Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on: AI everywhere, plus a bigger screen

Samsung Top of the line Galaxy S25 Ultra It now has a larger screen and looks more like the standard one Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus – marking a departure from the company’s previous design approach. All three new Samsung phones will also have AI technology more tightly integrated into the operating system for tasks like offering recommended actions or apps, allowing users to search for images using natural language and string multiple actions together with a single voice command.

Samsung’s approach with the Galaxy S25 series is another sign that smartphone makers are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to make their phones stand out. Many new features Samsung announced on Wednesday compete with Apple intelligencethe set of artificial intelligence features available on iPhone, iPad and Mac – further highlighting how technology giants are competing to deliver the best AI experience. Samsung began its major efforts towards new smartphone-based AI features last year with the launch of the Galaxy AI phone.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, also announced that the new Samsung phones will be among the first to integrate technology from Google Project Astra AI Assistant In the Gemini app, which means that the Gemini app on these phones will be able to analyze live video and on-screen content to answer questions about the world around you. The move indicates that both Samsung and Google hope to position Android as the ideal mobile platform for AI assistants, with Samsung phones playing a big role in this ambition.

the The price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at $1,300 Like last year Galaxy S24 Ultra. As the largest and most expensive phone in Samsung’s Galaxy S range, it includes a larger 6.9-inch display, a 200-megapixel high-resolution main camera and a new 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, as well as the familiar S Pen. These features are what set it apart from the cheaper $1,000 Galaxy S25 Plus and $800 Galaxy S25, which Samsung also announced during its Unpacked event on Wednesday.

Read more: Your phone’s camera paves the way for future virtual assistants

More artificial intelligence

Galaxy artificial intelligence It was the biggest focus last year Galaxy S24 series, and that continues to be the case with the Galaxy S25. But instead of focusing on individual AI-enabled features, like generative editing to process images or live translation to translate phone calls in different languages, Samsung is integrating AI into its phones on a more fundamental level.

For example, a new tool called AI Select will suggest actions based on what’s on your phone’s screen. The photo gallery app will also support conversational search queries, such as “search for wine bottles from France,” just like the photo apps from Apple and Google. Perhaps what’s even more interesting is that Samsung has built this into the settings menu so you can type in a query like, “My eyes hurt, can you help with the screen?” To adjust the blue light filter or lower the brightness. Apple reciprocated Siri Ability to answer technical support questions about their devices with access to Apple Intelligence.

Research circlewhich has emerged as one of the most popular phone-based AI features in 2024, is also being updated with voice recognition capability.

Samsung is improving the way voice commands work on the Galaxy S25 series as well, which is undoubtedly a move to compete more closely with Apple’s Siri and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. You’ll be able to hold down the power button to issue more complex commands such as “Get me the schedule for this season’s Arsenal matches and add them to my calendar” or “Find me a nearby pet-friendly vegetarian restaurant and send it over.” In a text message.” Samsung and Google apps will be supported, as well as some third-party apps including WhatsApp and Spotify to get started.

Like many Galaxy AI features, these voice commands will use a combination of Google and Samsung’s models, with variation depending on the task at hand. A search-related query might use Google, for example, while saving information in Samsung Notes would likely involve a Samsung model.

Samsung also uses a large linguistic model to make recommendations based on your personal actions by examining data from apps like the web browser, photo gallery, Samsung Health, Samsung Wallet, and SmartThings. So, if your bedroom temperature is too high and Galaxy Ring If you know you keep waking up in the middle of the night, Samsung may suggest you set a routine to lower the temperature of your SmartThings thermostat as soon as you fall asleep. The company says that personal data on the device will be stored in the same area of ​​the Samsung Knox mobile security platform where biometric data is kept.

Samsung is trying to make the lock screen and home screen more useful with new features called Now Summary and Now Bar. Now Brief is exactly what it sounds like: a summary of information like how you’re sleeping, weather forecasts, schedule reminders, and routine suggestions based on your habits. On the other hand, the Now Bar reminds me of Dynamic Island and Live Actions on the iPhone. It’s a small space on the lock screen to display information like sports scores or real-time navigation without having to unlock your phone.

Some of these new AI features sound similar to tools that have emerged over the past decade in the Internet of Things era — such as the ability to make recommendations based on personal habits and routines. Others, like the revamped voice assistant, appear to be an attempt to keep up with competitors like Apple’s Siri, which will also get the ability to work with apps in the future.

However, Apple has not yet launched this capability, as it is rolling out specific Apple Intelligence features in phases through software updates. Samsung says all of its newly announced AI tools will be available on the Galaxy S25 series at launch.

It’s promising to see smartphone AI moving in a direction that impacts overall usage rather than individual features that can be easily forgotten. However, I would have liked to see AI software designed specifically for the Ultra or S Pen to help it stand out more from its cheaper counterparts.

Read more: Google Android head talks about why smart glasses are so successful this time around

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a larger display and soft corners

Since 2022, Samsung’s Ultra phones have looked like exact copies of the Ultra phones Galaxy Notewith its boxy edges and somewhat brutal aesthetic. But the Galaxy S25 Ultra has rounded edges that make it look like a larger version of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, along with slimmer bezels that give the phone a slightly larger 6.9-inch screen. I was a fan of the old look of the Ultra, but the new aesthetic feels like a nice bridge between the Note family and the Galaxy S family. It’s also noticeably lighter than last year’s Ultra, making it less cumbersome for those who prefer phones with larger screens.

In terms of performance, the Galaxy S25 series will run on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite For Galaxy, this continues the tradition Samsung has established in recent years of putting customized versions of Qualcomm’s latest chipsets in its new phones. The company claims that this version of the chip is clocked higher than the non-Galaxy versions, which means it should enable faster performance. Samsung says the Ultra in particular has a 40% larger vapor chamber for heat dissipation compared to the S24 Ultra, which could make it more suitable for gaming.

The new processor is also supposed to improve power efficiency and battery life. However, Samsung isn’t making any claims about battery life improvements, and charging speeds also remain the same – meaning the base Galaxy S25 will have 25W wired charging while the S25 Plus and Ultra will support 45W. This is a bit disappointing considering OnePlus 13 Supports 80W fast charging.

When it comes to the camera, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will see the biggest improvement in its ultra-wide sensor, which has been upgraded to 50MP from 12MP. Other than that, it will have a 200MP main camera, a 50MP 5X telephoto camera and a 10MP 3X zoom camera like last year’s Ultra.

Fortunately, the Galaxy S25 series will get seven years of OS and security updates like previous models, which means these phones should last for a while.

Overall, the Galaxy S25 Ultra feels like an incremental step up from Galaxy S24 Ultra. With minimal hardware changes, there’s a lot of reliance on AI to show how Samsung phones are evolving.