Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025 delivered the Galaxy S25 series – as expected. Although the phones don’t have dramatically improved specs, the company has stuffed them with – you guessed it! – more AI in devices. The latter batch is more contextual and predictive, and some of them even take more advantage of the phones’ slightly upgraded hardware.
Galaxy S25 Ultra
THE Galaxy S25 Ultra is still the biggest, best and most expensive of the group. It has a 6.9-inch screen and a more rounded edge for a “comfortable grip”. Samsung says it’s “the thinnest, lightest, and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever,” featuring a titanium body with Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2 for “advanced protection against falls” and resistance to scratches.
Unlike the two smaller models, the Ultra’s camera sensors have received an upgrade: its ultra-wide lens is now 50 MP, up from just 12 MP in last year’s model .
Like its siblings, the S25 Ultra is powered by a customized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which allows the trio of phones to process many of their AI experiments on-device. Of course, it’s better for privacy.
Although the phone continues the tradition of including an S Pen (it’s now essentially the Galaxy Note), Air Commands has bitten the dust. Samsung told Engadget in a briefing that less than 1% of customers with S Pens use them. And those who have done so have primarily used it as a camera shutter, which is easily replicated in other ways. Samsung says the removal allowed it to lose weight and increase the durability of the S Pen.
Sam Rutherford of Engadget had a first hands-on experience with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and said it “feels like a good phone” and described Samsung’s AI suite as “much more consistent and easier to use.” However, he also had some reservations. “But at the same time, it seems like the world’s biggest 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. That’s still a considerable investment, though — starting at $1,300.
Galaxy S25 and S25+
The Galaxy S25 and S25+ have had their RAM upgraded to 12GB (same as the Ultra), up from 8GB in their 2024 predecessors. It combines with the Snapdragon 8 Elite to better handle the phones’ many AI features. (More in a minute.)
The rest of their hardware is remarkably similar to the S24 and S24+. They still have 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch screens respectively. But Samsung’s new ProScaler AI tool can upgrade images in real time to perhaps compensate for unchanged specs. Samsung claims this can improve the quality of what you see by 40 percent.
Mat Smith of Engadget I tried the Galaxy S25 and S25+ and praised the phones’ “premium, solidly built” slim designs and “vivid, bright and beautiful” displays. However, he was skeptical about the phones’ AI-centric focus. “In just a few years, Samsung has built a substantial collection of artificial intelligence tricks, features and applications,” he wrote. “While some of these have been impressive, like live translation and annotation, others (often involving generative AI) aren’t actually useful – or notable – enough to warrant regular use.”
Storage is also unchanged from the S24 series: 128GB or 256GB in the Galaxy S25 and 256GB or 512GB in the Galaxy S25+. Fortunately, prices are also unchanged. You’ll pay $800 or more for the S25 and $1,000 and more for the S25+.
Galaxy AI
With most hardware upgrades (except the Snapdragon chip) coming this generation, Samsung is leaning heavily on AI features to make you want to spend hard-earned money on the new models . This year, Samsung’s One UI 7 on top of Android 15 combines to create what Samsung calls “a new AI-integrated operating system.” It aims for more personalized and context-aware AI, rather than just a series of one-off tools.
AI plays a central role in the phones’ camera features, with the Qualcomm chip allowing the phones to better analyze noise, leading to what Samsung says is better low-light performance. Audio Eraser is an AI tool that separates audio channels, allowing you to remove unwanted ones like wind or a random stranger speaking.
Samsung is packaging its new collection of on-device AI tools into what it calls the Personal Data Engine. The series of multi-modal (text, images, video, audio) machine learning agents leads to features like AI Select, which builds on Samsung’s previous 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 the AI-powered Now Bar is Samsung’s answer to the iPhone’s dynamic island. The pill-shaped bar is at the bottom of the lock screen and below the digital clock when the phone is unlocked. It generates a series of context-based reminders. Within the Now Bar is another AI feature, the Now Brief, which generates morning, noon, and evening summaries of information it thinks will be relevant to you.
Samsung’s Sketch to Image tool has been renamed Drawing Assist, and Samsung says the feature is more refined and precise. It also adds an option to import existing images for your prompt. The S25 series also adds an improved version of Google’s Circle to Search (activated by long-pressing the home button). It can now recognize phone numbers, emails and URLs, allowing you to trigger corresponding actions with a single click.
Samsung Wallet Updates
The company added two new payment features: Instant payout and tap to transfer.
As the name suggests, Instant Install is a “buy now, pay later” service that lets you turn your purchases into an offline payment plan experience. It’s completely managed on the device and available for Visa and Mastercard purchases.
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low was briefed by Samsung on the service. “It’s not that Samsung plans to become a credit provider and borrow. Instead, it makes your purchases easier and turns your payments into what the company’s representative called an “offline-first payment plan experience.”
Meanwhile, Tap to Transfer is a peer-to-peer payment service, rivaling Apple’s Tap to Cash. Tap the phones with someone you want to pay (or get paid) with. This is not limited to Samsung Pay; you can also use it with third-party applications, since it is linked to the associated card or account. It works with Visa and Mastercard.
Galaxy Watch for Kids
THE Galaxy Watch for Kids may look like new equipment, but it is more of a new configuration option for the cellular network. Galaxy Watch 7 (and probably future wearable devices). You know, a bit like Apple Watch for kids.
Samsung, which partnered with Google for the experiment, 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. Of course, parents can set up safeguards indicating which applications are installed and ensuring that they are not disturbed during school hours. Location sharing is optional, and Samsung and Google are offering new apps and watch faces aimed at kids to keep things fun.
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