AI steps aside: three ways phone hardware could finally become interesting again in 2025
During the first decade of the smartphone industry’s existence, progress was absolutely rapid. We went from the iPhone in 2007 to the iPhone
However, over the last five years, this progress has slowed, with phone makers pushing for marginal gains, squeezing the highest possible performance out of existing technologies. Looking again at Apple, the jump from the iPhone 13 to iPhone 14 in 2022 felt more like a leap, as the latter phone launched with the same camera, design and chipset as its predecessor.
Indeed, early 2024 saw a phone market dominated by largely very similar hardware – whether you prefer the iPhone 16, Samsung Galaxy S24 or Google Pixel 9, the average flagship has a powerful processor and a screen of around 6.2 inches. that looks fantastic, a dual or triple rear camera system that takes great photos, and long battery life. A plateau had formed.
With phone makers effectively neck-and-neck in hardware, it looked like AI would become the next big decision maker between brands, with Apple Intelligence and Google Gemini ushering in an era of software rivalry not seen since the early days of iOS vs Android. .
As the year progressed, however, I kept hearing new hardware technologies popping up in rumors, or bundled into new flagships from lesser-known phone makers. As I look into the new year, I am confident that the phone hardware race will heat up again in 2025.
A battery boost
The first development that really gets me excited for phone hardware next year is the silicon-carbon battery. While not technically brand new – the first phone with a silicon-based battery was released by Honor in 2023 – over the past year the adoption rate of this excellent new technology has started to accelerate.
Since writing our Oppo Find Lithium-ion phone batteries are more common now, but so Tom’s guide notes Silicon has a higher energy density, meaning a silicon battery can store more charge in the same amount of space.
What this translates into is a large flagship like the Find For smaller phones like the iPhone 16, silicon-carbon technology could finally give users truly reliable battery life that lasts all day. Now that I’ve tried it myself, I think it could change the situation in 2025.
A powerful performance boost
If we stick to the internal factors, 2024 was the first year in a few where we saw significant gains in the world of chipsets. After a few mediocre generations from both Apple and Qualcomm, we were treated to a step forward on both sides.
The A18 chipset in the iPhone 16 features 30% faster processing and 40% faster graphics than the A16 in the iPhone 15. While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite nearly doubled the performance of the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro when our US Mobile editor Philip Berne ran benchmarks to compare the two.
The first Snapdragon 8 Elite phones are starting to appear at Chinese phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Nubia, although I am especially curious to see what Samsung does with the chipset in the rumors about the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The world’s most powerful phone with the world’s new, most powerful chipset? That’s reason enough to be enthusiastic right away.
MediaTek has also emerged as a valuable challenger to Apple and Qualcomm, supplying numerous mid-range and budget phones, as well as Chinese flagships. Speaking from experience, the high-end Dimensity 9400 chipset in the Find X8 Pro is absolutely broken – I’ve yet to find a way to slow the thing down. It’s great to have a new competitor as we enter the new year.
Finally a decent zoom lens
There is also plenty to be excited about in the field of photography. If rumors are to be believed, 2025 could be the year we see the launch of a leading flagship with a 1-inch sensor, thanks to the rumored Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Other phones have been produced with a 1-inch sensor, such as the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Oppo Find X7 Ultra. But these aren’t available everywhere – a camera with a 1-inch sensor from Samsung, Apple or Google would set the bar very high for the entire industry, and would undoubtedly rock our list of the best camera phones.
I expect telephoto cameras to become increasingly impressive by 2025 as well. The iPhone 17 Pro is rumored to come with a 48MP camera with 5x zoom optimized for video – that’s four times the resolution of the iPhone 16 Pro’s 12MP zoom camera. Further hints suggest that Samsung has developed a telephoto lens with a brighter aperture to help with low-light portraits. Some may consider this a niche aspect of phone design, but I’ve long thought zoom is a crucial part of the phone camera experience and I’m excited to see some progress.
With some of these technologies already available, and others still existing only in the ether of rumors and tips, it’s up to phone makers to either unleash the potential with new models, or make the rumored technology a reality. I also hope for further surprises in display technology, durability and repairability, and adventurous design choices.
All that said, one thing remains clear: the stage is set for some exciting phone hardware developments in 2025.