Send a photo of your refrigerator,
AI recognizes ingredients and suggests recipes
'Now Brief' delivers personalized info...
At-a-glance updates even on the lock screen
Find photos by chatting with AI...
Video sound editing now possible
Powered by Qualcomm chip,
but price remains unchanged from previous model
This is a conversation with the artificial intelligence (AI) embedded in Samsung Electronics' new product, the 'Galaxy S25 Ultra,' unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2025. The communication is natural, as if talking with a friend, and user-customized features have been enhanced. Despite dominant price hike theories due to exchange rates and rising component costs, the price did not increase compared to the previous model.
Main color concept images of the Galaxy S25 series models. (From left) Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S25 / Photo by Samsung Electronics
On the 22nd (local time), Samsung Electronics held 'Galaxy Unpacked 2025' at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, USA, and unveiled the Galaxy S25 series. Tae-moon No, President of Samsung Electronics MX Division, stated, "After launching the world's first AI smartphone last year, we will present the easiest and most intuitive AI experience through the more advanced Galaxy AI," adding, "The Galaxy S25 series will revolutionize users' daily lives through 'One UI 7,' a platform optimized for mobile AI." One UI 7 is Samsung Electronics' AI-integrated operating system.
Send a photo of your refrigerator, recognize ingredients, and get cooking recommendations
On the 21st (local time), at the experience center set up at the Guild House in San Jose, California, USA, I tried using 'Gemini Live' with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. When I took a photo inside the refrigerator and asked for dinner menu recommendations, the AI recognized the ingredients from the photo and provided a customized response. Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@
The Galaxy S25 series features the ability to input commands to AI as if chatting with a friend. For the first time in the S series, pressing and holding the 'AI button' on the side of the phone launches Google's AI, Gemini. To use the conversational AI function, users can press the 'Gemini Live' button within the application (app). It is equipped with multimodal AI that analyzes various types of information such as text, images, and voice.
Using the Galaxy S25 Ultra, turning on Gemini Live, taking a photo of the ingredients inside the refrigerator with the camera, and then asking for dinner menu recommendations by voice, the AI recognized the ingredients and suggested sweet potato or carrot soup. When asked for the recipe, the AI recited it. When the AI's speech became too long and was interrupted with a question, it recognized this and stopped speaking to listen to the next question.
To strengthen AI agent functions, Samsung Electronics collaborated with Google to create an integrated platform. AI handles mobile activities that previously required switching between multiple apps. For example, checking a sports team's game schedule and saving it to the calendar used to require going through several apps like search and calendar, but AI can handle this all at once upon request.
'Now Brief' provides personalized information... visible at a glance even on the lock screen
The 'Now Brief' feature, which provides user-customized information, has also been added. In the morning, it informs users of necessary information such as sleep data, schedule, and weather. For users who frequently read news, it recommends news based on frequently visited news pages. Executive Director Kang explained, "This is possible through the personal data engine," adding, "It is a personal learning engine that accumulates how the user uses the device and the context, enabling AI to provide personalized information."
The 'Now Bar' feature included in the Galaxy S25 series. If multiple apps are running, you can control the apps through the Now Bar even on the lock screen. Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@
This personalized information appears on the lock screen as a bar called the 'Now Bar.' If there is a game for the user's favorite sports team, the score is displayed on the lock screen from the moment the game starts. Also, when using multiple apps simultaneously, such as listening to music while running a timer, simple controls are possible by scrolling through the Now Bar.
Finding photos through AI conversation... video sound editing also possible
Finding photos in the gallery has become easier. This is because Samsung Electronics' own AI based on the large language model (LLM) Gauss is embedded. When users input keywords such as date or location, the AI finds matching photos. On a Galaxy S25 Ultra demo device, pressing the magnifying glass in the gallery and saying "Show me balloon photos" by voice quickly brought up photos containing balloons. In settings, saying "Change the language from English to Korean" made the AI display the 'Language' tab on the screen. This is expected to be useful when users are unsure which menu to enter to change settings as desired.
When I opened the Gallery app on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and asked by voice to find photos of balloons, the AI found them for me. Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@
Sound editing in videos is now possible with AI-based 'Audio Eraser.' When turning on the AI function for a video of busking in a crowd, the AI recognized the audio as four types: 'voice,' 'noise,' 'music,' and 'crowd.' Each sound can be edited by reducing or increasing the volume.
Equipped with Qualcomm chip, but price remains unchanged from previous model
The Galaxy S25 series is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for Galaxy in all models. Compared to the previous Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the neural processing unit (NPU) performance increased by 40%, and the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) performance increased by 37% and 30%, respectively. Executive Director Kang said, "Even just looking at benchmark scores, it is top-level performance in the industry," adding, "It will definitely enhance display experience and camera performance."
Noh Tae-moon, President of Samsung Electronics MX Division, is holding the newly released 'Galaxy S25' product and taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Samsung Electronics
Although there were many forecasts that the price of the Galaxy S25 series would increase due to exchange rates and rising component prices, Samsung Electronics froze the prices for all products compared to the previous generation. The Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at 1,698,400 KRW (12GB memory + 256GB storage), the Galaxy S25 Plus at 1,353,000 KRW (12GB memory + 256GB storage), and the Galaxy S25 at 1,155,000 KRW (12GB memory + 256GB storage). The Galaxy S25 Ultra model with 16GB memory and 1TB storage (2,249,500 KRW) will be released in a single 'Titanium Jet Black' color as an unlocked model on Samsung.com.
Unlike previous models, the Galaxy S25 Ultra applies rounded corners, making the designs of the three models similar. The thickness of all models decreased by 0.4 mm compared to the previous generation, and the weight was reduced by 14g for the Ultra, 6g for the Plus, and 5g for the base model.
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