One of the smartphone trends for 2025 is clear: AI continues to make inroads. The year 2024, like the previous year, was marked by AI. Smartphones, especially those with Google’s Android, and notebooks have become smarter with the help of generative artificial intelligence. However, the development of AI devices has just begun, as evidenced by the expected trends for the smartphone market.
The heart of every smartphone is the processor, also known as the System-on-a-Chip (SoC). This integrates various components such as CPU, GPU, and NPU, which are responsible for different computational tasks. In the AI sector, which will expand in 2025 for both Android and iOS, the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) plays a significant role, especially for tasks that can be performed directly on the device. New processors from Qualcomm, like the X Elite, and the Mediatek Dimensity 9400, are expected to provide a boost in this area. According to early tests and benchmarks, these SoCs are on par with Apple’s A18 Pro, which is quite remarkable.
Regarding AI capabilities, further growth is naturally expected. Both Apple and Google are expanding their mobile operating systems with additional generative AI features. It is already foreseeable that with Android 16, a large part of the smartphone can be voice-controlled via Gemini. Apple’s iOS 19 is expected to turn Siri into a full-fledged chatbot.
Even though the new processors, which are already announced and at least in China installed in first devices, are not only faster but also more energy-efficient and could theoretically run longer, the AI calculations performed on devices are quite high in consumption. To not significantly shorten the runtime with AI usage, many manufacturers rely on larger batteries with a silicon-carbon cell chemistry. The special feature of this is that the energy density is higher than conventional lithium-ion batteries, allowing the batteries to achieve a higher capacity with the same size. First manufacturers like Oppo and Xiaomi have already introduced their models for 2025, and the batteries have grown to up to 6,000 milliampere-hours despite familiar device sizes. Previously, manufacturers installed batteries with up to 5,000 milliampere-hours. Insiders even assume that the batteries could grow to 7,000 milliampere-hours in the future.
Other manufacturers are also likely to follow this trend, which Honor had already started with the Magic 6 Pro at the beginning of 2024. The positive aspect is that if you use fewer AI functions, you suddenly have runtimes of up to two days with normal use. Apple is also rumored to use a new cell chemistry in the iPhone 17, which also sounds very much like silicon-carbon. However, it is said that the manufacturer will largely produce the new batteries in-house. A positive side effect is that the charging performance should also increase. Especially with Apple’s iPhones, which can be charged with less than 30 watts, this would be desirable.
In 2025, we can also look forward to a trend that is likely to be favored by the new cell chemistry of the batteries. Both Apple and Samsung are rumored to present particularly slim smartphones. Thanks to the silicon-carbon batteries, the runtime should not suffer significantly. To what extent the rest of the equipment will be reduced remains to be seen. Aside from the “slim” phones, manufacturers are also working on shrinking the sometimes massive camera bumps on the back of the devices. For example, the Oppo Find X8 Pro is an example. The high-end smartphone with a quad camera has already managed to reduce the camera bump a bit, thanks in part to a new design of the periscope telephoto zoom camera.
Numerous innovations are also expected under the hood, giving smartphones new possibilities. We can expect the first devices equipped with the new Bluetooth 6.0 standard in the course of 2025. The successor to Bluetooth 5.4 is expected to make “Find My” solutions for Airtags and others more precise. In digital key solutions for cars or door locks, new functions are possible to set the exact distance at which a lock opens.
A new protection class is also noteworthy: With IP69, you will be able to take your smartphone into the shower without fear, as the devices can withstand even higher water pressure. The IP69 standard reads as if the corresponding devices are protected from high-pressure water jets of up to 100 bar.
For smartphone owners and the environment, there will also be good news in the EU from mid-2025: From this point on, smartphone manufacturers will be required to provide software updates for their devices for five years. Some manufacturers like Samsung and Google are already complying with this, while other companies are unfortunately not yet there.