Samsung Galaxy S25 Series: AI-Powered Innovation Meets Mixed Reviews

Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Now Available Worldwide

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series marks a groundbreaking shift in mobile technology, offering users an unparalleled blend of innovative hardware and software advancements powered by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI). With the seamless integration of multimodal AI agents in the One UI 7 platform, the Galaxy S25 series simplifies everyday tasks through natural interactions using speech, text, videos, and images. This innovative approach to user interaction sets a new standard for smartphone usability and convenience. Key features like Brief and Now Bar provide users with tailored suggestions and a centralized hub for ongoing activities, making productivity and creativity more accessible than ever. Brief intelligently summarizes notifications, emails, and messages, allowing users to stay on top of their daily tasks without being overwhelmed by information. Now Bar serves as a unified control center, offering quick access to frequently used apps, settings, and AI-powered recommendations based on the user's context and preferences. The Galaxy S25 series also introduces advanced AI-assisted features like Writing Assist and Drawing Assist, empowering users to achieve more with ease. Writing Assist leverages AI to help users compose professional emails, reports, and documents by providing intelligent suggestions for grammar, style, and tone. Drawing Assist, on the other hand, aids users in creating stunning digital artwork by offering AI-generated color palettes, brush recommendations, and real-time guidance for improved techniques. The Galaxy S25 series takes AI to new heights with Gemini, a highly advanced personal AI assistant capable of performing complex tasks with a single command. Gemini's natural language processing and machine learning capabilities enable it to understand and execute multi-step requests, such as finding your favorite sports team's schedule and automatically syncing it with your Samsung Calendar. In addition to Gemini, the S25 series leverages Google's enhanced Circle to Search feature, which provides users with instant AI Overviews of any content they encounter. By simply drawing a circle around an image, text, or video, users can access relevant information, translations, and context-aware recommendations, making it easier to explore and understand the world around them. Under the hood, the Galaxy S25 series is powered by the Snapdragon® 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy, which enhances on-device AI processing, delivering faster and more responsive experiences. This advanced chipset, coupled with Samsung's optimized software, ensures that AI-driven features like ProScaler and the mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe) deliver superior image processing and display efficiency, resulting in stunning visuals and prolonged battery life. The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is available for purchase globally starting February 7 through carriers, retailers, and Samsung.com. The premium Galaxy S25 Ultra is offered in a range of sophisticated colors, including Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver, and Titanium Gray. The Galaxy S25 and S25+ models come in equally appealing options, such as Navy, Silver Shadow, Icyblue, and Mint. For those seeking a more exclusive look, Samsung.com offers unique color variants like Titanium Pinkgold and Coralred. As an added benefit, each Galaxy S25 device includes a complimentary six-month subscription to Gemini Advanced, Samsung's premium AI package that grants access to the most advanced AI models, custom AI experts, and features like Deep Research, a personal AI research assistant. Additionally, users will enjoy 2TB of cloud storage at no extra cost, ensuring ample space for their photos, videos, and documents. Beyond the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung continues to push the boundaries of innovation in various domains, including foldable smartphones, wearable technology, and smart home integration. For users seeking a holistic tech ecosystem, Samsung's Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds offer seamless connectivity with the S25 series, enhancing productivity and entertainment experiences. The Galaxy Watch, with its advanced health monitoring features and AI-powered workout recommendations, helps users maintain a healthy lifestyle while staying connected to their digital world. The Galaxy Buds, equipped with intelligent noise cancellation and spatial audio, deliver immersive sound experiences tailored to the user's environment and preferences. As Samsung continues to expand its smart home offerings, the Galaxy S25 series serves as a central hub for controlling and managing connected devices. With the SmartThings app and Gemini's advanced AI capabilities, users can effortlessly control their smart home appliances, monitor energy consumption, and create automated routines for enhanced convenience and efficiency. The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series represents a significant milestone in the evolution of mobile AI, offering users an unrivaled combination of powerful hardware, intelligent software, and seamless integration with Samsung's expanding ecosystem. As consumers increasingly seek devices that simplify and enhance their daily lives, the Galaxy S25 series sets a new benchmark for what smartphones can achieve, paving the way for a more connected, efficient, and AI-driven future.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: A Look at the New AI Features

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung's flagship S series phone for 2025, is going all in on Galaxy AI. While the phone does get some meaningful hardware upgrades, the main focus this year is on making the Ultra the best AI phone out there. Samsung wants to change the way users interact with the phone. And the Galaxy S25 series gets multimodal AI agents to do just that. Galaxy AI has evolved, and compared to last year, you can do a lot more now. From translating and summarising texts to creating images, from advanced Circle to Search to Google's Gemini with natural language search being available everywhere, the Galaxy S25 series could be a glimpse at the phones of the future. I've been using the Galaxy S25 Ultra and its AI features for the last few weeks, and here's a brief look at all the new things Galaxy AI can do on Samsung's latest flagship. As soon as you wake up the phone, you're now greeted with the Now Bar, which sits on the lockscreen. This is a contextual bar that gives you updates from apps and shows information on events. The bar will show you information on the music that you're listening to, flight timings, the best time to leave for the airport, Google Maps directions, delivery updates, and live scores from games that you follow or are interested in. You can tap on a particular bar to get even more information and swipe through it to see all the different updates. This one isn't as useful as the Now Bar, as it basically gives you a detailed look at your day. The Brief includes information about the weather, your reminders, your calendar, health information such as sleep quality, and more. It will show up when you start your day, and provide suggestions throughout the day until you go to bed. The best new AI feature on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the rest of the Galaxy S25 phones is the inclusion of a system-wide Gemini. Simply press and hold the power button and you can ask Gemini anything, including details about what's on your screen. You can also show Gemini a photo of anything that's in front of you, and get recommendations. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the ability to perform cross-app actions. You can give Gemini a specific set of instructions about a task and it will get it done, most of the time. For instance, you can ask Gemini to find a particular pair of shoes on the internet or an e-commerce app and then share it with a friend on WhatsApp. However, as of now, this functionality is only supported on Samsung's built-in apps and Google apps. Samsung did promise to bring support to several third-party apps though, including WhatsApp. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has AI agents for completing tasks With natural language input available throughout the phone, you can also ask Gemini to look for a particular photo in your Gallery or find a specific Setting. For example, in the Settings app, you're given an option to use voice to search for a particular setting even if you don't know what it's called. You could say 'I want to reduce eye strain' and the AI will show you the Eyecare settings. You can talk on the phone in a natural language to get things done All of this worked quite well on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Google's Circle to Search has also been improved and can now even understand audio. You can use the feature to get more information about a song that's playing nearby. A new audio button is included next to the search bar in the Circle to Search pop-up dialogue. The results are certainly much more informative than simply knowing the name of a song. Search results will now also show Google's AI Overviews. Next up, AI Select, which is a feature based on the already available Smart Select. This is available via the Sidebar and it now uses AI to understand what's on your screen. You can use AI Select to get more information about something on the screen or summarise text. It can also offer certain actions based on what's on the display. When watching a YouTube video or an Instagram reel, you can bring up AI Select and create a GIF. Samsung's Gallery app also got some AI improvements. The object eraser is much better, and Sketch to Image now lets you add text inputs as well. The generative fill features on the Galaxy S25 Ultra are some of the best I've seen on smartphones, including the Google Pixel 9 series. You can now input text to get output in Sketch to Image There are a couple of more AI features available on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, including an Audio Eraser in Videos, which worked quite well in my testing. There's also something called a Personal Filter, which lets you create a custom filter using any photo from the Gallery and apply it to other images. It is to be noted that most of these features require an active internet connection, which means that Samsung is doing most of the work on the cloud. The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with six months of free Gemini Advanced subscription that includes 2TB of cloud storage. Overall, the AI features, both old and new, worked really well in my testing. To find out more about the Galaxy S25 Ultra and whether it's worth an upgrade, stay tuned to our full review.

Top AI Features in Samsung Galaxy S25

The Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone has generated immense excitement, catapulting it to the top of the most eagerly awaited mobile devices. At its core, the Galaxy S25 boasts cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that redefine the smartphone experience. The AI features of Samsung Galaxy S25 promise to deliver unparalleled performance, revolutionary camera capabilities, and seamless user interactions, setting a new standard for mobile innovation. The list below shows what users can find in the most compelling AI-powered features of the Galaxy S25.

Samsung Galaxy AI just got a major upgrade. These 5 features are game-changers

Samsung launched the S25 series 2 weeks ago, and while the hardware upgrades of the devices are notable, it is the software that has stood out for me. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with Android 15 out of the box with One UI 7.0. The device promises 7 years of OS upgrades and 7 years of security upgrades. Like last year Samsung has gone heavy on the Galaxy AI features, with some upgrades over last year. Here are the new features that stood out for me. Cross-App Action: This feature lets you use natural language commands to complete tasks across multiple apps. For example, you could ask your phone to find a recipe for a dish you saw online, and it will instantly pull up the recipe with step-by-step instructions. Now Brief: Get a personalized briefing right on your lock screen. It includes weather updates, schedule reminders, and even suggestions for podcasts or meditations, all tailored to your day. Audio Eraser: Eliminate unwanted background noise from your videos with this AI-powered tool. It can remove distractions like crowds, wind, or car alarms, ensuring you have clear, professional-quality audio. ProScaler: Enhance the quality of your images with this AI technology that upscales them for a sharper, clearer viewing experience on your device. AI Select: This feature offers personalized recommendations based on your screen content. For example, while you're typing, it might suggest AI-powered tools to help you improve your text. Drawing Assist: Turn your creative ideas into reality with the help of this tool, which merges text or image prompts with your sketches to help you refine your artwork. Call Transcripts: Get live translations of your calls directly on the screen, along with formatted notes from the transcripts for better organization. These functions will eventually find their way to S24 series as well, so worry not. In order to learn more, check out our review for S25 Ultra dropping soon on Economic Times Social.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra reviews criticise 'hit-or-miss' AI features

Samsung has not been conservative with using the tech world's favorite acronym. 'AI for All' was the theme of CES 2025, and Galaxy Unpacked teased 'a new era of AI integration'. However, the early reviews of Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are in. And while the overall consensus is generally positive, many of the common criticisms are directed towards the phone's AI features. Galaxy Unpacked 2025 (Credit: AFP via Getty Images) Engadget's Sam Rutherford spent some time with the handset. Throughout his experience, he noted the iterative, rather than innovative, nature of the AI tools: "A lot of what Samsung focused on in this generation feels more like a bonus rather than a must-have feature," Sam wrote. Gizmodo's Florence Ion echoed a similar sentiment, highlighting the aggressive, at times forced push towards AI inclusions: "They're not giving us camera improvements or design overhauls. It's AI they're pushing whether we want it or not." 'Now Brief', as showcased at Galaxy Unpacked 2025 (Credit: Samsung) Patrick Holland of CNET, also voiced his displeasure towards the features, describing them as largely 'hit-or-miss'. "With the confidence of a 6-year-old telling a lie, Gemini explains that my photo is of the Miner Auditorium at the de Young Museum. Fun fact: The de Young Museum doesn't have a Miner Auditorium." "If you want to get the S25 Ultra for its AI features, don't." Some of the S25 features in question include the Now Brief, which provides personalised insights such as weather updates, and events at a glance. Another was the Now Bar, an interface that displays real time information about tasks, sports and music. As well as Circle to Search, which allows users to search their screens through touch prompts While they'll undoubtedly offer some level of value to users, there's been few widely adopted examples of AI addons that are considered truly groundbreaking. In fact, the glittery 'magic wand' symbol in software has become largely synonymous with 'tacked on corporate AI feature'. Regardless, users will be able to get their hands on the Galaxy S25 series on Friday, February 7th. Whether you're in it for the AI or not, Samsung's flagship is still going to be a powerhouse.

Galaxy S25 hits stores this Friday -- here's the first feature I'm going to try

Galaxy AI's cross app actions capabilities are tops on my list As you can see in either our review of the Galaxy S25 or our Galaxy S25 Ultra review, there are plenty of reasons to be intrigued by Samsung's new phones even if the new hardware hasn't changed that much. That's because Samsung has put the emphasis on Galaxy AI this time around, bringing a bunch of new AI-powered features while enhancing others that had launched with the Galaxy S24 a year ago. Unlike some of my colleagues, I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the Galaxy S25 models yet, not even for a brief hands-on time. So when one of the new Galaxy phones does make its way to me, the feature I'm going to make a beeline toward is the newfound support for cross app actions. Up until now, AI on your smartphone hasn't been much of a multitasker. Cross app actions changes that, as you can now use the Gemini assistant on board the Galaxy S25 to interact with both Google and Samsung apps. There's also support for Whatsapp and Spotify at launch. Even better, Galaxy AI can now support multiple commands at once. If I want to look up what time the Super Bowl starts, I can also tell Gemini to send a text inviting my friends over at that time while blocking out an item on my calendar. But there's more to it than that, according to Samsung. You'll also be able to snap a photo of what's in your refrigerator and have the AI come up with recipe of what you have on hand. You can give your assistant a research assignment and have them paste the results in a note. And all of this can be done with a single command -- or so the sales pitch goes. I'm very intrigued by the promise here, which is the ability to take care of different tasks without having to jump from one app to the next. Instead, Gemini handles it all for you, potentially saving you time. That's the kind of AI feature I want more of on my phone. My colleagues have tested out cross app actions for their reviews, but I have a few other questions I'm hoping to get answered, either by using the feature myself or with more information surfacing overtime. Here's what I'm specifically hoping to find out. Years of using digital assistants have made me a little paranoid that my seemingly reasonable request is going to produce the AI equivalent of a "huh?" Presumably, Galaxy AI responds well to natural language commands, but I'm still curious to see if I have to phrase my request in a very specific way to get the result I want. How much trial in error is this going to require? In a similar vein, I'd like to know what happens if I request a cross app action that isn't supported. Ideally, the Galaxy AI would flag the specific part of my request that requires an app it can't quite work with yet -- anything more helpful than a terse "I can't do that." Make me aware of what you can do. I'm going to assume Samsung and Google put the emphasis on their own apps out of the gate as they could make sure those offerings were ready to go when the Galaxy S25 was. And let's be frank -- a lot of people are going to use the on-device apps for texting, mail, notes and more. But clearly, Samsung's going to want third-party apps to app support of their own. And if buy into the Galaxy S25, I'm going to want to be kept up to date on which apps those are and when I can expect cross app actions support to arrive for some of the big hitters beyond Whatsapp and Spotify. That's not going to be an answer I find out right away, but it's still something I'm eager to learn. Samsung doesn't add its features in a vacuum. On the other side of the mobile platform street, Apple's busy rolling out its own AI-powered features in the form of Apple Intelligence. And one of the still-to-come improvements will give Siri the ability to interact with other apps. That will mean Apple's assistant can perform complex actions with those apps and send messages directly within them. The word is that functionality is coming via the iOS 18.4 update, which is expected this spring. I'm interested to see just how that behavior works at launch, including which apps will work with Siri right away and just how that compares to cross app actions on the Galaxy S25. Based on the rumors, it sounds like we'll have tha answer soon enough. Not long after Samsung showed off the Galaxy S25 lineup for the first time, I suggested that the Galaxy S25 will be where the rubber meets the road for AI on smartphones -- meaning here's where we'll find out if this is the game-changing evolution we've been promised. My experience with cross app actions once I try out the S25 won't be the final word on the subject, but it's going to go a long way toward cementing my opinion on mobile AI.

I've used Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S25 for a week -- here's what I like and what I don't

Galaxy AI can't be split from the Galaxy S25 series, since Samsung is relying heavily on its revamped AI features to sell its trio of new phones that are shipping with only small hardware differences from their predecessors. And while we discuss all the main Galaxy AI changes in our Galaxy S25 review and Galaxy S25 Ultra review, there's still plenty more to say. Unlike Apple and its staggered Apple Intelligence rollout, Samsung offers its Galaxy AI suite complete at launch, leaning more toward practical applications rather than creative ones. There are definitely quirks that users need to adapt to or account for when trying them out, but all the features have a place in daily life, and most can be used without an internet connection if you're concerned about privacy or need to do some tasks off-grid. But let's talk specifics. I've made a point of trying the new stuff that Galaxy AI has to offer, to see if it truly will make you twice as happy as Samsung promises. I don't think any tech is that good (even the best phones don't come with guarantees of a fulfilling life), but let me show you through the highs and lows of the Galaxy S25's AI experience. I thought the Gemini/Bixby tag team behind Galaxy AI could prove annoying, but fortunately they don't trip over each other. Gemini seems to take the brunt of the active AI features, including digital assistant duties, while Bixby pops up when required for more specialized tasks like semantic searches. The presence of the much-touted Personal Data Engine is barely felt though. You enable it when you first set up your Galaxy S25, and then it just sits in the background taking notes. I appreciate Samsung's focus on the security of the Engine, but during my time with the S25 the most obvious thing it did was build a photo story in the Gallery app of some recent photos. Perhaps this is something you need to use for longer to see more benefits from, but it would have been nice for it to have made more suggestions by now. While I'll go though the brand new parts of Galaxy AI in a moment, let's check in on some of the older features that got upgraded for the Galaxy S25. Generative Edit features for photos, including moving and removing elements, or Portrait Studio for changing up your selfies, now seem to run a couple of seconds faster compared to the Galaxy S24, be it because of reworked software or the extra power in the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. Plus there's a better-designed interface that has all the functions you might want floating by the elements as you select them, rather than requiring a tap and hold. Circle to Search, which debuted on the Galaxy S24 last year, has received all the updates you'd hope for since the original version. That includes the option for it to listen to audio to hopefully recognize the source. It's also augmented by Gemini Talk Live, which offers shortcuts to discuss a video or file with the AI via voice chat in a more immediate way than Circle to Search can assist. For phone calls, you can now transcribe recorded calls automatically for easier summarization later on. This is a One UI 7-based feature though, so should roll out to all eligible Samsung phones in the coming months, even if the Galaxy S25 gets it first. Samsung apps (plus third-party ones like Spotify and WhatsApp) working just like Google's own with voice commands is excellent, and I hope this becomes an option for other manufacturers so users who prefer their phone maker's own take on the notes or calendar app. The fact you can access multiple apps at once with a single command is perhaps the most ambitious use of AI on the Galaxy S25, and it can live up to the hype if you play by the rules. In some of my attempts, Gemini stalled when I tried to ask for upcoming Liverpool FC games and for them to be added to my calendar and sent to my personal number via SMS. And in others, taking too long a pause to phrase the next part of my command led to Gemini assuming I was finished and processed what it had heard so far. But if you place your orders carefully and precisely, you can indeed make, edit and delete events, messages and reminders as you need to. It's not always faster than doing things yourself with copy/pastes and manual typing, but this is a step up from the capabilities of older digital assistants which often would struggle to perform a task in just a single app. The automated Now Brief is helpful, even when you only do the bare minimum to get it working. Available on your lock screen in One UI 7's new Now Bar or from a home screen widget, the Now Brief updates with info from key apps like Calendar or Weather four times a day to tell you what's coming up or what you've been up to. With the right permissions, Now Brief also suggested meditations from the Health app, a shortcut to YouTube Shorts, and expiring (fictional) coupons. It should in theory offer news headlines, photos I've taken that day and upcoming commute times, but those didn't trigger for me for whatever reason. These are all useful things to have in one handy AI-generated report. But Now Brief only reaches its true potential if you fill out your events and notes in detail. For instance, Now Brief can't recommend a time to leave for a meeting if you haven't put the location in the calendar event, plus it always assumes you're driving to your appointment rather than any other transit method. Not great for a public transport user like me. It also helps to have a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring and SmartThings to track your sleep or workouts. Sure, the phone can track enough detail from your movement to give to your health rings, but the Galaxy S25 isn't designed to deliver the really juicy insights about your wellbeing, or suggest methods of saving energy in your home, without a relevant accessory. There's a lot of potential here, but like with other tech brand ecosystems, you get more out if you put more data and money in. Galaxy AI makes it possible to search the Gallery or Settings apps with more natural spoken or typed phrases, showing you more personalized results of relevant images or options to tweak. How well the Gallery surfaces photos depends on how much metadata is attached to your photos, and also seems to require indexing, or at least fresh photos, to recognize images properly. I took a photo of my favorite green mug with the S25 and search was able to find it, but the same mug in shots taken a couple of years ago and shared to the S25's Gallery weren't picked up. And while the Settings app search will find its way to the right place, it won't toggle anything on or off for you, which could be a let-down for users hoping for full automatic control. It's cool how you don't even need to ask for a specific setting though: you can complain that "the screen's not clear enough" and settings like color options, or Super HDR mode pop up. AI Select is a new addition to the Edge Panel, accessible with a swipe in from the side of the display. It gives you precise control over exactly what you want to capture on-screen, then offers relevant options like turning a recording into a GIF, or edit or draw over the selected area. These aren't new abilities for a phone, but the fact that the Galaxy S25 lets you specify an area before taking any action makes things far easier. You don't have to go and crop or trim images or videos you've captured after the fact -- just drag the box to the right shape and you're good to go. It's probably the least spectacular of the new Galaxy AI features, but probably one of the most universally useful. Audio Eraser is a new video editing tool ready to detect and clean up noise while boosting important sounds like speech. Even using the automatic mode can make audio clearer, but the system is a little aggressive, leading to speech sounding unnatural. The Galaxy S25 series and its new generation of Galaxy AI provides the most well-rounded selection of features of any phone around right now. You'll find some more unique applications of AI on the Google Pixel 9 or iPhone 16, but Samsung's done a tremendous job of offering a wide range of tools. You'll need to be a Samsung power user to get the best out of everything here, but I believe the secret to being happy (or even twice as happy) with Galaxy AI to focus on the features that best fit the way that you use your phone. Nobody uses 100% of their phone's potential, not even phone nerds like me. There's fears that Samsung will soon charge for some or all of these AI features, as its original promise was free usage for Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S25 users until the end of 2025. But what occupies my mind more is how many of the tools we've looked will stay as unique Galaxy S25 features. Gemini Talk Live is already being rolled out to other devices, and it feels likely that all the other Gemini-powered abilities will follow suit. So try not to be the jealous type, and remember that if you get a Galaxy S25, there are plenty of other things to appreciate, like the cameras, performance, display technology, or battery life that rival devices likely won't match even if they share the AI highlights.