Samsung Galaxy S25: The Mobile RF perspective
The "agentic" air interfaces
With a strong focus on AI and its agentic implementation in the Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S25-series, wireless connectivity took the role of a competent supporting actor on the launching stage. With the SD-X80 BB processor (included in the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC) underpinning the mobile radio, the Galaxy S25 has the right wireless capability with FR1 and FR2 coverage (in US), Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4 and UWB (not in the base model, S25).
Our SM-S938W sample (S25 Ultra, Canadian version) is still being analyzed in the lab, but we can make the following observations:
- Qualcomm’s latest 5G mobile platform using the Samsung custom (SM8750-AC) Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, the International bands
- Carrier Aggregation (CA): DL 5 CC CA (Not fully utilizing the capabilities of the SD-X80 and SDR875 platform and 2 CC CA in UL
- Enhanced Tx power (PC 1.5) for bands n41 and n71
- WiFi/BT support is provided by Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800 (which means a separate UWB SoCfrom NXP was added to the IC lineup for this series) and not the highly anticipated FastConnect 7900 with its integrated UWB.
- First Qualcomm-based 3GPP NB-NTT for D2D satcomm messagingn255 for NB-NTN 3GPP, but no band n23 like in Google’s Pixel 9 and no D2D service agreement lined up by the OEM. Unlike Huawei, Apple and Google, Samsung has only provided the technical capability in the phone leaving the actual service agreement with the carriers. (Verizon, who has partnered with Skylo for D2D satcom messaging, claims to have the service ready from the get-go, while T-Mobile is running beta trials with Starlink).
- The mm-wave air interface is supported by one antenna array with a single FR2/mm-wave module, continuing the trend launched by Apple’s iPhone 16-series.
- The RF FE design is centered around Qualcomm’s converged FR1/FR2 IF transceiver with the key FEMs being supplied by Murata, Qualcomm and Skyworks.
- No indication yet that Skyworks has taken the lion’s share in the RF FE despite the collaboration announcement between Samsung and Skyworks in the mobile RF FE space.
We will update the initial findings once the lab works and our due diligence are completed. The linksbelow should define the landscape in which Galaxy S25 was launched.
Galaxy S24 Ultra (5G FR2) Mobile Radio Architecture Analysis
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL - RF Front-End Integration
