.

[Anderson199214]

Your destroying my vibes now

[DaverZ]

🙃 Oh, alright. S25 series it is. 😂 Hear, hear, Samsung!

In all seriousness, I figured adding all these features at once might make the phones prohibitively expensive. That's why I said "generalized wishlist for the S25 series and beyond". Looking over them again though, I suppose it's achievable in one generation, more or less.

[Day_Walker]

Great asks for the S25 series - but a consideration to costs (HW level) and size (consumer interestes and needs) may be debated.

#17 - Please 6" was more than enough for the Samsung Galaxy S23, the S24 pushed 6.2" for absolutely no reason. There are plenty of us users STILL with lifetime small hands (strong mind you but bones do NOT grow well even wiht steriods+body building in hands - its a genetic LOCk-down lol). Increasing the base models screen size alienates users to the compeition - I left Apple for cancelling the iPhone 12 _ 13 mini for only a handful of reason.

2600 nits for teh S25 model is plenty - especially if Gorilla Glass Armor reduces screen reflections! This iwll immensely save power drain on the battery. ;)

#18 - why the NEED to double pressure sentivity here?
Honestly what's the real world ask for R&D costs to implement this for the end user? Which applications benefit?
what Galaxy AI benefits here?
ANy corporate/consumer apps that require/benefit this?

Sorry not trying to be a D! here ... but if Samsung engineers just blindly go with posts like this with hundreds of likes, the increase in market value cost for functionality that will not be used or not commonly used doesn't make sense, yet $$ affects the end users that do not require/nor see the beneift of this and simila rasks?

>> I'd love to see more gesture support for S-Pend for Z Fold's and for Ultra models.
I'd LVOE to see the after market purchase price point of S_Pen's ber reduced in cost.
I've LOVE to see the S_Pen for the Galaxy 22/23/24/25Ultra become useful an dsupported for the S22/S23/S24/S25 models!

[DaverZ]

I'll post a comprehensive reply to this comment this evening (I'm in the EST time zone) because I have to go to work.

[DaverZ]

"Great asks for the S25 series"

Thank you. 🙂

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"but a consideration to costs (HW level) and size (consumer interests and needs) may be debated."

Certainly. Adding all these things at once could make the phones too expensive. That's why I said "generalized wishlist of features for the S25 Series and beyond", though I would hope it could be done in one generation.

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"#17 - Please 6" was more than enough for the Samsung Galaxy S23, the S24 pushed 6.2" for absolutely no reason. There are plenty of us users STILL with lifetime small hands... I left Apple for cancelling the iPhone 12 _ 13 mini..."

This is a good point. I'll add a request for a 5.5" Galaxy S25 "Mini" to the list. One quick little correction, not trying to be pedantic, but the S23 actually had a 6.1" screen.

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"2600 nits for the S25 model is plenty - especially if Gorilla Glass Armor reduces screen reflections! This will immensely save power drain on the battery."

I generally agree. However, manufacturers have the tendency to one-up each other. The next iPhone will probably exceed 2600 nits. Plus, 3000 nits is a nice round number, and it would probably be the ideal place to stop.

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"#18 - why the need to double the pressure sensitivity here?... Which applications benefit?"

Mostly for artists and productivity, for example painting and drawing, 3D sculpting, etc. Applications like Ibis Paint and Nomad Sculpt would benefit when you're doing super fine sketches, line work, and intricate details, especially when you need a super light starting pressure. 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity is the latest standard for professional drawing tablets/pen displays and graphics boards. Honestly 4,096 levels is probably still more than enough for many artists, and this request is one of the less important ones, but it's still relevant.

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"...the increase in market value cost for functionality that will not be used or not commonly used doesn't make sense, yet $$ affects the end users that do not require/nor see the benefit of this and similar asks?"

Most phones already have features that most people don't use, but people still buy them. There's always the power users and tech-savvy people who benefit from these features. If you're talking about DeX and the requests I made for it, the lack of demand for DeX can be attributed to lack of consumer awareness and lack of software support more than anything else. Lots of people would love to save several hundred dollars and switch to their phone full time. Even mid-range phones from 2020 have overkill computing power for most people. It's silly to also have to buy a laptop, especially if you could just buy a cheap lapdock for your phone.

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"I'd love to see more gesture support for S-Pen..."

Me too. More gesture support on Galaxy Watches would also be nice, especially with DeX mode.

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"I'd love to see the S-Pen... become useful for the S22/S23/S24/S25 models!"

That's impossible for the S22, S23, and S24 because they don't have the EMR technology necessary for the S-Pen, but yes, it would be really nice if all the S25 models supported the S-Pen. There are mid-range phones with a stylus that only cost $400 USD/$500 CAD, which proves that even mid-range phones can have a stylus and remain affordable.

Thanks for your feedback!

[Ulkinos]

7 - yeah I love small phones 👍

[DaverZ]

🙂👍