Samsung’s first Unpacked event of the year is over, and it’s time to get excited for the Galaxy S25. But not too excited, unless you like using AI tools on your phone and the idea of background updates thrills you. While Samsung’s Galaxy S25 launch fails to show that Samsung is capable of innovation in 2025, the S25 shows that Samsung is still capable of taking steps in the right direction, even if it is far from a thrilling device.
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Unfortunately, Samsung has missed a couple of features that would have turned the Galaxy S25 from a good phone to a great phone. While there are tentative steps towards full integration of long-awaited features (Looking at you, Qi2), common issues that have plagued Galaxy S-series phones for years are still alive and well. So let’s jump into the features Samsung nailed with the Galaxy S25, and the ones it messed up (again).
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5 Samsung Galaxy S25 takeaways from my first hour with the phone
This isn’t for Galaxy S24 owners, that’s for sure
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AI-powered Bixby gives the smart assistant new life
You won’t have to repeat yourself as much
Bixby has often felt like a bit of a joke compared to Google Assistant and Siri. While it can perform more tasks on your phone than Google Assistant, its poor speech recognition software makes issuing simple instructions like “Set a 15-minute timer” a frustrating back-and-forth of repeated orders.
However, Samsung has jumped on the generative AI train and upgraded Bixby with AI superpowers. This solves the biggest problem we had with Bixby as LLMs are fantastic at understanding natural language. It’s also capable of generating presentations and documents, understanding on-screen content, and performing complex tasks like adding a watermark to a picture.
Technically AI-powered Bixby is already available in China on the W25 and W25 Flip, but the Galaxy S25 and its bigger siblings will be the first place you can play with it internationally. It’ll be available alongside the rest of One UI 7’s AI features for older Samsung phones later in the year. Who knows, perhaps you’ll no longer need to immediately replace Bixby with Google Assistant after setting up a new Samsung phone.
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Seamless updates mean less restarts
Background updates are here to stay
Seamless updates let your Android phone update in the background, so you can use your phone while it installs updates. Not only this, but the process creates a safety net in case installation errors happen, avoiding the need to reset your phone if something goes wrong. While Google introduced this feature with the Pixel 1, the first Galaxy phone to use this feature was the Galaxy A55 in March 2024.
All the Galaxy S25 models have seamless updates, and it looks like this will be the standard going forward. It’s a huge quality of life improvement, even if it isn’t the sexiest.
4
Bigger memory and a better processer
Play demanding games and use AI tools without performance drops
The Galaxy S25 has a minimum of 12GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Samsung is trying to keep the majority of AI processing on the device, so the RAM upgrade should prevent performance upgrades when using Bixby AI or other AI tools. If you don’t use AI features, you’ll still have a phone equipped with the latest Android hardware capable of handling all the most demanding games.
3
Half-hearted Qi2 support
“Qi-2 Ready” is a poor substitute for full Qi2 integration
One of the most frustrating experiences for Android enthusiasts has been watching iPhone users enjoy MagSafe charging since 2020’s iPhone 12. While Qi wireless charging is expected in most Android phones, and magnetic charging cases are easy to find, Qi2 charging is still frustratingly absent.
However, the Galaxy S25 will be “Qi2 Ready.” This means that it will support Qi2 wireless charging, but only if you pair it with an approved case. In other words, nothing has really changed except for a slight bump in charging speeds. What’s most frustrating about this is that rather than being a step on the road to Qi2 support, it could delay the integration for years.
Qi2 is one of the longest-awaited features for Galaxy phones, so this is a frustrating diversion that doesn’t give us what we wanted.
2
No major changes to the cameras
Expect the same camera quality as before
The Samsung Galaxy S25 features the same camera hardware as the Galaxy S23. While the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s telephoto and ultrawide lenses are getting an upgrade to 50MP, the only thing the Galaxy S25 will receive are improved post-processing algorithms.
This doesn’t mean that the Samsung Galaxy S25 has a bad camera, but it shows that the Galaxy S series is steadily falling behind the competition.
1
The design is recycled from other phones
Samsung is losing its unique touch
The saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is great in theory, but in the competitive smartphone world, change is necessary for success. And while I don’t particularly care if sales of the Galaxy S25 slump due to its repetitive design, it’s the last phone on my list if I want to branch out to something new.
There are some minor changes to the Galaxy formula on the S25. The camera rings are thicker and match the phone’s color, and the phone is 0.4mm thinner than the Galaxy S24. Samsung might as well have not bothere changing anything. At least that way Galaxy S25 owners could reuse their cases.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a great phone, but it isn’t exciting
While the hardware changes to the Galaxy S25 are modest at best, it will launch alongside One UI 7. This latest update to Samsung’s Android skin looks to have a more substantial impact on your Galaxy experience. From the aforementioned Bixby AI, to the Now Bar (A copy of Apple’s Dynamic Island), this is what you should be excited for, not the new hardware.
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Samsung Galaxy S25
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 keeps things small without sacrificing power. With a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, and all sorts of tools courtesy of Galaxy AI, this is everything you expect from a modern flagship squeezed into a relatively svelte chassis.
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Samsung Galaxy S25+
Samsung’s Galaxy S25+ finds just the right middle ground between its two siblings. With a 6.7-inch display, up to 512GB of storage, and 12GB of RAM, this smartphone includes practically everything you could ask for in the modern AI age, without driving up the price.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra leaves the Note-like design behind for the very first time. With flat edges, curved corners, and a massive 6.9-inch display, this is a modern flagship through and through — and yes, that S Pen is still here too.
