specification, price, release date, AI features

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday launched its latest flagship smartphones – the Galaxy S25 series – boasting a custom chip and improved artificial intelligence features.

The S25 launch comes after a year in which Samsung's smartphone shipments came under pressure from Chinese players and Apple.

Samsung's S25 series is available in three variants – S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra – just like previous flagship launches.

The starting prices are as follows:

• Galaxy S25: $799
• Galaxy S25+: $999
• Galaxy S25 Ultra: $1,299

Samsung will start accepting pre-orders for the S25 series on Wednesday, and the devices will go on sale on February 7.

Last year, Samsung launched Galaxy AI – a suite of artificial intelligence features – on S24.

With the S25, Samsung introduced additional artificial intelligence applications that aim to make the phone look like a digital personal assistant.

Samsung's latest devices can perform tasks in multiple apps when prompted. For example, a user can ask the phone to find the match schedule of their favorite football team and add it to their calendar. The user can also ask the AI ​​app to find nearby pet-friendly restaurants and send it to a specific contact. All these actions will be performed by the device in multiple applications.

Samsung said this feature supports third-party apps like Spotify and Meta-whatsapp owner and also own i Googleapplications.

The AI ​​app can also change settings on the phone at the user's request.

Samsung's latest features highlight the style of the South Korean tech giant and some of its rivals racing to create artificial intelligence on devices they are more like personal assistants that respond to a person's habits and preferences.

Last year Apple started implementing Apple IntelligenceAI feature pack for iPhones.

Device makers see artificial intelligence as a way to differentiate their hardware from a sea of ​​competitors. Samsung, for example, hopes the technology will help revive sales of its high-end products.

“At a time when improvements in hardware capabilities and product design are incremental, Samsung is redoubling its efforts in artificial intelligence. There are some nifty improvements in the Galaxy S25 lineup, but it's unlikely they'll be enough to cause consumers to rush out to prematurely upgrade their phones,” Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

“However, this is by no means a unique problem for Samsung. Apple faces the same challenges with iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence. “AI is a boon for someone who needs an upgrade, but not enough to move the needle for consumers who already have a relatively modern phone.”

According to International Data Corp. Samsung smartphone shipments fell 2.7% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of last year as the company's market share declined. Samsung was the second largest player after Apple in terms of shipment volume.

Meanwhile, Chinese players XiaomiTranssion and Vivo have gained market share with aggressively priced devices with solid specifications.

CCS Insight's Wood said the S25 series is “well-suited for the growing number of consumers with a three- or four-year-old mobile phone” but “people are unlikely to upgrade their phones early.”

To support the latest AI features, Samsung i Qualcomm worked on a custom processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is exclusive to Samsung, and the South Korean giant claims it is the fastest processor ever featured in a Galaxy device.

Fast but low-power processors found in smartphones are essential to ensure that heavy AI workloads can be managed without draining battery life.

Samsung also mentioned other hardware changes, including an improved camera on the S25 Ultra and a new design.

The S25 series now has rounded corners instead of the more angular design of its predecessors.