Samsung Unleashes the Galaxy S25: The Ultimate Challenger to iPhone 16

Samsung presented this January 22 its new Galaxy S25 series, the line of high-end smartphones of the brand for this year and with which it will compete against the iPhone 16.

As we have been seeing for some years, the company offers three variants of this new family of devices: Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S5 Ultra, leaving some of the best features for the Ultra version, the most expensive of all.

This generation introduces some design tweaks, with more rounded corners and flatter edges, giving a more polished look even if it is not very noticeable to the naked eye. While the rear cameras are noticeably a bit larger and with less space between the different lenses.

Each of the models is characterized by its size. The Galaxy S25 features a 6.2-inch FHD+ 2X AMOLED display, the Galaxy S25+ goes up to 6.7-inch QH+ and the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers a large 6.9-inch QH+ display that is further leveraged with the included S Pen. All with 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate.

In terms of performance, there shouldn’t be much difference between all models. This year Samsung has set 12 GB of RAM as standard on all three versions, while for the first time in many years, it will market these devices worldwide with the same chip, the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite customized for Galaxy, which also becomes the first 3nm processor in a device of the brand.

Until now, the company offered in many markets its high-end smartphones with Exynos processors developed by the company itself, so this strategy of a single chip worldwide has attracted attention and evidences its efforts to incorporate the best technology to enhance its Galaxy AI ecosystem.

Between the Galaxy S25 and S25+ models there are no differences in the cameras as they share the same triple camera setup with a 50 MP main sensor, a 10-megapixel wide-angle, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens up to 3X, as well as a 12-megapixel front camera. For its part, the Galaxy S25 Ultra enjoys a 200 MP main sensor, a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens up to 3X, and a 50-megapixel periscopic telephoto with 5X optical zoom. All offer 8K video recording with 10-bit HDR.

One of the most significant new features in the camera is LOG recording, which allows recording a greater dynamic range of the image to capture a greater amount of light and shadow information, facilitating cinematic edits.

Integrated artificial intelligence

In the age of AI, personalization goes hand in hand with privacy. In Galaxy S25, the Personal Data Engine powers personalized AI capabilities by securely analyzing your on-device data to deliver highly personalized experiences that reflect your preferences and usage patterns.

These insights enable personalized experiences, such as searching for an old photo in the Gallery using natural language or receiving guidance throughout the day with Now Brief, which proactively offers timely suggestions that can be accessed through the Now Bar on the lock screen. All personalized data is kept private and protected through Knox Vault.

Integration with Google also allows us to imagine Android with AI at the center, bringing together developers and partners from around the world. AI agents with multi-modal capabilities allow Galaxy S25 to interpret text, voice, images, and videos to make interactions feel natural. Updates to Google’s Dial to Search make on-screen searches more useful, faster, and contextual. It now quickly recognizes phone numbers, emails,s and URLs on screen, allowing you to call, email, or visit a website with a single tap.

The Galaxy S25 series also represents a breakthrough in natural language understanding, making everyday interactions easier. Simply press and hold the side button to activate Gemini for seamless interaction across Samsung and Google apps; plus third-party apps like Spotify. For example, find your favorite sports team’s season schedule and add it to Samsung Calendar with a single command.

The Galaxy S25 series will be available for pre-sale starting January 22. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will be available in titanium black, titanium gray, titanium bluish gray, and titanium silver white. The Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ will be available in ice blue, mint, navy blue, and silver.

Prices vary depending on the model and storage capacity, starting at $799 for the Samsung Galaxy S25 (128GB), from $999.99 for the Galaxy S25 Plus (256GB), and the more premium Galaxy S25 Ultra 256GB model will cost 1,299.99 dollars.

The above prices are for the U.S. market and may increase depending on the market taking into account taxes and exchange rates.