To think that Samsung hasn't launched a new device and will only announce new software instead, it'll be a given to watch the hour-long unpacking event for the Galaxy S25. Like other recent tech events, AI was a huge hit and dominated the show.
There are new Galaxy AI features such as “Cross App Action” that require that your phone's digital assistants be able to use multiple apps to respond to requests. The new “Conversation Search” should allow you to easily adjust settings by typing in natural language. The “My Eyes Pain” setting can encourage your phone to lead to adjustments in brightness and blue light instead of hunting out individual menus.
At first glance, the new Galaxy S25 line looks like last year's S24, which looks like the 2023 S23.
But for me, one of the most interesting parts of this phone is the simpler one. Battery life. The S25 series claims that “the longest battery life” claims that it has a particularly merit, as people continue to keep their phones longer and generally show limited interest in AI.
For the S25 Ultra, the company claims a 31-hour battery life. This is an hour longer than the S24 Ultra, but we still can't see the fare in the real world.
A recent CNET survey found that US buyers still don't really care about AI on the phone. But they care a lot about improving battery life. The camera's capabilities are also important, with Samsung adding an extra wide sensor to at least the S25 Ultra's 50 megapixels. (The resolutions for the S25 and S25 plus cameras remain the same as last year's model.)
Samsung already had a very impressive camera and solid software (non-AI) on its old phone. And while I would have wanted to see a more ambitious design shift (which Samsung looks like he's doing with The Slimmer Galaxy S25 Edge), I can't argue that the company needs to do something radical with the already popular main model.
Getting a thin bezel and moving the screen from the 6.8 inch S24 edition to the 6.9 inch of this year's phone is a small but nice touch. Similarly, all three models have a typical thin and light profile that appears to be playing sports. These are not big needle movers by themselves, but upgrading from a device from a few years ago could potentially give you a better experience.
And AI features may be useful in the future. Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 12GB of RAM are standard throughout the line, and with Samsung's seven-year software update promise, perhaps these phones are well equipped to handle at least some of their future features.
For now and for the near future, the most important feature for me is battery life. The hourly keynote may not be flashy and sexy, but at the end of the day, that's what forces me to consider the S25 when upgrading.
If only Samsung could ultimately place the magnet on the magnet itself for QI2 wireless charging instead of making the user rely on purchasing the case…
