What to Expect From Samsung's Galaxy S25 Unpacked Stream

Another year, another Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. The Android giant has gotten into a habit of hosting at least two of these events per year, one for foldables and one for pretty much everything else. With the foldables having gotten center stage last time, it’s likely time for the rest of its products, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, to get its turn. While only those under NDA know for sure what we’ll see, here’s what we’re expecting to see when the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked streams on January 22 at 1 PM ET.

Samsung Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra

Samsung likes to kick off each year by announcing its latest non-folding phones, and there’s no reason to expect this year to be different. Typically, this means a standard variant, a larger screen “plus” size, and a more powerful “ultra” version. Given that Samsung has already registered three new model numbers with the FCC (thanks, 91Mobiles), that’s what we can expect this year, too (prior leaks had pointed at a "slim" model, although there's no FCC listing for it yet).

As for specs, that’s where it gets a bit interesting. The biggest tidbit from the FCC leaks is potential support for 45W fast charging, although Android Headlines claims to have pictures of the devices themselves. These show a move to rounded corners and thinner bezels, but the rest of the design looks largely untouched.

As for internals, leakers are expecting all S25 models to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which was revealed in October and stated to be coming to Samsung products. This tracks with prior Galaxy devices, which also used the same chip across all models, although details have differed from region to region before. Now, said regional differences are said to not be in play.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite promises improvements anywhere from 35 to 62% depending on the task at hand, with the biggest improvement being to web browsing—key for a mobile phone.

Samsung phones are also known for their cameras, although both Android Headlines and popular leaker Ice Universe claim only the Galaxy S25 Ultra will see an improvement here, and only to its ultra-wide lens, which will go from 12MP to 50MP.

Screens are unlikely to change from their current OLED setup, and as for software, the phones are set to use Samsung’s One UI 7, which is already in beta and runs over Android 15. Also expect a bunch of AI-centric announcements, although solid leaks have yet to emerge there.

There’s also potential accessory news on the horizon, as the Wireless Power Consortium has said that Samsung will support Qi2 wireless charging on its new phones. According to leaker chunvn8888, that doesn’t mean it’ll have built-in magnets (which Qi2 supports), but Samsung will sell a case with a built-in magnetic ring.

Galaxy Ring 2

News on the Galaxy Ring 2 is a bit less clear, but hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes says Samsung might tease it during the event. The publication is expecting two additional sizes, updated sensors, and new AI features, but given that the first model launched in July, it’ll likely be some time until you can buy a follow up. However, Korean leaker Lanzuk says Samsung might launch the wearable a bit earlier than expected.

Samsung AR and XR

Finally, it’s possible we’ll hear more about Samsung’s augmented and extended reality initiatives. Samsung has previously announced an Android-based extended reality headset alongside Google called Project Moohan, so it’s possible the company might demo it during Unpacked, but don’t expect it to be available right away. Google is still seeding developers with software and equipment for the new platform, although the company does say it expects Moohan to start selling by the end of the year.

On that note, also don’t expect to see anything substantive regarding Samsung’s previously confirmed AR glasses. DigiTimes says the glasses will look fairly unassuming, but given that they’ll also rely on Google tech, they’re probably still in the oven as well.