Samsung's cheapest Galaxy S25 models may continue to lag behind the competition

Key Takeaways

• The Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25+ won't have faster charging speeds, sticking to 25W and 45W, respectively.
• Samsung faces the risk of lagging behind competitors like OnePlus in charging technology, which already supports wired charging at up to 80W.
• Despite the lack of changes in the battery department, Samsung could bring other hardware upgrades to its upcoming flagship series.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series is among the best smartphones you can buy today, even as multiple new high-end devices have reached the market since their arrival. As with any major Samsung flagship, there's no dearth of leaks and rumors telling us quite a bit about upcoming Galaxy phones months before their arrival. The Galaxy S25 series is no exception. We've recently learned that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could take a different approach in terms of design, while another leak spilled the beans on the Galaxy S25+ and its unchanged battery capacity. There's now some new info on the battery charging speeds of two entry-level Galaxy S25 models, courtesy of a Chinese certification authority.

Related

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24, or wait for the Galaxy S25?

The Galaxy S24 series already offers everything we could ask for, and the Galaxy S25 series is still a ways away

Both the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ have made their way to China's 3C certification database, featuring model numbers SM-S9310 and SM-S9360, respectively (via 91Mobiles). Based on the information provided here, Samsung won't upgrade the wired charging speeds on either device, meaning you will find it capped at 45W on the Galaxy S25+, whereas the Galaxy S25 will stick to 25W.

Source: China 3C via 91Mobiles

This follows a late-July revelation by reliable leaker Ice Universe that suggested unchanged battery capacity and charging speeds on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. More recently, a certification listing dug up by MySmartPrice appeared to confirm this. With these factors in mind, it's not surprising that Samsung isn't keen on changing the battery attributes of the cheaper Galaxy S25 models.

A flagship with 25W charging is unacceptable in 2025

The Samsung Galaxy S25 will compete with a few flagship phones when it breaks cover early next year, prominent among them being the OnePlus 13. If the predecessor is anything to go by, the next-gen OnePlus flagship could offer up to 80W of wired charging speeds (with the supplied adapter) in the US and 100W in global markets.

Compare this with what we've just learned about the Galaxy S25 series, with the base model only capable of charging at 25W when plugged in, much like the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S23, and Galaxy S22. The Galaxy S25 Ultra with 45W wired charging doesn't seem all that bad in comparison, but it's still significantly behind multiple Chinese brands, including OnePlus. While overheating is an important concern, multiple companies appear to have remedied this problem to a great extent, except Samsung.

Despite lagging behind in charging pace, Samsung could bring some changes in the camera department, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra rumored to offer an upgraded ultrawide camera. There's also talk about the Ultra model being among the lightest and thinnest flagships of 2025, complemented by reports of a larger display and trimmed-down bezels.

As for processing power, a South Korean publication recently reported that Samsung will use a Qualcomm-made chipset across the board for the Galaxy S25 series. This aligns with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's claims from a few months ago. By contrast, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ featured the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in the US and some other markets, while the international variant came bundled with Exynos 2400. So if these reports are accurate, all versions of the Galaxy S25 should launch with Qualcomm's next flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.