Samsung‘s annual refresh of its flagship Galaxy S line is officially here. The South Korean technology giant today unveiled the Galaxy S25 series at an event in San Jose, California.
And while the core hardware is predictably impressive, the overarching narrative centers firmly on the company’s latest advancements. The Galaxy S25 series, comprising the standard Samsung Galaxy S25, the larger Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, and the flagship Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, is being billed by Samsung as “true AI companions.” These devices will supposedly deliver its “most natural and context-aware mobile experiences” to date. The Galaxy S25 series is also the launchpad for Samsung’s One UI 7 software.
@revuphilippines #Samsung has finally unpacked the #GalaxyS25 series — or what it calls its “true AI companion”! Here’s what’s new with the lineup in a nutshell. ##GalaxyS25Ultra #GalaxyS25Plus #GalaxyS25Series #SamsungPH #SamsungPhilippines #GalaxyUnpacked #GalaxyAI #RevuDotComDotPH @monch @Alora Uy Guerrero ♬ original sound – Revu Philippines
Our preview video of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series
Pricing, availability, and preorder offers
Pricing and availability will vary depending on your region. But if you live in the Philippines, expect the new smartphones to hit retail stores on February 14. Want to be first in line? Preorders kick off today, January 23.
Locally, the vanilla Galaxy S25 starts at P51,990 (around $888) for the base model with 256GB of storage, climbing up to P60,990 ($1,041) for 512GB storage. The bigger and more expensive Galaxy S25 Plus, on the other hand, is priced at P67,990 ($1,161) and P76,990 ($1,315), respectively, for 256GB and 512GB storage options. And then there’s the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This beast is priced from P84,990 ($1,451) for the 256GB model, but if you want the top-of-the-line configuration, you can grab the 1TB version for a cool P110,990 ($1,895).
If you pre-register on the Galaxy Unpacked site, you can get a free e-voucher worth up to P5,000 ($85). Plus, you’ll receive a free storage upgrade if you opt for the 256GB base models. Samsung Philippines is also throwing in a 30% discount on Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Watches. Not enough? You can also get 50% off a year of Samsung Care Plus and a trade-in bonus of up to P12,000 ($205) on top of your old phone’s value.
More of the same, but better
Okay, but what about the smartphones themselves? Don’t expect a radical redesign. Samsung clearly decided not to reinvent the wheel here, instead opting for some modest tweaks that improve on what came before. As a result, the entire Galaxy S25 lineup is a bit slimmer, a bit lighter, and supposedly more durable than last year’s models, with bezels that are slightly shaved down.
Besides some new colors and more noticeable camera rings on the back of the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, you probably wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a lineup. But, hey, Samsung says they’re more comfortable to hold and a little more resilient to your daily grind, so there’s that.
There is, however, a notable upgrade on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s display protection. Samsung’s gone all in on durability here, equipping the Ultra with Corning’s new Gorilla Armor 2 — apparently the “industry’s first scratch-resistant, anti-reflective glass ceramic cover material for mobile devices.” That’s a mouthful, but basically, Samsung claims it makes the Ultra even more resistant to drops and scratches than the previous generation.
Corning’s own tests suggest that Gorilla Armor 2 can handle drops onto concrete-like surfaces from over two meters, while other glass gives up around the one-meter mark. The glass and ceramics manufacturer also claims it’s way more scratch-resistant than the competition, which, let’s be honest, is something we all want. Plus, this new glass seriously cuts down on glare, making the screen easier to see both indoors and outdoors.
On paper, the megapixel count for the rear cameras hasn’t changed, but we’re not entirely sure whether they’re actually the same sensors as before. What we do know is that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is rocking a 50-megapixel ultrawide this year, up from 12 megapixels on the previous generation. That should mean a significant bump in image and video quality.
Samsung’s also touting some new tech across the S25 lineup that supposedly leads to sharper images and better low-light performance. And for serious videographers out there, there’s a new log video-recording mode that promises higher dynamic range than standard 8-bit recordings. We will have to wait and see if these claims actually make a difference in real-world use.
Inside, you’ll be pleased to know that every model in the series — from the vanilla Galaxy S25 to the premium Galaxy S25 Ultra — is powered by the same custom-tuned Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset globally. No more Exynos this time around! Even better, 12GB of RAM is now standard across the board, bringing the base S25 in line with its more expensive siblings.
All about AI — again
As expected, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series is loaded with AI-powered features. The brand says these features are free for now, but they’re being pretty vague about their plans after this year.
We’ve seen a bunch of these before, like Google’s Circle to Search and those generative photo-editing tricks that let you add or remove stuff from your photos. Samsung claims these features now work better and faster, thanks to improvements in its AI models and the new Snapdragon chip that can handle more of the processing on the device itself.
One feature we are fans of, Drawing Assist, also got a generative AI upgrade, so you can now use text prompts to, well, generate better images. There’s also a new Audio Eraser tool built into the video editor that lets you isolate and remove or reduce specific types of noise in your videos, like voices, music, or wind. Samsung Philippines gave us a quick demo, and it seemed to work as advertised.
Samsung shows us what a ‘true AI companion’ could be
Worth the hype?
So, is the Samsung Galaxy S25 series a revolutionary leap forward or just another iterative update? It’s a bit of both, to be honest. The hardware refinements are welcome, the camera upgrades are intriguing, and the AI features are, well, plentiful. But whether all this software hype translates into a truly transformative mobile experience or if it’s just a bunch of gimmicks remains to be seen. We’ll need to spend some quality time with these devices to know for sure if they live up to Samsung’s lofty promises.
One thing’s for sure, though: Samsung’s all in on AI, and the Galaxy S25 series is the company’s latest attempt to convince us that it’s the future of mobile — and in the process, to open our wallets to an annual refresh.
Samsung’s press release
Samsung Galaxy S25 specs
- 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, 1-120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy 5G chipset
- Adreno 830
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB/512GB storage
- 50-megapixel main, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel telephoto rear cameras
- 12-megapixel front camera
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Stereo speakers
- 4,000mAh battery
- 45-watt wired charging, 15-watt wireless charging, 4.5-watt reverse wireless charging
- IP68 dust and water resistance
- OneUI 7 based on Android 15
- Color options: Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus specs
- 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, 1-120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy 5G chipset
- Adreno 830
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB/512GB storage
- 50-megapixel main, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel telephoto rear cameras
- 12-megapixel front camera
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Stereo speakers
- 4,900mAh battery
- 45-watt wired charging, 15-watt wireless charging, 4.5-watt reverse wireless charging
- IP68 dust and water resistance
- OneUI 7 based on Android 15
- Color options: Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra specs
- 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, 1-120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Armor 2
- 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy 5G chipset
- Adreno 830
- 12GB RAM
- 256GB/512GB/1TB storage
- 200-megapixel main, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto, 10-megapixel telephoto rear cameras
- 12-megapixel front camera
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Stereo speakers
- 5,000mAh battery
- 45-watt wired charging, 15-watt wireless charging, 4.5-watt reverse wireless charging
- IP68 dust and water resistance with titanium frame
- OneUI 7 based on Android 15
- Built-in S Pen stylus
- Color options: Titanium Silver Blue, Titanium Black, Titanium Grey, Titanium White Silver, Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Jade Green, Titanium Pink Gold
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