As expected, Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025 presented the Galaxy S25 series. Although the phones don’t have dramatically improved specs, the company has packed everything in – you guessed it! – more AI in the devices. This latest batch is more context-sensitive and predictive, and in some cases even gets more out of the phones’ slightly updated hardware.
Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is still the biggest, best and most expensive of the bunch. It features a 6.9-inch display and a more rounded edge for a “comfortable grip.” Samsung says it’s the “slimest, lightest and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever” and features a titanium body with Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2 for “advanced drop protection” and scratch resistance.
In contrast to the two smaller models, one of the Ultra’s camera sensors received a technical upgrade: the ultra-wide-angle lens is now 50 MP, compared to just 12 MP on last year’s model.
Like its siblings, the S25 Ultra is powered by a customized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processorwhich allows the smartphone trio to process many of their AI experiences on the device. This is of course better for privacy.
Although the phone continues the tradition of including an S Pen (it’s now essentially the long-retired one). Galaxy Note), Air Commands – which bridged the gap between the two – bit the dust. Samsung told Engadget in a briefing that less than one percent of S Pen customers used the feature. And those who did mostly used it as a camera shutter, which can easily be replicated in other ways. Samsung says the removal saved some weight and increased the durability of the S Pen.
Engadget’s Sam Rutherford I tried out the Galaxy S25 Ultra early on and said it “looks like a good phone” and described Samsung’s AI suite as “much more cohesive and easier to use.” However, he also had some reservations. “But at the same time, it looks like the world’s largest phone maker could do more for its most expensive non-foldable phone.”
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has 12GB of RAM and comes in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage tiers. However, it’s still quite an investment – starting at $1,300.
Galaxy S25 and S25+
The Galaxy S25 and S25+ The RAM has been upgraded from 8GB on the previous 2024 models to 12GB (same as the Ultra). Combined with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, it makes for better handling of the phones’ many AI features. (More in a minute.)
The rest of their hardware is remarkably similar S24 and S24+. They still have 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch displays respectively. But Samsung’s new AI tool ProScaler can upscale images in real time, perhaps to compensate for the unchanged specifications. Samsung says it can increase the quality of what you see by 40 percent.
Mat Smith from Engadget I tried the Galaxy S25 and S25+ and praised the phones’ “premium and solidly built,” sleek design and “vibrant, bright and beautiful” displays. However, he was skeptical about the phones’ AI-centric focus. “In just a few years, Samsung has built an extensive collection of artificial intelligence tricks, features and apps,” he wrote. “While some of these have been impressive, like live translation and annotations, others (often with generative AI) aren’t really helpful – or noteworthy – enough to warrant regular use.”
The storage is also unchanged compared to the S24 series: 128 GB or 256 GB on the Galaxy S25 and 256 GB or 512 GB on the Galaxy S25+. Fortunately, the pricing is also unchanged. You’ll pay $800 or more for the S25 and $1,000 or more for the S25+.
Galaxy AI
Since most hardware upgrades (except the Snapdragon chip) are soft this generation, so is Samsung relies heavily on AI capabilities to make you want to spend your hard-earned money on the new models. This year, Samsung’s One UI 7 on top Android 15 combined to create what Samsung calls “a new AI-integrated operating system.” The goal is more personalized and context-sensitive AI, not just a set of one-off tools.
AI plays a central role in the camera functions of the phones. The Qualcomm chip allows the phones to better analyze sounds – which Samsung says leads to better performance in low light. Audio Eraser is an AI tool that separates audio channels so you can edit out unwanted channels like wind or random stranger conversations.
Samsung is combining its new collection of on-device AI tools into the so-called Personal Data Engine. The suite of multimodal (text, images, video, audio) machine learning agents leads to features like AI Select, which builds on Samsung’s legacy Smart Select tool. The new AI-powered version can scan your screen and suggest contextual tasks – like creating a GIF from a YouTube video you’re watching.
You could say that the AI-powered Now Bar is Samsung’s answer the dynamic island of the iPhone. The pill-shaped bar is located at the bottom of the lock screen and below the digital clock when the phone is unlocked. It generates a series of memories based on context. There’s another AI feature in the Now Bar, the Now Brief, which generates summaries of information it thinks is relevant to you morning, noon, and night.
Samsung’s Sketch to Image tool has been renamed Drawing Assist and Samsung says the feature is more sophisticated and accurate. It also adds an option to import existing images for your command prompt. The S25 series also offers an updated version of Google’s search circle (activated by long pressing the Home button). It can now recognize phone numbers, emails and URLs so you can trigger the corresponding actions with a single keystroke.
Galaxy S25 Edge
Well I hope you enjoy being teased because there isn’t much to do here. Similar to a year ago with the big reveal of a… Representation of the Galaxy RingSamsung gave “Unpacked” viewers a tiny glimpse of what its rumored “Galaxy Slim” phone will be like instead it will be called Galaxy S25 Edge.
The teaser shows a quick look at a phone that is actually slimmer, but the company shows off its vapor chamber, cameras and metal frame more than the full-fledged handset. (And the engineers are going wild.) We don’t know the price or release date either. However, Bloomberg Reports that it will use many of the same components as the S25 Ultra but cost less.
Samsung Wallet updates
the company added two new payment functions: Instant installment and tap to transfer.
As the name suggests, Instant Installment is a buy now, pay later service that allows you to turn purchases into an offline payment plan experience. It is fully managed on device and is available for Visa and Mastercard purchases.
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low was informed by Samsung about the service. “It is not that Samsung is becoming a lender and taking out loans,” she wrote. “Instead, it facilitates your purchases and transforms your payments into what the company’s representative called “the first offline payment plan experience.”
Meanwhile, Tap to Transfer is a peer-to-peer payment service that can compete with others Apple’s Tap to Cash. Like the iPhone equivalent, all you have to do is make a call to someone you want to pay (or get paid by). But it’s not limited to Samsung Pay; You can also use it with third-party apps as it is tied to the associated card or account instead. It works like instant payment with Visa and Mastercard.
Galaxy watch for children
The Galaxy watch for children It may sound like a new device, but it’s actually a new setup option for your phone Galaxy Watch 7 (and probably future wearables). You know, kind of like that Apple Watch for kids.
Samsung, which partnered with Google on the experience, says parents can set up a child’s watch from their phone and activate their eSim. From there, the child can use the smartwatch without a paired phone. As you would expect, parents can set up guidelines – for example, which apps are installed and which schedules do not interfere with school time. Location sharing is optional, and Samsung and Google offer new apps and watch faces for kids to make things fun.
