Samsung S25 embraces Google’s Gemini as AI stays centre-stage in the smartphone race

Samsung has hit top gear early in 2025 with the launch of their flagship Galaxy S25 range in San Jose today, with all three devices and variants of them going on-sale in Australia on February 14.

As usual there are three devices, the S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra with the biggest physical change coming in the S25 Ultra. Gone is the look of the old “Note” series devices, instead the corners are rounded to match the look of the S25 and S25+ making the three devices look more like a family of models.

All three are thinner than ever, and lighter too something we don’t often hear about new model phones as much as we used to in the height of the smartphone race.

But in reality, this announcement is all about AI. Samsung say Galaxy AI – launched this time last year is now on more than 200 million devices, with 80% of customers using Galaxy AI on a monthly basis – that number is 70% in Australia a high use of AI by any measure.

Most interesting to me of the S25 launch is the closeness by which Samsung is working with Google. Of course Google’s Android has underpinned every Samsung smartphone, but Samsung is now describing their new One UI 7 as being “built in partnership with Google” and then saying “With AI in mind”.

Make no mistake, we’re in the middle of an AI Smartphone race. In the first era of the Smartphone we had competition about size, weight, screens. In the second era we had the race to better each camera year on year as photography became the core function of a smartphone. The new era is the race to have the best AI.

For Samsung, they are keen for you to be able to invoke AI from any touch point on the phone, with a press of the side button invoking what Samsung call a “human-like agent”.

Make no mistake, that “human-like agent” is Google Gemini. Farewell Bixby perhaps, but if you talk to Samsung they see a future where perhaps Bixby regains its place as that agent on your smartphone.

Gemini allows a strong natural language interpretation, so you could ask it to set an alarm, start navigation and remind you about something all in one spoken command. Gemini can interpret that and invoke the commands and requests across any Samsung and Google app.

A new AI feature for S25 is the AI select. Swipe in from the right side of the screen and choose “AI Select”

Then draw around any item on screen and AI Select will suggest your next action. It might be a search, it might be a reminder, or share, or it might take the text on screen and assume you want to create a calendar event. It feels like an evolution of Circle to Search but it’s an all-new feature.

Samsung is also using AI to give you a top line summary of the day, in the morning or night, the “Now Brief” will offer you a summary of what you need to know. Things like weather, traffic, calendar appointments, reminders – it’s all there in a summary.

That “Now” concept also comes to your home screen with the “now bar” showing real-time information from apps like navigation, uber, timers etc. This is exactly the same as Apple’s “Live activities” which has been around for a few years, but for Samsung users. Another feature Apple did first is Call Recording, available on the S25 to allow you to get notes and transcripts from calls. All participants in the call get a notification of the recording happening of course.

Underpinning all this is a processor designed just for Samsung, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy has improvements of 40% in NPU speed, 37% for CPU and 30% for GPU.

While most of the camera features are the same, the Ultra Wide gets a bump to 50Megapixels allowing for some impressive macro photography capabilities.

For video, there’s anew Audio Eraser, which analyses the audio in a video and can segment and separate things like Voice, Music, Background Noise, Animals and allow you to adjust those levels individually.

All of them are thinner and lighter, with the Ultra getting the biggest re-design with rounded corners like the rest of the S Series to make it all look like a family of devices.

Pre-Orders start today, they go on sale February 14, the Samsung Galaxy S25 starts at $1,399, S25+ at $1,699 and the Ultra is cheaper than last year at $2,149.

We’ll have a hands-on quick review in the days ahead, with a full review in the weeks ahead.

Trevor Long travelled to San Jose as a guest of Samsung Australia

FULL NERD SPECS on all three of the Samsung Galaxy S25 models:

Galaxy S25 Ultra
Display	6.9-inch* QHD+    Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display     Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)      Vision booster    Adaptive color tone
	*Measured diagonally, Galaxy S25 Ultra’s screen size is 6.9-inch in the full rectangle and 6.8-inch with accounting for the rounded corners; actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
Dimensions & Weight	77.6 X 162.8 X 8.2mm, 218g
Camera	50MP Ultra-Wide Camera      F1.9, FOV 120˚            200 MP Wide Camera      OIS F1.7, FOV 85˚            50MP Telephoto Camera      5x Optical Zoom, OIS F3.4, FOV 22˚           10MP Telephoto Camera      3x Optical Zoom, OIS F2.4, FOV 36˚           12MP Front Camera      F2.2, FOV 80˚
Memory & Storage	12GB + 1TB     12 + 512GB     12 + 256GB
	*Available storage capacity is subject to preloaded software.    *Memory option may vary by market.
Battery	5,000 mAh
	*Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 4,855mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
Charging*	Wired charging*: Up to 65% charge in around 30 mins with 45W Adapter**     Fast Wireless Charging 2.0***     Wireless PowerShare****
	*Wired charging compatible with QC2.0 and AFCPD.
	**45W Power Adapter sold separately. Use only Samsung-approved chargers and cables.
	***Wireless charging compatible with WPC.
	****Limited to Samsung or other brand smartphones with Qi wireless charging, such as Galaxy S24 Ultra, S24+, S24, S23 Ultra, S23+, S23, Z Fold 4, Z Flip4, S22 series, Z Fold3 5G, Z Flip3 5G, S21 FE 5G, S21 series, Z Fold2, Note20 series, S20 series, Z Flip, Note10, Note10+, S10e, S10, S10+, Fold, S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S8 Active, S7, S7 edge, S7 Active, S6, S6 edge, S6 Active, S6 edge+, Note9, Note8, Note FE and Note5. Only available with certain Samsung Galaxy wearables such as Galaxy Buds FE, Buds2 Pro, Buds2, Buds Pro, Buds Live, Watch6, Watch6 Classic, Watch5, Watch 5 Pro, Watch4, Watch4 Classic, Watch3, Watch Active2, Watch Active, Gear Sport, Gear S3, Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds. If battery power is lower than 30% Wireless PowerShare may not function. May not work with certain accessories, covers, other brand devices or some Samsung wearables. During PowerShare, it may affect call reception or data services, depending on your network environment.
OS	Android 15    One UI 7
Network and Connectivity	5G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 7***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.4
	*Requires optimal 5G network connection, available in select markets. Check with your carrier for availability and details. Download and streaming speeds may vary based on content provider, server connection and other factors.    **Availability of LTE model varies by market and carrier. Actual speed may vary depending on market, carrier, and user environment.    ***Wi-Fi 7 network availability may vary by market, network provider and user environment. Requires optimal connection. Will require a Wi-Fi 7 router.
Water Resistance	IP68
	Galaxy (S25, S25+, S25 Ultra) has an IP68 rating based on lab test conditions and is dust resistant and water resistant for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Not advised for beach or pool use. Ensure the charging port is dry before charging. Please refer to your device’s user manual for further care instructions and limitations.

Galaxy S25		Galaxy S25+
Display	6.2-inch FHD+*	6.7-inch QHD+ *
	Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display      Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)      Vision booster    Adaptive color tone
	*Measured diagonally, Paradigm’s screen size is 6.2-inch in the full rectangle and 6.0-inch with accounting for the rounded corners, Paradigm+’s screen size is 6.7-inch in the full rectangle and 6.5-inch with accounting for the rounded corners; actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
Dimensions & Weight	70.5 x 146.9 x 7.2mm, 162g (mmWave/Sub6)		75.8 x 158.4 x 7.3mm, 190g  (mmWave/Sub6)
Camera	12MP Ultra-Wide Camera      F2.2, FOV 120˚           50 MP Wide Camera      OIS F1.8, FOV 85˚            10MP Telephoto Camera      3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚            12MP Front Camera      F2.2, FOV 80˚
Memory & Storage	12 + 512GB     12 + 256GB     12 + 128GB			12 + 512GB     12 + 256GB
	*Available storage capacity is subject to preloaded software.    *Memory option may vary by market.
Battery	4,000 mAh			4,900 mAh
	*Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 3,885mAh for Galaxy S25 and 4,755mAh for Galaxy S25+. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
Charging	Wired Charging*: Up to 50% charge in around 30 mins with 25W Adapter** and 3A USB-C cable***     Fast Wireless Charging 2.0****     Wireless PowerShare*****			Wired charging*: Up to 65% charge in around 30 mins with 45W Adapter**      Fast Wireless Charging 2.0***     Wireless PowerShare****
	*Wired charging compatible with QC2.0 and AFCPD.
	**Power Adapter and data cable sold separately. Using the original Samsung 45W Power Adapter and data cable is recommended for Galaxy S25+ and the original Samsung 25W Power Adapter and data cable recommended for Galaxy S25.
	***Results from internal Samsung lab tests, conducted with 25W Travel Adapter connected to newly pre-released version of Galaxy S25 and 45W Travel Adapter connected to newly pre-released version of Galaxy S25+ while device had 0% of power remaining, with all services, features and screen turned off. Actual charging speed may vary depending on the actual usage, charging conditions and other factors.
	***Wireless charging compatible with WPC.
	****Limited to Samsung or other brand smartphones with Qi wireless charging, such as Galaxy S24 Ultra, S24+, S24, S23 Ultra, S23+, S23, Z Fold 4, Z Flip4, S22 series, Z Fold3 5G, Z Flip3 5G, S21 FE 5G, S21 series, Z Fold2, Note20 series, S20 series, Z Flip, Note10, Note10+, S10e, S10, S10+, Fold, S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S8 Active, S7, S7 edge, S7 Active, S6, S6 edge, S6 Active, S6 edge+, Note9, Note8, Note FE and Note5. Only available with certain Samsung Galaxy wearables such as Galaxy Buds FE, Buds2 Pro, Buds2, Buds Pro, Buds Live, Watch6, Watch6 Classic, Watch5, Watch 5 Pro, Watch4, Watch4 Classic, Watch3, Watch Active2, Watch Active, Gear Sport, Gear S3, Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds. If battery power is lower than 30% Wireless PowerShare may not function. May not work with certain accessories, covers, other brand devices or some Samsung wearables. During PowerShare, it may affect call reception or data services, depending on your network environment.
OS	Android 15    One UI 7
Network and Connectivity	5G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 7***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.4
	*5G services are only supported in 5G network enabled locations. Requires optimal 5G connection. Actual speed may vary depending on market, carrier, and user environment.    **Availability of LTE model varies by market and carrier.    *** Wi-Fi 7 network availability may vary by market, network provider and user environment. Requires optimal connection. Will require a Wi-Fi 7 router.
Water Resistance	IP68
	*  Galaxy (S25, S25+, S25 Ultra) has an IP68 rating based on lab test conditions and is dust resistant and water resistant for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Not advised for beach or pool use. Ensure the charging port is dry before charging. Please refer to your device’s user manual for further care instructions and limitations.