Samsung’s first Unpacked event of 2025 delivered the Galaxy S25 series — as expected. Although the phones don’t have dramatically upgraded specs, the company stuffed — you guessed it! — more AI into the devices. This latest batch is more context-sensitive and predictive, and some of it even squeezes more out of the phones’ mildly upgraded hardware.
Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is still the biggest, best and most expensive of the bunch. It has a 6.9-inch display and a more rounded edge for a “comfortable grip.” Samsung says it’s the “slimmest, lightest, and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever,” rocking a titanium body with Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2 for “advanced drop protection” and scratch resistance.
Unlike the two smaller models, the Ultra’s camera sensors got a spec upgrade: Its ultrawide lens is now 50MP, up from the mere 12MP one in last year’s model.
Like its siblings, the S25 Ultra is powered by a customized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which lets the trio of phones process many of their AI experiences on-device. Of course, that’s better for privacy.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has 12GB of RAM, and it ships in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage tiers. It’s still quite the investment, though — starting at $1,300.
Galaxy S25 and S25+
The Galaxy S25 and S25+ saw 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 displays, respectively. But Samsung’s new ProScaler AI tool can upscale images in real time to perhaps make up for the unchanged specs. Samsung says it can boost the quality of what you see by 40 percent.
Storage is also unchanged from the S24 series: 128GB or 256GB in the Galaxy S25 and 256GB or 512GB in the Galaxy S25+. Fortunately, pricing is also unchanged. You’ll pay $800 or more for the S25 and $1,000 and up for the S25+.
Galaxy AI
With most hardware upgrades (apart from the Snapdragon chip) coming in soft this generation, Samsung is leaning hard on AI features to make you want to throw down hard-earned cash 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 OS.” It aims for a more personalized and context-sensitive AI, rather than just a series of one-off tools.
AI plays a central role in the phones’ camera features, with the Qualcomm chip making the phones better at analyzing noise — leading to what Samsung says is better low-lit performance. Audio Eraser is an AI tool that separates audio channels, letting you cut out unwanted ones like wind or a random stranger talking.
Developing…
