After a slew of depressing occurrences in January (David Lynch, we'll miss you!), this is an oasis to look forward to: the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. Hosted in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose, we got an announcement of Samsung's latest line-up: AI- I mean, sorry, Galaxy AI. Well, there's also the Galaxy S25 series and its updated Android OS, the One UI 7.
The next-gen One UI 7 will help realise the vision of Galaxy AI, which is that not only does the digital assistant need to follow commands, it also needs to anticipate the needs of the user before they even thought of it. Take the “Now Brief” feature, for instance. It’s a lock screen feature that learns your daily rituals and throws up relevant updates. If the first thing you do when you wake up is to look at your phone, you'll be presented with the information that matters to you—today's workout playlist; the traffic status, appointments for the day; the menu of the restaurant that you're heading to later that night.
Then there's “AI Select", which summarises and refines articles or generates designs with the “Drawing Assist” tool. The Galaxy S25’s multimodal AI also helps with natural language processing. Triggered by simple phrases, say if you mention that your eyes are tired, the blue light filter turns on. Or mention "I wish I can see the pic of that huge-ass pimple that my gross girlfriend found on my back", the gallery will cough up the goods. Circle to Search gets a glow-up. It now ID songs on screen without opening up a separate app like SoundHound.
To power this level of AI, you'll need a souped-up processor. That's where the new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor comes in. It has a 40 per cent increase in neural processing unit (NPU) performance and massive leaps in GPU and CPU efficiency. This is also great for casual gamers as Samsung's ProScaler tech sharpens gameplay visuals and upgraded ray tracing delivers hyper-realistic lighting effects. Heat dissipation is better due to an increase in vapour chamber sizing (by 40 per cent) and you have longer battery life (5000mAh) and faster charging system (25W).
The upgraded ProVisual Engine—powered by advanced AI—knows how to make your photos pop by capturing minute intricacies of your subject. Then, there's Nightography (*giggle*, sorry... still trying to get used to the name)—Samsung’s night-shot feature, that levels up as well, delivering images that feel alive even in low light. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also has its first 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera to capture everything in that stunning landscape shot.
Oh, and this is useful, the Audio Eraser, which strips away unwanted noise. During a demo we had earlier with Samsung, we were told that you can use that feature on older audio files.
Galaxy AI is going deeper into your health. With sleep pattern analysis, exercise habits, and even diet metrics; imagine it as a coach, counsellor, and nutritionist rolled into one. Beyond physical health, the app will tackle mental well-being, offering tools for stress management and mental health tracking.
Samsung also touted its sustainability efforts with a promise that by 2030, every Galaxy product will feature recycled materials in every module. To whit, the Galaxy S25 series consists of batteries containing 50 per cent recycled cobalt, sourced via Samsung’s Circular Battery Supply Chain.
As the show ended, there was a hint that the Galaxy S25 Edge will take on a slimmer silhouette but still packing power. I guess, we'll find out at the next Unpacked. Maybe.
For more info on the Galaxy S25 series, click here.
