Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025: AI-Driven Revolution with Galaxy S25 Series and One UI 7

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025: AI-Driven Revolution with Galaxy S25 Series and One UI 7On January 22nd, 2025, Samsung Electronics will host its Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event, unveiling the highly anticipated Galaxy S25 series. This new lineup not only boasts significant hardware upgrades but also deeply integrates Samsung's "Galaxy AI" branding, debuting the new One UI 7 operating system aimed at delivering a true "AIOS" experience

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025: AI-Driven Revolution with Galaxy S25 Series and One UI 7

On January 22nd, 2025, Samsung Electronics will host its Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event, unveiling the highly anticipated Galaxy S25 series. This new lineup not only boasts significant hardware upgrades but also deeply integrates Samsung's "Galaxy AI" branding, debuting the new One UI 7 operating system aimed at delivering a true "AIOS" experience. Unlike previous years, Samsung has maintained an unusually tight lid on details surrounding the Galaxy S25 series, fueling speculation about the extent of its innovations.

Galaxy S25 Series: Hardware Upgrades Serving AI

While leaks surrounding Samsung flagship phones have been common in recent years, this year is different. Samsung Electronics has publicly condemned all leaks, hinting at potentially disruptive changes in the Galaxy S25 series. Limited information suggests the Galaxy S25 Ultra features a more rounded design with an upgraded titanium alloy frame, deviating from the more angular style of its predecessor. The Galaxy S25 and S25+ retain the design language of their predecessors but with more refined rounded corners and rear camera module textures.

The Galaxy S25 and S25+ will have 6.17-inch and 6.66-inch displays respectively. In contrast to the ever-growing iPhone Pro series, Samsung seems to favor a more compact design. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, as the imaging flagship, maintains a large 6.8-inch display.

In terms of imaging, the Galaxy S25 series largely continues its predecessors capabilities. The Galaxy S25 Ultra upgrades its ultra-wide lens to 50MP, while other lenses remain unchanged, including a 10MP 3x telephoto and a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto. Reports suggest Samsung will incorporate AI imaging features to enhance high-zoom image quality, similar to Xiaomi's AISP and Honor Magic7 RS's AI super-clear telephoto technology.

To boost AI processing speed, Samsung has finally abandoned the 128GB storage option, starting all models at 256GB. The widely criticized 8GB RAM option has also been removed, with a minimum of 12GB RAM now standard, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra will exclusively offer 16GB RAM. While Google's Android development team has indicated that over 16GB of RAM is optimal for smooth on-device model computation, a point echoed by the Google Pixel 9 series' adoption of 16GB RAM across the board, Samsung's approach remains relatively conservative.

Notably, Samsung will also launch the Galaxy S25 Slim, a flagship focused on thinness, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor and the same camera and storage specifications as the Galaxy S25+. According to ETNews, this phone, like the Galaxy Ring, may only be showcased at the launch event, with its official release potentially delayed until the second quarter of 2025.

In summary, after establishing the "Galaxy AI" positioning, the hardware upgrades in Samsung's new flagship align more closely with the demands of AI functionality, such as in memory and imaging systems.

One UI 7: Samsung's First Attempt at an "AIOS"

Beyond hardware upgrades, the biggest surprise with the Galaxy S25 series might be One UI 7, Samsung's first truly meaningful "AIOS." While Galaxy AI debuted on the Galaxy S24 series, introducing groundbreaking AI features like AI Circle Search, AI drawing, and AI Vision, Samsung's progress in integrating AI throughout the system to create an "AIOS" has been slower compared to Chinese manufacturers.

Samsung's global AI features have consistently partnered with Google. For instance, all AI functions on the Galaxy S24 series relied on Google's Gemini Nano lightweight large language model. Google's recently released Gemini Nano V2 boasts a significant increase in data volume from 1.5B to 3.25B, promising improvements in learning, understanding, and processing speed. This could explain Samsung's decision to abandon the 8GB RAM starting point, as the larger Gemini Nano V2 requires more memory resources. However, it's important to note that the Google Pixel 9 series didn't launch with Nano V2, leaving the use of this model in the Samsung S25 series uncertain.

In terms of AI features, the Samsung Galaxy S25 series will definitely include a new generation of Bixby. Compared to previous versions, the new Bixby features natural language conversation capabilities, understanding user instructions and maintaining coherent multi-turn dialogues. Samsung may also leverage Bixby to provide new functions such as AI article creation and AI content planning.

Another highlight of One UI 7 is the Now Bar, similar to the iPhone's Dynamic Island but with a different display location and method. The Now Bar not only displays real-time notification processes but also performs AI analysis of notification summaries, providing users with contextual reminders based on time and location. For example, if you use a third-party app to subscribe to a workout plan, an AI highlight notification will summarize your workout plan when you arrive at the gym.

One UI 7 shows significant advancements in system-level AI and introduces some interesting AI features. However, compared to the aggressive strategies of Chinese manufacturers, it still appears somewhat conservative. Honor's Magic7 series boasts Magic OS 9.0, implementing a "self-driving" phone experience. OPPO's ColorOS 15 offers practical AI glare removal and AI super-resolution features, while vivo's OriginOS 5 utilizes AI to restructure system performance strategies, enhancing performance while maintaining long battery life.

While Samsung's One UI 7 meets the basic standards of an "AIOS," it may lack the appeal to attract consumers, particularly lacking a killer AI feature, potentially impacting the Galaxy S25 series sales. Of course, with Galaxy Unpacked 2025 still some time away, Samsung might still have some AI surprises in store.

AI: The Code to Smartphone Sales Success?

Following the introduction of the "Galaxy AI" concept, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series became Samsung's best-selling flagship series in recent years. Data from market research firm Counterpoint Research shows that the Galaxy S24 Ultra entered the global smartphone sales rankings for the second quarter of 2024, ranking fourth; the Galaxy S24 ranked tenth in the global smartphone sales rankings for the third quarter of 2024.

A VZKOO industry report points out that smartphones, as products closely related to consumers' daily lives, have undergone two technological revolutions in recent years: 5G networks and AI. The application of large language model technology to smartphones is gradually clarifying the concept of "smart assistants."

Not only Samsung, but the entire smartphone market is rapidly responding to the advent of AI technology. Honor released its self-developed Magic large language model in February 2024, OPPO added AI removal and AI upscaling features to ColorOS 14, and Xiaomi launched AISP, combining mobile imaging with large language model technology. These manufacturers' AI feature applications have also led to significant sales increases. Official data shows that Honor Magic7 series sales exceeded 200,000 units in the first two weeks, OPPO Find X8 series sales exceeded one million units within two months, and vivo X200 series first-day sales exceeded 2 billion.

The aggressive strategies and localized innovations of Chinese manufacturers are rapidly driving market transformation. Against this backdrop, whether Samsung can maintain the high sales of the Galaxy S24 series and consolidate its position in the high-end market through Galaxy AI and One UI 7 will be a key highlight of the 2025 smartphone market.

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 is approaching, and the performance of the Galaxy S25 series and One UI 7 is highly anticipated. Whether Samsung can stand out in the fiercely competitive smartphone market with its AI features remains to be seen. We also look forward to seeing more technological innovations at CES 2025, opening on January 7th, 2025.