[Review] "Don't Type, Just Speak": The Conversational AI Phone Galaxy S25

Solving Problems Through Interaction with Gemini
AI Removes Noise and Images with Ease

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, with its significantly enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, proved to be an excellent AI assistant for everyday convenience. By pressing and holding the AI button on the right side, Google's Gemini voice assistant service is launched. Without having to type, users can ask questions by voice and receive spoken answers, enabling real-time interaction.

(From left) Galaxy S25 Ultra, Plus, and standard models. Provided by Samsung Electronics

When I asked Gemini to "recommend overseas travel destinations for March," it suggested a variety of countries, ranging from Southeast Asia to the United States and Europe, and even provided flight information. When I took a photo of a math question from the college entrance exam and uploaded it, it delivered a detailed solution and the correct answer within seconds. What stood out was the increased number of AI features that allow conversational voice interaction, making the S Pen almost unnecessary. Although initially it felt awkward to issue voice commands in front of others, it seems likely that such behavior will become more natural in the AI era.

However, there were areas in need of improvement. When I asked Gemini to "tell me IU's concert schedule and add it to my calendar," it correctly answered that the dates were September 21 and 22, 2024, but mistakenly entered them into the calendar for 2025. The AI also tended to avoid answering questions about political figures or elections, stating that "mistakes could occur." Additionally, when I used the "Circle to Search" feature by circling BLACKPINK's Jisoo's face in a YouTube advertisement to search, Google did not return accurate results.

The most impressive AI feature I used in the camera application was the "Audio Eraser." It was particularly useful for removing various background noises after recording a video. The feature could recognize and selectively remove sounds such as crowds, music, and wind. The removal level could also be adjusted to my preference. When I eliminated crowd noise from a video taken at a noisy concert, I was able to clearly hear only the singer's voice and the instruments, which greatly improved my satisfaction.

The 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera produced satisfying landscape photos, and the telephoto camera with 100x zoom allowed me to identify people across an eight-lane road. After taking a photo, it was possible to erase specific subjects and naturally fill in the empty space, a feature that has been further advanced compared to the previous Galaxy S24. However, images generated using these generative AI features now include a watermark indicating that they were created by AI.

Meanwhile, compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S25 series is 5 to 14 grams lighter, and every model is 0.4mm thinner. This was enough to dispel the misconception that devices would become heavier as on-device AI features increased.