Samsung ‘doubles down’ on AI tools with new S25 Series smartphones
22 January 2025, 18:04
The tech giant has focused on upgrading the AI tools built into its flagship smartphone range.
Samsung has unveiled its new range of flagship smartphones, complete with upgrades to its AI tools that the firm says make the technology more of a “companion”.
The Korean phone maker confirmed the new Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra would go on sale on February 7.
At the heart of the new devices is what Samsung says is a substantial array of updates to its Galaxy AI features – including new abilities to work across different apps quickly to carry out tasks and the built-in AI being able to better understand the context of what a user is looking at on their phone at that moment.
One industry expert said the firm was “doubling down” on the technology and had made “clever enhancements” to try and entice more consumers to upgrade or switch to Samsung.
AI tools have become a key arms race in the smartphone market, with Samsung first launching its tools in January last year, followed by Google, Apple and others later in the year.
As part of its latest updates, Samsung said users will be able to make more complex and multi-layered requests – for example asking the built-in Google Gemini AI assistant to find a football team’s fixtures online and then add them to a user’s calendar – in a single command using text or their voice.
Samsung has a close partnership with Google, as a user of its Android operating system on its smartphones, and said its enhanced AI tools would be able to work across all native Samsung and Google apps because of this partnership, as well as some third-party apps such as Spotify.
Another Google-made tool, Circle to Search – where users can draw around an item on screen they want to search for – has also been updated for the S25 and can now recognise phone numbers, email and web addresses on a user’s screen.
In addition, Samsung has introduced new context-driven features called the Now Brief and Now Bar to the S25 series, which proactively gives users summaries, updates and app suggestions based on their usage and habits throughout the day.
Annika Bizon, director of mobile experience at Samsung UK and Ireland, said: “Modern life is hard. Balancing work and home is incredibly overwhelming, and we’re all looking for ways to help us juggle life’s demands.
“We’ve reached a point now where AI has evolved to become a companion – it’s knowing intuitively what you need, and when. It’s lightening your load so you can focus on the things that matter, at your own pace.
“In many ways, it’s becoming a pocket personal assistant for people, helping you manage your to-do lists.
“The speed at which it’s changing how we live is astonishing.
“We’re a year into Galaxy AI and it’s rolling out nearly up to eight times faster than the internet when it first launched in Britain – which is something we all use every day.”
The company confirmed the S25 would start at £979, the S25+ at £999 and the S25 Ultra – which comes with Samsung’s S Pen stylus built-in – would start at £1,249.
Industry expert and analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight said Samsung was “doubling down” on AI with some “clever enhancements” in the S25 range, but said some consumers were still to be convinced by the technology.
“Launching new flagship smartphones has become a considerable headache for all the leading smartphone manufacturers,” he said.
“Top-end products are now so good that it’s extremely difficult to deliver any meaningful differentiation from one year to the next. Samsung is not alone in this challenge, with Apple and all the other Android smartphone manufacturers in the same boat.
“Launches are now characterised by ‘slightly better everything’, be that screen technology, battery life, processor performance, camera specs and more.
“It’s little surprise that phone makers are hoping that a little ‘AI magic dust’ will help turn consumers heads, but that’s proving to be a tough sell too.
“At a time when improvements to hardware capabilities and product design are largely incremental, Samsung is doubling down on its AI story.
“There are some clever enhancements included in the Galaxy S25 line-up, but it’s unlikely they’ll be enough to have consumers rushing out to upgrade their phones prematurely.
“However, this is far from being a unique issue for Samsung. Apple is facing the same challenges with the iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence. AI is a boon for someone who needs an upgrade, but not enough to move the needle for consumers who have a relatively up-to-date phone already.”
