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Samsung S25 Lineup: Lighter, Faster, More AI

Samsung held their latest unpacked event in the heart of Silicon Valley in San Jose. It’s where AI is a major buzzword and that was certainly the case up on stage as Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S25 lineup of smartphones.

They are noticeably lighter, faster, and brighter – with more AI built-in than ever before.

There is a major change to this phone: pressing the side button no longer brings up Bixby, but it brings up Google’s super helpful AI assistant, Gemini.

Samsung brought me to the event to go hands-on with their latest phones – the S25, S25+, and the top-of-the-line S25 Ultra.

The design is their best yet, with squared-off edges (yes, reminiscent of Apple’s recent design) that make it much easier to hold this year.

The screen is now a bit bigger at 6.9 inches on the Ultra, but the device is about the same size thanks to some fancy engineering.

Samsung says improvements in glass durability are making a difference – leading to fewer screen repairs.

The phones run One UI 7, a new software with more AI built-in, and you can search for photos or device settings using natural language.

Personalization is a big focus this year. There are two new helpful features here.

The “Now Brief” widget gives you updates morning and night. For instance, in the morning, it will give you the weather, stuff on your calendar, and any other pertinent info.

Shot on Samsung S25 Ultra

The “Now Bar” puts live info from apps like Google Maps and Music on your lock screen.

The camera gets several improvements. There’s a new 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, up from 12 megapixels. The phone also captures more detail in close-up macro shots.

Samsung is also using AI to improve low-light video, and 10-bit higher-quality HDR video is now turned on by default. In my early tests, the photos and videos of this device looked really good – clear, detailed, and bright.

For creators – there’s now a LOG video option.

Sustainability is also a big part of Samsung’s push – the S25 lineup uses more recycled materials, including batteries made with 50 percent recycled cobalt from old Galaxy phones.

The phones will also get seven generations of OS and security updates. Plus, they have speedy WiFi 7 built-in for when your router is ready to support it.

The best part is that there are no price increases – The S25 starts at $800, the S25+ is $1000, and the Ultra is $1300.

Samsung also teased a thinner version of the S25 called the Galaxy Edge but didn’t provide details on how much or when.

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