Samsung Galaxy S25 series launch: The AI revolution begins here?
Samsung today announced the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25. Picture: Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 has arrived, and it’s not just another yearly upgrade—it’s a bold step into the AI-powered future. Packed with Galaxy AI, One UI 7, and a powerhouse chipset, Samsung promises an experience that’s more intuitive, more personalised, and more intelligent than ever before.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra features slimmer bezels and a more rounded frame, which should make it more comfortable to hold. Samsung says it’s their thinnest Galaxy S series phone yet, while remaining incredibly durable. The new Corning Gorilla Armour 2 offers better scratch resistance and reduced reflections, ensuring better outdoor visibility. The firm claims the glass is 29% more resistant to fractures and 60% less screen damage repair compared to the S24.
The S25 series uses recycled materials in its battery, aluminium frame, and external components. Packaging is made from 100% recycled paper, and Samsung continues to support seven years of OS and security updates, ensuring longevity.
Samsung’s vision for AI on mobile isn’t just about adding smart features; it’s about integrating AI into every aspect of the device. The Galaxy S25’s AI Select feature anticipates user needs in real-time, recognising context and suggesting actions before you even think to do them. Watching a video? A simple swipe lets you save a clip as a GIF. Browsing a webpage? AI Select can pull event details straight into your calendar.
Another interesting feature is natural language search, which extends beyond apps like Google Search. In the gallery, you can simply say, “Find photos of my trip to Spain last month,” and the AI will pull them up instantly. The same applies to settings — just ask for bigger text, and One UI 7 will present relevant options without requiring you to dig through menus.
Samsung’s AI assistant also acts as a cross-app control hub. A long press of the side button brings up a command centre where users can ask for tasks like, “Find me a vegan restaurant nearby” or “Add all Liverpool matches this season to my calendar.” The AI executes these tasks across multiple apps, saving time and effort.
The new “Now Brief” feature is designed to summarise your day at a glance. In the morning, it offers insights into your sleep, weather updates, news highlights, and reminders. In the evening, it helps you wind down by surfacing key moments from your day, reminders of upcoming plans, and even reshowing photos you took.
Samsung also says AI will play a significant role in optimising daily habits. For example, capturing a picture of your food cupboard's contents lets the phone suggest recipes based on available ingredients. Searching for music is effortless, too — just press a button while watching a video, and the AI will identify the background track instantly.
While these features sound futuristic, the real challenge will be ensuring they work in the real-world. AI automation is impressive when accurate, but if it misinterprets intent, it could lead to frustrating experiences rather than helpful ones.
Samsung claims the Galaxy S25 sports a Samsung-optimised version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, which promises up to 40% better NPU performance, 37% CPU improvement, and a 30% GPU boost. Based on my testing of other flagships with the same chipset, The S25 will be ultra-fast, have smooth multitasking, and have more efficient AI processing.
A major benefit of this AI-focused power boost is on-device processing. Unlike cloud-dependent AI solutions, Samsung’s approach keeps most AI tasks local, reducing latency and improving privacy. The new 40% larger vapour chamber cooling system should ensure sustained performance even under heavy AI and gaming loads.
Gamers will be pleased with enhanced ray tracing and 40% improved graphics rendering, making for a smoother, more immersive mobile gaming experience. This could put the Galaxy S25 ahead of competitors when handling graphically intense mobile games.
Samsung has significantly upgraded its camera system, particularly the ultra-wide sensor, which now boasts 50MP resolution — a massive leap from the previous 12MP sensor. This should mean sharper details, better low-light performance, and more versatility when capturing expansive shots.
The main camera system retains its 200MP sensor, supported by 50MP telephoto and ultra-wide lenses, delivering four times more detail than the S24. AI enhancements also make their way into photography, with improved spatial-temporal filtering that reduces noise in low-light videos.
Samsung is also introducing 10-bit HDR recording by default, enabling richer colours and greater dynamic range.
AI-driven personalisation raises obvious privacy concerns, and Samsung addresses this with its new Personal Data Engine. Using on-device encryption via Samsung Knox Vault, data remains secure and doesn’t leave the phone unnecessarily.
Users also gain greater control over their data through Knox Matrix, which now provides a security status overview across all connected devices. Samsung has even implemented Quantum Cryptography, offering future-proof security against potential quantum computing threats.
While these privacy measures are reassuring, the real test will be how transparent and user-friendly Samsung makes them. The balance between AI convenience and data security is delicate, and users will need clear options to manage their data effectively.
The Galaxy S25 series will be available for pre-order today (22nd January) and will be widely available in operators and retailers on samsung.com on 7th February 2025.
Galaxy S25 Ultra will be available in Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver and Titanium Grey. Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will be available in Silver Shadow, Navy, Icyblue and Mint.
Customers who pre-order Galaxy S25, S25+ or S25 Ultra from Samung.com can double their storage too for the same price.
Starting today, the new Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360 are also available for pre-order, with customers able to claim a 1TB Galaxy Book5Pro for the price of a 512GB model.
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