We have tested the new Samsung Galaxy S25, three phones that stand out for their software and AI functions

January was not usually a month of big announcements and presentations, partly because of the MWC in Barcelona in February, an event that brings the world’s largest mobile manufacturers to Spain, and partly because of the numerous launches at the end of the year. above, like those of Apple, ALIVE and OPPO. However, Samsung has been presenting this month for a few years now. its most important terminalsthe Samsung Galaxy S.

In this 2025 it is the turn of the three Samsung Galaxy S25 that has been shown at a world event in California that we have been able to attend. In it, the company has revealed the new features of these three terminals, which we have been able to test in a contact meeting in which we have confirmed that The biggest changes are not in the hardware, but in the software.

It seems Samsung has followed the “If it works, don’t touch it” maxim, and sales of the S24 Series last year have been good enough that Samsung didn’t want to take any chances. However, we have improvements in performance, autonomy and in the larger model also in camera and ergonomics.

We see the biggest changes in the softwareboth for the Android version and for the Samsung layer, One UI 7. But above all we see new features in the artificial intelligence functions. Samsung last year set a trend with Galaxy AI and this year it has not only maintained all those functions, but has also included other really useful ones, such as related to phone calls.

Similar hardware

The changes in the hardware of the new Galaxy S25 are few in the most economical models. The Galaxy S25 and S25+ only see performance and efficiency significantly modified. This is due to the processor leap, since now they implement the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elitea chipset that we were able to test thoroughly in the realme GT 7 Pro and that left us with our mouths open.

Here he promises the same. Samsung has confirmed to us that there have been company engineers integrating capabilities into the custom Qualcomm chipset, hence the chipset is called Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. In addition, all three models have a better vapor chamber with a larger size, 40% larger in the Ultra and 15% larger in the other two models. All versions They now start with 12 GB of RAM. There will be Wifi 7 in the Ultra and Wifi 6E in the other two models according to the company, which is strange because they all have the same processor. The UWB chip continues in the Ultra and Plus, like last year.

We tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, S25 and S25+

Adrian Raya

The characteristics of cameras, screen, battery, charging system or design are the same as what we saw in the Galaxy S24. The Galaxy S25 remains the company’s most compact high-end and the S25+ is still a version of the same with better Wifi, UWB chip and a larger screen and battery.

As for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, we do see more changes compared to its predecessorbut not many either. It is clear that the technology is already mature and we are not going to see major modifications. The most striking thing is that now its corners are roundedand that is greatly appreciated. Ergonomics was one of the few things that could be improved about its predecessor and now it is practically perfect. The material is still titanium, and aluminum in the S25 and S25+.

As if that were not enough, They have slimmed down the phone by more than 10 gramsin addition to very slightly decreasing some physical dimensions. The screen also grows, 0.1 inches, but not so much due to the design change as due to the rounding of the corners and the reduction of its frames, which are now even smaller. It maintains the much-praised anti-reflective coating on the S24 Ultra. The negative part of the changes is the S-Pen, which loses Bluetooth capabilities.

But the biggest change, along with the processor, is in the ultra wide angle camera, which finally goes from 12 Mpx to 50 Mpx, which place it next to the cameras of competitors such as OPPO, Xiaomi or VIVO. Samsung was one of the few companies that had not yet made the leap to this type of sensors in this type of cameras. Of course, both the front and the main rear and the telephoto lens remain the same. The VIVO X200 Pro and OPPO X8 Pro could take away the position of best camera of the year.

We also have better night video recording, noise reduction systems, the possibility of recording in 10-bit HDR and LOG recording for professionals. In addition, a virtual variable opening system has been included.

Bet on software

All three models use the same software, One UI 7, which runs on Android 15. Samsung wanted these phones to be the first to have this version of the system in the brandat least in a stable way, because so far Android 15 updates on current models are in testing phases. One UI 7 runs on Android 15, which has major design changes in the icons, notification buttons, notification management, etc.

One of the changes that will be most controversial is the company’s commitment to a separate system of notifications and shortcuts at the top of the screen. Until now, Samsung let One UI work like native Android, that is, showing the shortcuts at the top and notifications below.

With One UI 7 we see that this changes, and if we slide on the left side of the screen we have the notifications and if we slide on the right we have the shortcuts. Luckily, It’s easy to reverse this layout and have everything appear in the same area. We just have to edit the notifications screen and we will make the system behave as before. I hope Samsung does not decide to eliminate this option as Huawei and HONOR have already done.

Of course, the company remains committed to providing 7 years of major updates on your mobilesso, in theory, we will have up to Android 22 on these three smartphones. This continues to be one of the biggest differences between Samsung and the rest of the Android mobile manufacturers, except Google.

AI continues to be the biggest novelty

When Samsung announced Galaxy AI, many believed that it would be a temporary bet and that it would go out of style. It doesn’t seem to have been the case. The company has not only maintained the functions that were already there, such as translation or image creation, but has improved them. partly because now many of them can be run locallywith what that implies in terms of security and speed.

According to the company, one in five Samsung Galaxy mobile users uses Galaxy AI daily. In addition, Circle To Search is used by more than 10 million users frequently. This shows that AI is here to stayintegrating into day-to-day tasks.

We have not been able to test one of the best new features because it comes with a software update on the same day of launch. It is about the connection between Google, Samsung and third-party applications (for now WhatsApp and Spotify). In this way, it will be possible to use the mobile assistant, Gemini, to ask it to modify system functions, such as sound, brightness and so on, and also allow interactions with apps like WhatsApp. Let’s hope that this integration expands to more apps. The shortcuts sidebar remains one of the fastest ways to access AI features, including:

• Smart Screenshot Selection: we can tap on an element to select it, such as an image or a paragraph of text without having to outline or select it by hand.
• Create a GIF of the video we are watching: This function is tremendously simple and easy to use, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it were one of the most used.

Furthermore, we will have smart search within samsung gallery: Just as you can do in Google Photos, we can now tell Gemini or Bixby to look for photos that meet certain criteria in the Gallery app. Another novelty is Now Briefwhich collects information about how you slept, energy score, appointments or the weather to display in a morning or evening summary. This function is combined with Now Bar, a new element on the lock screen that looks like a widget that changes showing relevant information to the user.

Two of the artificial intelligence innovations are integrated into the Samsung Phone app. On the one hand, we can record the calls and have a transcript of them in a simple way. On the other hand, we can answer a call by chattingwhile our interlocutor listens to the voice responses using a sound synthesizer system, as shown in the video.

Changing what is necessary

Samsung has been conservative in 2025 by not modifying their phones much. It is true that he had already shown this strategy in previous years, but it seems that it has not gone badly for him and he did not want to make a change of direction that could harm them. As always, it seems that changing a year-old mobile phone for the new proposals does not make sense, but it rarely has.

The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus continue to be very competent terminals, with improvements in power and autonomy and, tangentially, in camera, due to the new processor. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has improved on the weakest camera of the set, on the processor and, above all, on ergonomics, which was what I really needed. AND All three stand out for the integration of artificial intelligencewhich is still literally the best on the smartphone market.

The prices of these three models in Spain start at 1,459 euros for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, 1,159 euros for the S25+ and 909 euros for the Galaxy S25. As expected, they are high prices, as befits high-end mobile phones. Of course, there are launch promotions available on the Samsung website, with the Delivery and Release program.

Taking into account that their prices are high, they are mobile phones that may not be sold as much in cash as the Galaxy A, but they will be sold in huge quantities in promotions with operators, installment sales, etc. For now it seems that Samsung is not worried about competition and sales prove him right.