SAN JOSE, California — Samsung is enhancing its Galaxy smartphones with new artificial intelligence features, aiming to make users’ lives easier while also increasing reliance on their devices, which are already omnipresent in daily life.
The unveiling of the three Galaxy S25 models took place on Wednesday. This generation represents an evolution in AI integration, following Apple’s entry into this trend with the launch of the iPhone 16 last September. Apart from a quicker processor and improved ultrawide camera lens, the hardware of the Galaxy S25 remains largely consistent with the previous year’s iteration.
Samsung is marketing the Galaxy S25 as an “AI companion,” designed to enhance user interactions by learning routines, anticipating needs, and performing useful functions. These include removing background noise from videos and identifying songs when requested. The AI technology in the new models will facilitate seamless navigation between apps to gather, summarize, and manage various types of user content. Additionally, the Galaxy S25 features a “personal data engine” that will generate personalized insights based on user habits and other distinctive traits.
TM Roh, Samsung’s smartphone division head, commented, “What you see here marks the dawn of a new reality. There are functionalities that you might have thought were impossible but now are within reach.”
In line with Apple’s approach, Samsung assures users that its AI features will respect their privacy while still learning about their habits. The company aims to safeguard this accumulated data within a secured environment dubbed as Fort Knox, named after the famous U.S. Army base known for housing gold reserves.
Keeping the pricing steady following last year’s increase, the Galaxy S25 models are set to retail for $800 for the standard version, $1,000 for the Plus variant, and $1,300 for the Ultra edition. Availability is anticipated starting February 7.
According to Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson, the Galaxy S25 could provide a more intuitive experience with better integration of voice commands and functions across apps. However, he believes that AI capabilities are not yet a compelling incentive for consumers to upgrade their smartphones.
Encouraged by last year’s growing interest in AI, Samsung is reinforcing its commitment to the technology. The company saw significant sales growth, selling 32 million units of the Galaxy S24 from January to September last year — a 25% increase compared to the previous year, according to Canalys.
Despite these gains, Samsung struggled in the budget smartphone segment, adversely affected by low-cost competitors from China. This challenge contributed to a 1% decline in Samsung’s total smartphone shipments last year, resulting in the company trailing slightly behind Apple in global market share, as reported by International Data Corp.
Consistent with prior models, the Galaxy S25 will heavily utilize AI technologies developed by Google, the creator of the Android operating system that Samsung has employed for its devices. Some features, such as the new “circle to search” tool that quickly identifies a song title playing in a video, will first be introduced on the Galaxy S25 before expanding to other Android smartphones later this year. While Google continues to enhance AI functions on its own Pixel phone, that device still trails significantly behind its Apple and Samsung competitors.
