Samsung S25/ S25 Ultra

[Ludatyk]

The big changes are all AI, which on Samsung's website it states are only going to be free until the end of 2025! after that there will probably be a subscription to use them, Google's Gemini Advanced is given for 6 months and again after that it will require a subscription to use those features.

And does it specifically state which AI features they plan to keep behind a subscription? I doubt they won’t do it… only way it’s done if Apple and Google does it. I like what this reddit comment had mentioned.

My only issue with Samsung right now is the lack of clarity on what features will be locked to the S25… because I would expect some features are tied to the S25 to entice users to upgrade.

 

[Dave245]

And does it specifically state which AI features they plan to keep behind a subscription? I doubt they won’t do it… only way it’s done if Apple and Google does it. I like what this reddit comment had mentioned.

View attachment 2475092

My only issue with Samsung right now is the lack of clarity on what features will be locked to the S25… because I would expect some features are tied to the S25 to entice users to upgrade.

Unfortunately not, it just states that they will be free until the end of 2025. The thing is, I can’t see people wanting to pay for 2 subscriptions, one for Samsung and one for Googles Gemini Advanced. At least with Pixel it’s just for Gemini Advanced, and included in that is 2TB of Google One storage, Fitbit Premium and Nest Aware.

I can’t see Apple doing it until they have something to charge for, at the moment Apple Intelligence is far behind Google Gemini, especially when it comes to Gemini Live, which is by far the best!!

 

[Ludatyk]

Unfortunately not, it just states that they will be free until the end of 2025. The thing is, I can’t see people wanting to pay for 2 subscriptions, one for Samsung and one for Googles Gemini Advanced. At least with Pixel it’s just for Gemini Advanced, and included in that is 2TB of Google One storage, Fitbit Premium and Nest Aware.

That’s why I think they are hedging their bets. Awaiting to see what Apple does with their AI, because it has been some chatter on them charging AI access too.

And it could be a situation where you pay Samsung to access Gemini Advanced instead of paying for 2 subscriptions.

I can’t see Apple doing it until they have something to charge for, at the moment Apple Intelligence is far behind Google Gemini, especially when it comes to Gemini Live, which is by far the best!!

You can’t see Apple charging? You must be to new to Apple? I don’t put it past them… once they build up Apple Intelligence to compete with Google Gemini, they will find away to get some reimbursement for those efforts.

I could see them locking some of Apple Intelligence to the Apple One Subscription. These companies are becoming more aware that subscriptions is a smart way to generate revenue. And once you behind a subscription… the next move is to keep raising the price of it.

 

[JohnRckr]

That’s why I think they are hedging their bets. Awaiting to see what Apple does with their AI, because it has been some chatter on them charging AI access too.

And it could be a situation where you pay Samsung to access Gemini Advanced instead of paying for 2 subscriptions.


You can’t see Apple charging? You must be to new to Apple? I don’t put it past them… once they build up Apple Intelligence to compete with Google Gemini, they will find away to get some reimbursement for those efforts.

I could see them locking some of Apple Intelligence to the Apple One Subscription. These companies are becoming more aware that subscriptions is a smart way to generate revenue. And once you behind a subscription… the next move is to keep raising the price of it.

I turned off anything Apple Intelligence related off day one. Useless gimmick that none asked for. Same for any other type of AI that companies put into newest phones just because they can’t come up with anything new anymore.

 

[Dave245]

That’s why I think they are hedging their bets. Awaiting to see what Apple does with their AI, because it has been some chatter on them charging AI access too.

And it could be a situation where you pay Samsung to access Gemini Advanced instead of paying for 2 subscriptions.


You can’t see Apple charging? You must be to new to Apple? I don’t put it past them… once they build up Apple Intelligence to compete with Google Gemini, they will find away to get some reimbursement for those efforts.

I could see them locking some of Apple Intelligence to the Apple One Subscription. These companies are becoming more aware that subscriptions is a smart way to generate revenue. And once you behind a subscription… the next move is to keep raising the price of it.

I can’t see Apple charging yet is what i mean, Apple Intelligence isn’t good enough yet. It was like Apple TV+ for the first couple years they didn’t charge. Now that Apple TV+ is great they charge for it. I have Apple One, so if they were too merge it into my subscription, I wouldn’t mind that. In fact i think Apple One is the best deal that Apple does.

Google One is also a great deal, for what you get it works out cheaper. But of course price hikes happen, just look at Netflix and Disney+

 

[Dave245]

I turned off anything Apple Intelligence related off day one. Useless gimmick that none asked for. Same for any other type of AI that companies put into newest phones just because they can’t come up with anything new anymore.

I agree and disagree with this, there is some useless crap in AI, BUT Gemini Live is VERY good, in fact i would say it’s the best part of AI at the moment. If Apple got Siri to a point where it could compete with Gemini Live, I would be all over it. But you are right, I don’t want emojis that i can generate in AI, i talk to my friends and family like a normal adult and not in emojis.
I do find the writing emails with the “writing tools” feature useful of Apple Intelligence. At the moment though Apple intelligence is rubbish.

 

[mclld]

I agree and disagree with this, there is some useless crap in AI, BUT Gemini Live is VERY good, in fact i would say it’s the best part of AI at the moment. If Apple got Siri to a point where it could compete with Gemini Live, I would be all over it. But you are right, I don’t want emojis that i can generate in AI, i talk to my friends and family like a normal adult and not in emojis.
I do find the writing emails with the “writing tools” feature useful of Apple Intelligence. At the moment though Apple intelligence is rubbish.

I also am not interested in AI but admittedly I haven't kept up with it and if I might actually find it useful. Is it basically a beefed up version of hey Google?

 

[keithop]

I think the situation is just so fluid right now that it's almost impossible to guess what will happen in terms of charging.

Clearly samsung bixby and apple ai are both so far behind the leading LLMs that they've had to do something quickly which in these cases was to license gemini and chatgpt.

I'm betting both samsung and apple are madly trying to develop their own AI assistants to a place where they can drop the 3rd party assistants. We're just in that temporary messy space right now.

 

[Dave245]

I think the situation is just so fluid right now that it's almost impossible to guess what will happen in terms of charging.

Clearly samsung bixby and apple ai are both so far behind the leading LLMs that they've had to do something quickly which in these cases was to license gemini and chatgpt.

I'm betting both samsung and apple are madly trying to develop their own AI assistants to a place where they can drop the 3rd party assistants. We're just in that temporary messy space right now.

I definitely think Apple got caught out, they didn’t think AI was going to be what it is. That being said, I think Apple has a great opportunity, with controlling he hardware and the software, plus having a great user experience with IOS, I think they can create a great AI experience. The one thing I will say about Apple Intelligence, the UI is great, the way Siri wraps around the whole screen. But they do need to invest more time and a lot more effort into it. Google are far ahead with Gemini Live, I even use it on my iPhone instead of Siri.

 

[The Game 161]

I agree and disagree with this, there is some useless crap in AI, BUT Gemini Live is VERY good, in fact i would say it’s the best part of AI at the moment. If Apple got Siri to a point where it could compete with Gemini Live, I would be all over it. But you are right, I don’t want emojis that i can generate in AI, i talk to my friends and family like a normal adult and not in emojis.
I do find the writing emails with the “writing tools” feature useful of Apple Intelligence. At the moment though Apple intelligence is rubbish.

That’s thing Gemini is on iPhone now so I wouldn’t say iPhone users are missing much there. One of them where you can use your action button to get Gemini.

18.4 really should bring some good Siri updates and it needs it.

The big al updates aren’t coming until iOS 19.

I do like that Samsung are using Gemini features as it makes sense and the perfect partner ship

 

[Ludatyk]

I can’t see Apple charging yet is what i mean, Apple Intelligence isn’t good enough yet. It was like Apple TV+ for the first couple years they didn’t charge. Now that Apple TV+ is great they charge for it. I have Apple One, so if they were too merge it into my subscription, I wouldn’t mind that. In fact i think Apple One is the best deal that Apple does.

Google One is also a great deal, for what you get it works out cheaper. But of course price hikes happen, just look at Netflix and Disney+

And tbf, they have up until the end of 2025… so who knows how far Galaxy AI will advance. Apparently, Samsung launched Galaxy AI Subscription Club in Korea.

It’s actually about renting appliances… while charging for AI. Perhaps, this AI Subscription that Samsung is planning to introduce could have some additional perks. But we are all caught up in “not paying for AI” when like Google One… there’s more to it than just AI.

 

[The Game 161]

I think the situation is just so fluid right now that it's almost impossible to guess what will happen in terms of charging.

Clearly samsung bixby and apple ai are both so far behind the leading LLMs that they've had to do something quickly which in these cases was to license gemini and chatgpt.

I'm betting both samsung and apple are madly trying to develop their own AI assistants to a place where they can drop the 3rd party assistants. We're just in that temporary messy space right now.

That’s what’s coming in iOS 19 it seems. Apple have their own LLM coming. I’m sure Samsung will try too

 

[Ludatyk]

Clearly samsung bixby and apple ai are both so far behind the leading LLMs that they've had to do something quickly which in these cases was to license gemini and chatgpt.

I agree both Bixby and Siri are behind… but I don’t think they are licensing Gemini and ChatGPT, it’s a partnership between Samsung & Google and Apple & OpenAI.

They both are getting something out the deal… Google and OpenAI are gaining access to Samsung & Apple users, most cases they have to download a standalone app (as well as sign up). Now, it’s all integrated.

I'm betting both samsung and apple are madly trying to develop their own AI assistants to a place where they can drop the 3rd party assistants. We're just in that temporary messy space right now.

Both Samsung & Apple can do do two things at once… allow 3rd party assistants and develop their own. It would seem anticompetitive to remove 3rd party assistants

As a user… I want the option to choose which assistant.

 

[jamezr]

Idunno. There have been so many leaks with a design that looks like this. I hope it's real. I much prefer the look of the Pixel camera cutout than the iPhone. They look nearly identical on the front but the back side of the Pixel looks much better to me.

Yeah I'm not knocking the look. I like the camera bar layout in the Pixels. They don't wobble on a flat surface. It just seems to go against the Apple mantra to be different and have unique look. But hey.....you never know!

 

[PJM83]

Woo, Preparing to ship!

 

[jamezr]

[QUOTE="keithop, post: 33692691,

I'm betting both samsung and apple are madly trying to develop their own AI assistants to a place where they can drop the 3rd party assistants. We're just in that temporary messy space right now.[/QUOTE]

I don't think Samsung is trying to develop their own AI. They are clearing going to use Google Gemini. All they want from Bixby is for it to help facilitate Gemini to work with Samsung apps. They pretty much said and demonstrated this ar the launch event

 

[keithop]

Both Samsung & Apple can do do two things at once… allow 3rd party assistants and develop their own. It would seem anticompetitive to remove 3rd party assistants

As a user… I want the option to choose which assistant.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. I mean a user could still choose to download and use a 3rd party assistant even if it didn't come with the device.

I think having two assistants just leads to confusion personally, but perhaps that's just me ;-)

 

[keithop]

I don't think Samsung is trying to develop their own AI. They are clearing going to use Google Gemini. All they want from Bixby is for it to help facilitate Gemini to work with Samsung apps. They pretty much said and demonstrated this ar the launch event

I mean I get what you mean but they are trying to develop bixby.

It looks to me like an apple-chatgpt idea. Bixby may be better at phone specific stuff and gemini general queries... but there'll inevitably be an overlap and that's where potential for confusion comes in.

Don't get me wrong though, if gemini is best of breed then that's what I want on my phone!

 

[aggie99]

I agree and disagree with this, there is some useless crap in AI, BUT Gemini Live is VERY good, in fact i would say it’s the best part of AI at the moment. If Apple got Siri to a point where it could compete with Gemini Live, I would be all over it. But you are right, I don’t want emojis that i can generate in AI, i talk to my friends and family like a normal adult and not in emojis.
I do find the writing emails with the “writing tools” feature useful of Apple Intelligence. At the moment though Apple intelligence is rubbish.

I kinda like the genmoji for fun. I play around with my kids and friends with these but for the most part the best part of Apple AI i've seen is the visual intelligence where you can search the contents of a photo or item through the camera. Not much different than what you can do with Gemini though and Gemini does it better. Apple AI will get there but Gemini is so far ahead of both Samsung and Apple that they are the only one that should even consider charging a subscription. I get it with my Google One subscription but not sure without that I'd be willing to even pay for Gemini. My smartphone has fared just fine for years without an AI subscription service.

 

[jamezr]

Nice video on the S25 Ultra and some features no one really talks about like anti reflective display.

He also says the shutter lag has been fixed. His brother at the Samsung event tested this. He goes onto say he will test for himself when he gets an S25U for himself.

 

[Ludatyk]

I turned off anything Apple Intelligence related off day one. Useless gimmick that none asked for. Same for any other type of AI that companies put into newest phones just because they can’t come up with anything new anymore.

In the most basic way... AI is basically an enhanced search engine. To say that it's a gimmick is to claim that search engines are useless.

Granted there are other areas of AI, but the idea behind AI is to help assist you. I personally don't see the point and being against the idea of help.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I just want them to fix the shutter lag. It's the only fix I want. Hard to believe that Apple and Google and probably other Android manufacturers figured it out but Samsung can't. I have the S23U, Flip6 and Fold6 that I rotate and for me the perfect phone would be a Fold with the Ultra camera system that doesn't have the shutter issue.

I don't have a shutter issue with my Fold 6, I don't use my flip 5 for photos, but I agree would be nice if our folds cameras were at least on par with the S24/25

mrwhostheboss notes on some of the ai enhancements to the camera thanks to the new elite chip (so better than the S24) and notes the shutter speed improvements

 

[SteveJUAE]

Traded in my S24U and managed to get the S25U for £321. Happy with that.
View attachment 2475020

That is very good and when you consider you have another full 1 year OEM warranty, its excellent

 

[edubfromktown]

Aside from the relatively minor and somewhat renamed/rebranded Bixby Gemini "enhancements" and the (possibly "pay to play, after 6 months) AI extras, there are a few things of interest to me as an S24+ owner.

S25 Ultra upgrade out of pocket for me is ~$460 total (including $700 trade-in) to get:

Faster processor
Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective surface
Improved camera lenses
200 vs 50 MP wide
50 vs 12 MP ultrawide
Optical zoom (5x)
Wifi 7
BT 5.3
Rounded corners too!

 

[SteveJUAE]

Aside from the relatively minor and somewhat renamed/rebranded Bixby Gemini "enhancements" and the (possibly "pay to play, after 6 months) AI extras, there are a few things of interest to me as an S24+ owner.

S25 Ultra upgrade out of pocket for me is ~$460 total (including $700 trade-in) to get:

Faster processor
Gorilla Armor 2 anti-reflective surface
Improved camera lenses
200 vs 50 MP wide
50 vs 12 MP ultrawide
Optical zoom (5x)
Wifi 7
BT 5.3
Rounded corners too!

Although the jury is still out on what we may or may not have to pay for enhanced AI features in the future I would say chips like the new elite that allow for a lot more on device processing will mean if you don't opt to pay your are likely to have/keep more features for free