Last year, Samsung introduced general AI capabilities with the Galaxy S24 series, enabling features like photo search by circling an image, intelligent object removal, and more. Samsung’s vision for AI in the Galaxy S 25 Series is clearly different: it aims to understand you and the context of your actions to provide relevant answers and proactive suggestions using its new Personal Data Engine. If Samsung delivers, the Galaxy S25 series could redefine how we interact with our smartphones.
The new Galaxy S25 Series from the left: the S25 Ultra, the S25+, and the S25.
The Galaxy S25 lineup includes the base model, S25+, and the flagship S25 Ultra. Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, these devices are able to shift much of the AI processing to the phone itself. This not only boosts performance but also enhances privacy by minimizing reliance on the cloud. With 40% more processing power than the Galaxy S24 models, it likely means that older Galaxy S models will miss out on some of the new AI features or only be able to access them through cloud-based AI processing.
One of the first places you'll encounter Samsung's new AI in action is through Now Brief notifications on your phone. Now Brief isn't just about delivering basics like weather and schedules – it provides personalized, proactive assistance. For instance, if it's your best friend's birthday, it won't just remind you, it will help create and send a custom digital card with AI-generated artwork. If you're working late, the AI knows your favorite teams and will nudge you to leave in time to catch the Knicks game.
My favorite new AI feature is the Now Bar, a tool that delivers real-time updates from your apps and personalized suggestions via Now Brief directly on the lock screen. You’ll be able to check how far away your Uber is, receive a notification when it’s time to leave for work based on traffic, and see live sports updates.
The S25 series also introduces enhancements for mobile photography. Many of the new camera capabilities cater to professional videographers, like adjustable virtual aperture in video portrait mode to blur the background and 10-bit HDR recording (already on Pixel phones). However, anyone can appreciate the new object-aware engine that recognizes people and pets in various lighting and automatically adjusts for exposure and skin tone. The S25 Ultra's new 50MP ultra-wide camera, a first for Galaxy phones but hardly new for Android phones, is a welcome upgrade for travel and wildlife photography, where opportunities for retakes are often limited. With the new lens, you can capture expansive shots and crop them without losing detail.
Read more: Google Pixel 9 Smartphone Lineup Adds Plenty of New AI Features
As the flagship device, the 6.9-inch Galaxy S25 Ultra is thinner than the other S25 models and has a new square-cornered look. The body is made from titanium, and the back is made from ceramic glass protected by Gorilla Armor 2, which Samsung claims makes it less prone to breakage than last year’s model. (Unfortunately, that's not saying much, given that prior models' drop tests didn't fare well.) The base 6.2-inch Galaxy S25 and mid-tier 6.7-inch S25+ also deliver mostly the same specs as the S24 and S24+ – the big difference being the new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which goes across all S25 models.
The Galaxy S25 series is available for pre-order now on Samsung.com, with availability on February 7. Prices start at $799.99 for the Galaxy S25, $999.99 for the Galaxy S25+, and $1,299.99 for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. And be sure to check out the deals available from the carriers: AT&T, Boost Mobile, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Xfinity.
[Image credit: Samsung]
