Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy S25 smartphones powered by Qualcomm chips and Google’s artificial intelligence model.
With upgraded AI features, Samsung hopes to boost sales and stay competitive against Apple and Chinese rivals.
At the event in California, Samsung also previewed a thinner version of its flagship models, the Galaxy S25 Edge, which it aims to launch in the first half of this year ahead of Apple’s anticipated iPhone 17 Air rollout. Despite being quicker than Apple to launch an AI-powered smartphone, Samsung struggled to reclaim its top position in the global smartphone market last year, losing ground to Apple in the premium market and Chinese companies in the lower-end segment.
The prices for the Galaxy S25 series remain unchanged, ranging from $799 to $1,299. The new models feature Google’s Gemini AI engine as the default, paired with Samsung’s enhanced voice assistant, Bixby. Bixby and Gemini complement each other, with Bixby playing a key role in Samsung’s ecosystem across mobile phones, TVs, and home appliances.
The Galaxy S25 offers a more personalized AI experience, including a “Now Brief” service that provides customized recommendations such as calendars, news, and home environment data, all processed on the device for privacy reasons. The phone can also perform multiple tasks with a single command, such as finding and adding upcoming sporting events to users’ calendars.
Samsung’s shares fell by 1.1%, underperforming the broader market, which saw a 0.4% loss. The Galaxy S25 lineup uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, marking a major shift in strategy as Samsung ditches its own Exynos chips. This change is a blow to Samsung’s chip business, which relies on its mobile division as a major customer.
Earlier this month, Samsung reported that its preliminary fourth-quarter profit fell short of expectations due to chip development costs and increased competition in the smartphone market.
