Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 live blog: Galaxy S25, Galaxy AI, and more
Here's all the news from Samsung's annual Unpacked event as it happens
AI that's all about you
Clearly Samsung is turning the lens inward to consumers with AI.
Lots of the new Galaxy AI features are about providing a more personalized experience that centers on an AI agents. Using your own personal data Samsung positions Galaxy AI as way to provide a more "fluid" experience.
At the core of that is on-device AI which is more secure than the cloud-based alternative.
Fit check
Part of Samsung's vision for generative AI is a personalized agent that can give you style tips by looking at what you're wearing and offering suggestions.
If you get dunked on by your friends for having a bad fit you'll have someone (or something) to blame, at least.
Let the AI fest begin
Samsung's Unpacked event is underway and President and Head of Mobile Experience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, TM Roh, kicked things off diving into new AI features.
T-minus
Only 10 minutes until Samsung's Unpacked event kicks off and we're inside the building.
Laptop Mag is on the scene
We'll be covering Unpacked in person this year so stay tuned for both live and hands-on coverage of all the latest greatest devices that Samsung has ready.
A pre-S25 deal that's hard to beat
Ahead of the S25 launch we're already seeing some major deals on the S24.
"If you take the maximum trade-in value of $750 and choose one of the three Samsung exclusive colors (Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, Titanium Orange) for an additional $200 discount, you can now pick up an unlocked Galaxy S24 Ultra for just $350 at Samsung."
That's a steal for a phone that's only one year old.
How to watch
By the way, if you want to watch Samsung's Unpacked event at 1 pm Eastern time you can check it out live on their site.
Just make sure you follow along here as well for all that precious context and analysis.
Will the U.S. see a slimmer Galaxy phone?
If you're in America and are pumped about the prospect of a special edition Samsung phone with a thinner chassis, you may want to brace for disappointment.
According to a recent rumor, the Galaxy S25 "Slim," which may end up being called the Galaxy S25 "Special Edition" or "SE" might skip America altogether after reportedly being delayed til May.
It'll be up to Apple then to eat Samsung's lunch with its rumored iPhone Air 17 in September.
How much AI is too much AI?
Samsung will be tasked with turning the dial on Galaxy AI to make its case for the future, but so far people have been less than enthused with LLMs on their phones.
This is a big opportunity to showcase Galaxy AI and integrate LLMs even further into the smartphone experience. Maybe you're not pumped to have generative AI around every corner, but it looks like it's coming either way.
Samsung Galaxy S25 pricing
One major question this year will be whether Samsung ups the price on its line of flagship phones. If you're in the market for a new Galaxy device, there's some good initial news.
Leaks suggest that the whole lineup will remain the same price as last year's phones. Now, whether that portends a minor upgrade is up for debate, but you can't argue with static pricing.
The leaks just keep leaking
@ Samsung@ THIS IS GALAXY S25 lineup!!The colours look great 💫 pic.twitter.com/DBBLGuYzhGJanuary 22, 2025
Just a few hours before Samsung's Unpacked event we're still seeing some product leaks. Here's an alleged look at the IRL phones — not renders.
Another year, another Galaxy phone
Like in years past, the Galaxy S25 has been the subject of quite a few leaks.
We can expect the S25 in three tiers: a base model, Plus, and Ultra, which is nothing new. Hardware-wise there’s also evidence of some small design tweaks that include more rounded corners and thinner bezels. Unless AI has a big impact, it’s looking like the S25 might be another incremental upgrade, but that’s par for the course in the world of year-over-year phone drops.
Samsung’s take on XR
This could be Samsung’s big foray into XR and should be an interesting take on how one of the biggest tech companies out there sees emergent products like glasses and headsets. While Meta has targeted entry-level consumers with its Meta Quest 3S, Apple has taken the stereotypically premium approach with the Vision Pro.
That leaves the middle of the field open for Samsung and the potential for a unique offering. One thing Samsung doesn’t have, however, is the same ecosystem as Meta or Apple. Meta, having been in the game for a while now, has a strong network of developers that provide the backbone for new games and apps. Apple, similarly, has its own native apps and a beloved ecosystem of its own.
A big test for AI phones
This will be an interesting moment for Samsung’s Galaxy AI, a suite of AI-centric features that are meant to change the smartphone experience. With one year in the books, people have been fairly tepid on generative AI on their phones but features like Circle to Search, which are more practical than flashy, have translated well.
This will be Samsung’s biggest test yet when it comes to Galaxy AI and a big test for AI phones in general. According to leaks, Samsung may lean further into AI summaries, but I’m curious what new uses Galaxy AI may have in store, if any. Generative AI may be the future of phones, but it’ll take some creativity on the part of companies like Samsung and Apple to figure out just how to use it.
A Galaxy Ring 2?
It’s not just XR either. Samsung is also rumored to release a second version of its smart ring, the Galaxy Ring 2. Samsung might not be the first major player in this space — Oura takes that title — but given its corresponding platform and the popularity of Galaxy phones, it has a real opportunity to move the burgeoning category forward.
One thing I’d like to see from a new Galaxy Ring 2 is an even smaller, slimmer product and also the addition of more features. Oura, for example, can assess users’ sleep style, which is huge for people who lean into sleep tracking.
Well, well, well, here we are again
It’s that time of year for Samsung and new Galaxy phones are on the way. This year’s Galaxy Unpacked will most likely give us some of the obvious — the Galaxy S25 lineup of phones for example — but may also usher in a new era for more than one category.
Among the truly new devices could be Samsung’s “Project Moohan” which would be a first-ever XR headset from the company. It’s hard to say exactly what such a device would have in store, but early rumors suggest it could be priced in between the Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest 3.
