Samsung Galaxy S25 to become significantly more expensive due to Snapdragon 8 Elite, while a tri-foldable and two Galaxy Z Flip 7 foldable phones are expected in 2025
The year is slowly but surely drawing to a close, and the smartphone world in particular has already ushered in the next cycle since the Dimensity 9400 launch and the Snapdragon 8 Elite announcement in recent days. For the first time, Europeans can expect to see flagship phones based on the new Mediatek and Qualcomm chips before the start of the new calendar year, while a considerable number of Android OEMs are pushing ahead and aiming to overtake market leader Samsung outside of China.
Samsung is likely to start the new year with the Galaxy S25 series, once again consisting of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Ultra. Originally planned with a mix of Exynos and Snapdragon chips, the repeatedly documented 3nm production problems with the Exynos 2500 now seem to have left Samsung Mobile CEO TM Roh with no choice other than to make use of the Snapdragon 8 Elite worldwide, as South Korean observers, such as industry insider @Jukanlosreve, have been tirelessly commenting for weeks.
Samsung Galaxy S25 series inevitably set to become more expensive
This has now been confirmed by a number of media reports from South Korea, which also highlight a probable consequence of this all-Snapdragon generation: Due to the higher cost of the Snapdragon 8 Elite compared to the predecessor, a price increase of the Galaxy S25 series is practically inevitable. This is in spite of Samsung cutting costs elsewhere, such as to the cameras. According to South Korean website TheBell, double-digit price increases are to be expected.
New foldables in addition to the Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Z Fold7
2025 is gearing up to be another exciting year for foldable fans. After the regionally limited Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition launch, we already have an idea of how the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might change next year. The rather meager sales of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 and growing competition from China and the US appear to be making the South Koreans rethink their approach. South Korean website ZDNet reports on further foldable plans beyond the classic Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip models.
Samsung tri-foldable and a Galaxy Z Flip 7 Enhanced Edition?
It's not a done deal yet, but Huawei's advance with the Mate XT this year may also be motivating Samsung to accelerate its Flex S tri-foldable plans and put a prototype into mass production in 2025. Recently, there has been more talk of Samsung rollables than a double-folding Galaxy tablet, but South Korean analyst firm Meritz Securities (research note available via @Jukanlosreve) also mentions an expansion of the Samsung foldable lineup in 2025 by 3 to 4 foldables.
In addition to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, this is said to consist of a Galaxy Z tri-foldable and a second foldable phone, although there are contradictory indications here. The aforementioned report from ZDNet assumes a cheaper budget flip phone, which has been contradicted by our colleagues at Sisajournal. According to @Jukanlosreve, it is more likely to be an improved version of the Galaxy Z Flip 7, possibly a pimped-up Galaxy Z Flip 7 smartphone similar to the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. Of course, none of these plans have been officially confirmed thus far.
Source(s)
The Bell Korea via @Jukanlosreve, ZDNet Korea, Sisajournal via @Jukanlosreve, @Jukanlosreve, Ice Universe, Meritz Securities (documents available to us) via @Jukanlosreve
Image: Technizo Concept
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