Samsung’s first Unpacked event in 2025 delivered the Galaxy S25 series – as expected. Although the phones don’t have much upgraded specs, the company is packed – you know it! – more AI on devices. This latest batch is more context-sensitive and predictive, and some of them even stick to the phones’ slightly upgraded hardware.

Galaxy S25 Ultra

the Galaxy S25 Ultra is still the biggest, best and most expensive of the bunch. It has a 6.9-inch display and a more rounded edge for a “comfortable grip.” Samsung says it’s “the slimmest, lightest, and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever,” rocking a titanium body with Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2 for “advanced drop protection ” and scratch resistance.

Unlike the two smaller models, the Ultra’s camera sensors get a spec upgrade: The ultrawide lens is now 50MP, up from just 12MP on last year’s model.

Like its siblings, the S25 Ultra is powered by a customized version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, allowing the trio of phones to process most of their AI experiences on the device. Of course, that’s better for privacy.

Although the phone continues the tradition of incorporating an S Pen (it’s now essentially a Galaxy Note), Air Commands has bitten the dust. Samsung told Engadget in a briefing that less than one percent of S Pen-toting customers have used it. And most people use it as a camera shutter, which is easily imitated in other ways. Samsung says the removal reduces weight and increases the durability of the S Pen.

Engadget’s Sam Rutherford got an early hands-on with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and said it “looks like a good phone” and described Samsung’s AI suite as “very cohesive and accessible.” However, he also has some reservations. “But at the same time, it looks like the world’s biggest phone maker could be making more for its most expensive non-folding phone.”

The Galaxy S25 Ultra has 12GB of RAM, and it ships in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage tiers. It’s still an investment, though – starting at $1,300.

Galaxy S25 and S25+

The Galaxy S25 and S25+ saw their RAM upgraded to 12GB (like the Ultra), from 8GB in their predecessors in 2024. It combines with the Snapdragon 8 Elite to better manage the many AI features of the phones. (One more minute.)

The rest of their hardware is very similar to the S24 and S24+. They still have 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. But Samsung’s new ProScaler AI tool can upscale images in real-time to recover unaltered specs. Samsung says it can improve the quality of what you see by 40 percent.

Engadget’s Mat Smith tested the Galaxy S25 and S25+ and praised the phones’ “premium and solidly built” slim designs and “clear, bright and beautiful” displays. However, he is skeptical of the AI-centric focus on phones. “In just a few years, Samsung has built a vast collection of artificial intelligence tricks, features and apps,” he wrote. “While some of them are impressive, like live translation and annotation, others (mostly involving generative AI) aren’t really helpful – or unique – enough to warrant regular use.”

Storage is also unchanged from the S24 series: 128GB or 256GB on the Galaxy S25 and 256GB or 512GB on the Galaxy S25+. Fortunately, the price hasn’t changed either. You’ll pay $800 or more for the S25 and $1,000 and up for the S25+.

Galaxy AI

With most hardware upgrades (except for the Snapdragon chip) coming in the slow generation, Samsung is leaning heavily on AI features to make you want to drop the cash on the new models. This year, Samsung’s One UI 7 on top of Android 15 combines to create what Samsung calls “a new AI-integrated OS.” It aims for a more personalized and context-sensitive AI, rather than just a series of tools.

AI plays a key role in the phones’ camera features, with the Qualcomm chip making the phones better at analyzing noise – leading to what Samsung says is better low-light performance. lights Audio Eraser is an AI tool that separates audio channels, allowing you to cut out unwanted ones like the wind or a random stranger talking.

Samsung has assembled a new collection of on-device AI tools into what it calls the Personal Data Engine. A series of multimodal (text, images, video, audio) machine learning agents lead to features like AI Select, which builds on Samsung’s legacy Smart Select tool. The new AI-powered version can scan your screen and suggest context-aware tasks — like making a GIF from a YouTube video you’re watching.

You could say that the AI-powered Now Bar is Samsung’s answer to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island. The pill-shaped bar is located below the lock screen and below the digital clock when the phone is unlocked. It generates a series of reminders based on the context. Inside the Now Bar is another AI feature, Now Brief, which creates morning, noon and night summaries of information it thinks is relevant to you.

Samsung’s Sketch to Image tool has been rebranded as Drawing Assist, and Samsung says the feature is more polished and accurate. It also adds an option to import existing images for your prompt. The S25 series also adds an upgraded version of Google’s Circle to Search (activated by long-pressing the home button). It can now recognize phone numbers, emails and URLs, allowing you to trigger their corresponding actions with one tap.

Samsung Wallet updates

The company added two new payment features: Instant Install and Tap Transfer.

As its name suggests, Instant Installment is a “buy now, pay later” service that lets you turn purchases into an offline payment plan experience. It is managed completely on-device and is available for Visa and Mastercard purchases.

Engadget’s Cherlynn Low used to Samsung announced the service. “It’s not that Samsung is pivoting to become a provider of credit and taking loans. Instead, it facilitates your purchases and makes your payments in what the representative of the company says is “the first experience of the plan of pay offline.”

Meanwhile, Tap to Transfer is a peer-to-peer payment service, competing with the likes of Apple’s Tap to Cash. Tap on the phones of the person you want to pay (or be paid by). This is not limited to Samsung Pay; you can use it with third-party apps, too, because it’s tied to the associated card or account. It works with Visa and Mastercard.

Galaxy Watch for Kids

the Galaxy Watch for Kids It may look like a new piece of equipment, but it’s a new setup option for cellular Galaxy Watch 7 (and probably future wearables). You know, it seems Apple Watch for Kids.

Samsung, which partnered with Google on the experience, says parents can set up the child’s watch from their phone and activate its eSim. From there, the child can use the smartwatch without a paired phone. Of course, parents can set guardrails such as which apps are installed and don’t interfere with school time. Location sharing is optional, and Samsung and Google offer new kid-focused apps and watch faces to keep things fun.

Developing…