At Samsung’s first Unpacked event for 2025, held in January 2025, in San Jose, California, the company’s announcements emphasised the significance of software and AI capabilities over hardware advancements in the new Galaxy S25 series of phones.

Enhanced user experience: personal data engine for AI, multi-app action, and on-device image editing

Samsung’s incorporation of AI into its One UI 7 platform, built on Android 15, and the utilisation of a bespoke Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor in the S25 Ultra highlight the company’s laser focus on AI. Samsung’s move to fully embrace Google Gemini and sideline its own AI assistant, Bixby, reflects a strategic partnership that benefits both Samsung and Google.

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Samsung’s AI features are aimed at streamlining user interactions, reducing app dependency, and making its ecosystem extremely sticky. The AI features are clubbed under what Samsung calls a Personal Data Engine. An AI Select agent will leverage a multimodal AI model to understand preferences and behaviours of Galaxy S25 series users over time, offering contextually relevant suggestions and actions. This engine also powers features such as natural language photo search as well as pattern recognition to automate tasks, further reducing the need for multiple apps.

Samsung also introduced on-device generative image editing on the S25 phones, similar to the functionality on Pixel Studio on Google’s Pixel 9 series. This is enabled by downloading a large language model pack on the S25 phones which allows users to edit photos without an internet connection. The AI is also able to handle multi-step cross-app actions.

Samsung’s personalised AI features and the gathered data will be available across its devices, including compatibility with older phone models, wearables, and smart home devices, making its ecosystem stickier and allowing its devices to work together. For example, SmartThings integration leverages AI to monitor and improve sleep quality through smart adjustments of home temperature.

The Galaxy S25 series: mild hardware upgrades; price remains unchanged

Speaking of actual devices announced, Samsung unveiled a trio of smartphones at Unpacked 2025: the ultra-premium Galaxy S25 Ultra, priced at $1,299; the premium Galaxy S25+, available for $999; and the base model Galaxy S25, which will retail at $799.

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Additionally, Samsung offered a glimpse of the sleek Galaxy S25 Edge (below), positioning it as a rival to Apple‘s forthcoming announcement of a slender iPhone.

While details remain sparse, Samsung intends to launch this ultra-thin phone in the US and other markets by mid-2025, with a price point below $1,300.

The Galaxy S25 series presents modest hardware improvements, with the most notable being the camera sensor upgrade in the S25 Ultra and increased RAM across all models.

The ultra-wide lens of the latest model has been upgraded to 50MP from the previous 12MP, resulting in a 34% increase in light intake. Both the Galaxy S25 and S25+ have seen their RAM enhanced to 12GB, matching the Ultra. This increase in memory, along with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, enhances the devices’ capacity to manage the extensive array of AI features and the download of LLM packs.

All three models boast improved processing power and AI categorisation, which collectively contribute to superior zoom capabilities, macro photography, and enhanced video recording quality in low-light conditions. Pricing for the phones remains the same as its predecessors, a win in this inflationary environment. The phones will be available starting 7 February 2025.