The Galaxy S25 is almost here. These are the biggest changes I want to see

With the rumored Galaxy S25, which we expect to see during Samsung’s Unpacked event on Wednesday, Samsung has an opportunity to further the approach it took with the Galaxy S24.

Last year’s Galaxy S phones included a mix of functional and futuristic changes, such as longer battery life on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus and Galaxy AI across all models. Similarly I hope to see advances in AI, along with improvements in more mundane but critical elements like phone cameras, display and charging speed.

Given Samsung’s emphasis on AI, there’s a good chance the Galaxy S25 will come with new Galaxy AI features. Samsung said essentially the same thing during its developer conference in October, during which it teased the new One UI 7 software update that will debut on the S25 line. Otherwise, it’s likely to include Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor (at least the US variant of the phone) and routine design and camera upgrades. There are also rumors of a new slimmer version of the Galaxy S25 arriving sometime next year, according to ETNews.

Samsung’s current Galaxy AI features are promising, but I want the next iteration to have a bigger impact on the overall phone experience. The current features feel very targeted for specific use cases that might not come up as often, like language translation and photo editing.

In addition to more useful AI tools, I’d like to see faster charging and other optimizations for key elements of phones like the camera and display.

Read more: Why Google’s new Android VP says ‘People don’t want to hear about AI’

Galaxy AI’s most impactful features

For now, Galaxy AI and other non-Samsung AI generational features feel like just the beginning. Samsung began by applying generative AI to obvious and practical use cases, such as deleting objects from photos, translating text and phone conversations in real-time, generating smooth images from rough drawings, and previewing motion videos. slow and save results.

What I really want is a more dramatic rethinking of how basic tasks are performed on our phones, which makes them easier and faster to use. Of all the AI ​​features available on Samsung phones so far, Circle to Search best embodies this idea by cutting out the middle step of launching Google to search for an object. More of this, please!

I want new AI tools that help manage the endless stream of notifications, data and media on my phone. The Pixel 9 line’s new Screenshots app, which lets you search for content within your screenshots, is a good example of this, as are notifications and text message summaries in Apple Intelligence, which just launched as part of of the company’s iOS 18.1 update. While not perfect, message summaries ended up being one of my favorite new features in Apple Intelligence.

Sally Hyesoon Jeong, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics and head of the framework’s research and development team, hinted that Samsung’s next mobile software update may match the theme. During the company’s developer conference, she said One UI 7 would be better equipped to understand your intent and “minimize complexity,” though she didn’t reveal specific details about the software.

This direction also falls in line with previous comments that Patrick Chomet, Samsung’s executive vice president and head of customer experience, made to CNET about the company’s approach to software.

“[You’d] you never have to go to settings, or you never have to ask for the next action,” he said in a previous interview when discussing how the company wants to make the software on Samsung phones smarter. “You might not even have to open it [an] application.”

As I wrote in my review, I think Samsung missed an opportunity and should have given the Galaxy S24 Ultra exclusive Galaxy AI features that are not available on cheaper models. This would not only help justify its high price, but reinforce the Ultra in the phone’s name. We’ll see if there’s a different approach next year.

Changing the way we use our phones is no small feat. Given how much we rely on them for basic tasks, asking consumers to adopt a new way of doing things can be more destructive than helpful if done the wrong way. I don’t expect Samsung to change the entire operating system in a few months, but I would like to see a step in a new direction, similar to Circle to Search.

Read more: What I learned after swapping my Apple Watch for Samsung’s Galaxy Ring

Fastest charging

I’m glad Samsung increased the battery life of the Galaxy S24. Now, it just needs faster charging. The Galaxy S24 supports 25-watt wired charging, while the Galaxy S24 Plus and S24 Ultra support 45-watt wired charging. It’s been that way for years, at least since the Galaxy S20 generation.

With companies like OnePlus offering incredible charging speeds, I’d like to see some improvements from Samsung. The OnePlus 12, for example, offers 80 watts of charging in the US and 100 watts in the UK, which enabled my colleague Andrew Lanxon to fully recharge the battery in just 26 minutes.

Samsung, it’s time to step up.

Reduction of brightness in the entire formation

One of the most underrated features of the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the display’s Corning Gorilla Armor to reduce glare and reflections. As the screen is undoubtedly the most important part of the phone, any improvement is welcome. My colleague Lexy Savvides was particularly taken with the S24 Ultra’s anti-glare display, finding it easier to see than the iPhone 15 Pro, Pixel 8 Pro, and Galaxy S23 Ultra on a sunny day in San Francisco.

This layer is only on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Since screen quality is so essential in a phone, there’s a strong case for Samsung to extend this to all Galaxy S25 models. The Ultra’s giant screen, S Pen and more sophisticated camera are more than enough to separate Samsung’s super high-end phone from the rest of the line.

Read more: Don’t buy a new phone just for AI. At least not yet

Camera improvements

Samsung made waves with the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel primary camera when it debuted in 2023. Megapixels tell only one side of the story when it comes to photography. Factors like sensor size, pixel size and aperture, along with the chip’s image signal processor, are just as important as the sheer number of megapixels when it comes to determining how good a camera your phone can be.

Samsung has made improvements in these areas as well over the years, but now that it’s facing new competition from Xiaomi, it needs to work harder if it really wants to be the king of smartphone photography.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a massive image sensor that’s larger than the ones you’ll find on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, enabling it to achieve impressive shots with a wide dynamic range that CNET’s Andrew Lanxon called some of the best images ever. the best he’s ever seen from a phone. A larger sensor enables a camera to capture more light for improved image quality, reducing the need for noise reduction.

I’d also like to see more practical editing features. I was passionate about the iPhone 16’s Photo Styles feature, which applies an effect to an image tailored to the scene. I’m not saying Samsung should launch its own version of Photo Styles, but I’d like to see new tools that elevate the aesthetics of your photos that aren’t about using generative AI to change the photo’s content.

Overall, I hope Samsung improves the camera, display, and charging speed, all while introducing new software features that make its phones feel more intuitive than before. Samsung usually releases new Galaxy S phones in the first quarter of the year, so we expect to hear more in the coming months.