Samsung focused heavily on AI, in particular the integration of AI agents, during the January 2025 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. During the event, the smartphone maker released its new Galaxy S25 series which includes the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25.
New Galaxy AI capabilities
Among the new Galaxy AI features released were smart suggestions, updated voice recognition and auto-scheduling. Samsung unveiled its new mobile interface, the One UI 7 operating system, which includes improved security controls and more transparency around data usage to ensure users have control over their personal information via Samsung's Personal Data Engine, said the company.
"Our goal is to provide personalized experiences by integrating AI agents and multimodal capabilities into every touchpoint of the interface regardless of which agent or app you use," said TM Roh, president and head of Samsung's MX Business, during the Unpacked event.
Roh added that S25 users can use the Personal Data Engine to "enjoy tailored experiences while shaping your personal experiences securely on your device, not in the cloud."
Samsung has also partnered with Google Gemini on AI features for the S25 series. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, said screen share and live video streaming are among the new features supported by Gemini. Hassabis demoed examples of where AI agents could provide helpful insights to users while they screen share or stream videos. In the example, AI agents shared shopping and cooking tips based on the users' device activity.
Related:AI permeates Samsung's smartphone and wearables launch at Unpacked
"In the coming months, you'll be able to ask Gemini to reason about the things you see, whether it's on your phone or the world around you," explained Hassabis. "Our partnership with Samsung will help shape the future of AI through new form factors like glasses or headsets to more agentic capabilities like the ability to action on your behalf."
The suite of Galaxy S25 smartphones are powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy chipset, which supports features including Galaxy AI and camera capabilities within the ProVisual Engine.
Drew Blackard, VP of product management for Samsung, said the S25 series phones support up to 20 languages in its translator. AI can create call summaries and features the "Now Bar" on the lock screen with real-time updates such as calendar reminders and sports scores.
Last year, Samsung revealed Circle to Search with Google. The tool has since been updated with the ability to automatically recognize phone numbers or URLs in images, and can find a song that the user hears while they're watching a video, for example.
Related:Qualcomm backs out of Iridium phone-to-satellite deal
Additional new AI features include AI Select which recommends AI tools based on what's on the user's screen. It might suggest editing options if a user has a message or text on their screen. The Cross-app Action feature means users can ask their phones to take action across multiple apps – the device can search for a restaurant and text the location to a friend at once, without opening multiple apps.
The higher-end Galaxy S25 phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, has a 6.9" display and 120 Hz refresh rate to support HDR content and video games. It also has a 200 MP wide-angle camera, a 50 MP Ultra-Wide camera and is capable of 100x zoom.
Slightly smaller, the Galaxy S25+ has a 6.7" display, 120 Hz refresh rate, and its camera includes 50 MP wide-angle, 12 MP ultrawide and 10 MP telephoto lenses. The Galaxy S25's 6.2" display also has a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 50 MP wide-angle camera.
The Galaxy S25 models are currently available for pre-order, and prices start at $799.99.
D2D messaging missing
With all the AI hype it would be easy to miss that Samsung didn't discuss its direct-to-device (D2D) messaging functionality for the S25 series during Unpacked.
Related:What's the Story? Unclear ROI for D2D satellite messaging
In a LinkedIn post, Christian Frhr. von der Ropp, independent satellite and telecoms consultant, explained how Samsung deferred first to chipset provider Qualcomm and later to Verizon to sort out D2D satellite messaging for the S25 smartphones.
In response to Apple's Emergency SOS satellite messaging service, which was launched in 2022 with the iPhone 14, Qualcomm and Iridium announced a partnership that would "integrate satellite messaging into Android devices using Iridium's LEO satellites," von der Ropp wrote. However, in 2023, Qualcomm and Iridium ended their partnership on satellite-to-phone connectivity.
According to CNBC, Qualcomm said its smartphone customers have "indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions" for satellite-to-phone connections. While Qualcomm's customers include most of the world's major smartphone makers, the company said it didn't find any smartphone makers interested in adding technology to their phones to connect to Iridium's satellites, reported Light Reading's Mike Dano.
"So what is Samsung's mitigation strategy? Sidestep the Qualcomm-Iridium drama by forcing Qualcomm back into their role as hardware vendor, let them develop a 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) -enabled chipset, integrate it into the S25 series and leaving it to the MNOs to sort out the satellite service," explained von der Ropp.
Essentially, Samsung deferred to Verizon and its satellite operator partner Skylo to provide D2D satellite messaging for the S25 series.
"Verizon now offers seamless connection to Satellite SOS messaging powered by Skylo on the Galaxy S25 series, in the unlikely event that you need emergency services and are in an area without cellular connectivity," according to a statement from Verizon.
While the S25 series does support emergency D2D messaging services for Verizon customers, von der Ropp argued that this was a missed opportunity by Samsung.
"Samsung's struggle to enable D2D services despite the S25 series' hardware support is a masterclass in missed opportunities," von der Ropp wrote. "Apple, meanwhile, continues to expand its D2D service in terms of geography and functionality, leaving its competitors scrambling to catch up."
Still, the market opportunity for D2D satellite messaging is niche. T-Mobile has teamed up with SpaceX's Starlink; and both AT&T and Verizon have been working with AST SpaceMobile to develop D2D services that haven't launched commercially yet.
Meanwhile, Apple said it plans to invest $1.7 billion in a new Globalstar satellite constellation and has shifted from SOS messaging to regular messaging on its D2D service with Globalstar. Despite Apple's significant investment, the use cases for D2D messaging are few. It comes in handy where terrestrial wireless service is spotty during the wake of natural disasters or for the backcountry explorer.