New leaks suggest the Samsung S25 Ultra could be a paradigm shift

We've been spoilt this year with some of the best AI-powered camera phones hitting the market, but it has left many creatives, myself included, wondering what could possibly be next. With brilliant cameras, AI to help us organise our busy schedules, draft our emails, and live translate our phone calls, what more do we want or need from our smartphones?

When it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (anticipated for an early 2025 release), many commentators are pretty confused about what the S25 Ultra will be, and whether it will offer more of the same or take us to new levels. Recent leaks have suggested that the new handset, codenamed "Paradigm", could see a major shift in focus with hints towards big changes being made to the handset performance.

Alternatively, Android Headlines speculates that we'll only see a slight upgrade in camera quality next year (which it doesn't necessarily need in my opinion) primarily with upgrades to its ultrawide lens. According to GalaxyClub, the S25 Ultra will have an unchanged 12MP sensor on its front camera, with the same 50MP main camera resolution, and no upgrades to battery life. Is this because the S24 Ultra was already so impressive? If it isn't broke, don't fix it I guess.

Image 1 of 3

The S25 Ultra is also rumoured to have a similar external design as the S24 Ultra model, but with rounded sides, and could potentially have upgraded health and monitoring features for users who own the Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Reliable tipster, Ice Universe, has shared images of what is supposedly an S25 Ultra phone case via X and it certainly looks more rounded in its design. The outlines of the camera unit on the case tell us that we can expect a very similar camera layout with the S25 Ultra (if this tip is reliable, of course) with some speculation that the cameras could be larger or with a much bolder ring like the Samsung Z Flip 6 has, although it could be way too early to tell.

Samsung fans are hoping for an improved resolution sensor with the next flagship, which could well be possible, and upgraded video quality that could rival the 4K 120fps recording capability of the new iPhone 16 Pro.

As a photographer, the main thing I want from my camera phone is the ability to capture high-quality content paired with the flexibility to share it on social platforms as I please. With this in mind, I think my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra already manages this perfectly and ticks a lot of boxes, with Galaxy AI power to help with organisation, plus a quality camera unit for documenting life on the go.

(Pstt – there's an awesome deal on the S24 Ultra right now, available for just $549 from Samsung.)

I'd also appreciate more AI software tools to help me manage that work/life balance. A camera quality boost isn't a top priority but would be a welcome bonus. If there's ever an important event or a portrait shoot I'm attending, I will always default to my Sony A7III mirrorless camera to get the job done, instead of my Samsung S24 Ultra, so I'm never expecting perfection with my phone camera.

But with that said, I'm very happy with my current camera phone and I think the lines are beginning to blur between professional-level photography and smartphone content creation. Whether you own one of the best iPhones for photography or a more budget camera phone, the quality of modern smartphones is pretty phenomenal already, so I'm keen to see what Samsung has up its sleeve with the launch of the Galaxy S25 series early next year.