Samsung launches S25 smartphone with boosted AI as Apple battle heats up

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday launched its latest flagship smartphones — the Galaxy S25 series — touting a custom chip and boosted AI features.

The S25 release comes after a year in which Samsung’s smartphone shipments came under pressure from Chinese players and Apple.

Samsung’s S25 series comes in three variants — the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra — as has been the case with previous flagship launches.

The starting prices are as follows:

• Galaxy S25: $799
• Galaxy S25+: $999
• Galaxy S25 Ultra: $1,299

Samsung will start taking pre-orders for the S25 series on Wednesday and the devices will go on sale on Feb. 7.

Last year, Samsung launched Galaxy AI — its suite of artificial intelligence features — on the S24.

With the S25, Samsung unveiled additional AI applications with the aim of making the phone more like a digital personal assistant.

Samsung’s latest devices can carry out tasks across multiple apps when prompted. For example, a user can ask the phone to find their favorite football team’s schedule and add it to their calendar. Or a user could prompt the AI application to find nearby pet-friendly restaurants to send to a specific contact. All of these actions will be carried out by the device across multiple apps.

Samsung said the feature supports third-party apps like Spotify and Meta-owned WhatsApp, as well as its own and Google‘s apps.

The AI application can also change settings on the phone when prompted by a user.

Samsung’s latest features underscore the way in which the South Korean tech giant and some of its rivals are racing to make AI on devices more like personal assistants that cater to a person’s usage habits and preferences.

Last year, Apple began rolling out Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features to iPhones.

Device makers view AI as way to differentiate their hardware from the sea of competitors. Samsung, for example, is hoping the technology will help revive sales for its high-end product.

“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,” Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

“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.”

Shipments of Samsung smartphones fell 2.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year as its market share contracted, according to International Data Corporation figures. Samsung was the number two player by shipment volume after Apple.

Meanwhile, Chinese players Xiaomi, Transsion and Vivo increased market share, with aggressively-priced devices boasting solid specs.

CCS Insight’s Wood concluded that the S25 series is “well suited to the growing number of consumers who have a mobile phone that’s three or four years old” but “it’s unlikely to get people upgrading any sooner.”

To power its latest AI features, Samsung and Qualcomm worked on a custom processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is exclusive to Samsung with the South Korean giant claiming it is the fastest processor ever in a Galaxy device.

Fast but low power consumption processors inside of smartphones are vital for ensuring management of heavy AI workloads without draining battery.

Samsung also talked up other changes to the hardware including an improved camera on the S25 Ultra model and new design.

The S25 series now has rounded corners rather than the more angular design of its predecessors.