What terms are you on with AI? Perhaps you’ve asked ChatGPT to compose an email on a day when your neurons are firing slower than noughties dial-up. Or maybe you’ve asked Claude how much protein there is in a bowl of overnight oats (6g on its own; 30g if you add a scoop of protein powder). However, you’re using AI right now. Things just got a lot more interesting.
That’s the promise from Samsung, who launched the latest iteration of their flagship S series – the S25 – at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on Wednesday. In Johannesburg, we attended the exclusive Galaxy Unpacked event at the WITS Anglo American Digital Dome. The ambition behind the three new phones – the S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra – was clear. They aim to ‘set the standard’ for what an AI phone should look like.
Personal Assistant In Your Pocket
The greatest innovations are a reflection of their users. That’s why we evolved Galaxy AI to help everyone interact with their devices more naturally and effortlessly. Users can trust that their privacy is secured,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “Galaxy S25 series opens the door to an AI-integrated OS. It fundamentally shifts how we use technology and how we live our lives.”
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Functionality like Google’s ‘Circle to search’ is one innovation. It does what it says on the tin: just draw a ring around the thing you want to search for to Google it. Additionally, the ability to perform multiple actions on different apps with a single voice command to Gemini is behind the promise. The S25 series is ‘the most natural and context-aware mobile experiences ever created’.
Back to that overnight oats ask and as well as telling you the protein content, Gemini AI can help. Brought to life with a click of the S25’s side button, it would be able to give you a high-protein breakfast recipe that you can make using the contents of your own fridge. This is done simply by taking a picture of what’s in there. Additionally, you would then send the recipe to a friend or find the nearest café serving its own iteration.
Next-Level Health Insights
But it’s the brand’s innovations in the personalised health space that have caught the blue-light filtered eyes of the wellness world. The respective launches of the Galaxy Ring – Samsung’s first smart ring – in July last year, and the Galaxy Watch back in 2018, marked the tech giant out as a key player in the space.
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Dedicated users of Samsung wearables have already become accustomed to checking in with their sleep animal. You’re assigned one of eight animals based on your sleep style, from Unconcerned Lion to Nervous Penguin. Additionally, users receive an energy score. This is a daily total out of 100 calculated by analysing your sleep, activity levels and heart rate.
Tailored ‘Tips’ and Motivational Metrics
At the Unpacked event, the brand announced a series of additions to the Samsung Health insights. These are designed to make the data even more useful. Tips will soon include prompts to support your mental health and resilience. Moreover, weekly digests will feature information designed to help you achieve optimal physical and mental energy.
That Samsung Health will also be integrated with the brand’s smart home ecosystem will mean you can make in-real-time adjustments to the environment you’re sleeping in, too. These adjustments range from raising or lowering the room temperature to improving the air quality. It can also turn down the lighting according to the live data on your finger or your wrist.
And that data is about to be getting smarter. Further proof that those in the business of optimising their health are doing so with their longevity in mind can be found in the new-for-2025 metrics.
Users will be able to monitor their vascular load. This is thought of as the ‘burden’ that the heart must overcome in order to efficiently pump blood through the body. Moreover, users will monitor their intake of the nutrient beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is a carotenoid and antioxidant. It protects the body from disease-causing free-radicals, via the Antioxidant Index.
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But it’s the addition of what the brand are calling ‘personal health coaching’ that stands out. This feature turns the collected data by your ring or watch into actionable advice. This helps you work towards your own health goals. This is perhaps the biggest indicator of where wearables are going next.
Samsung S25 Release Date
Whether or not the S25 series lives up to that promise remains to be seen. Among the arguments made by critics of wearables is that data is only ever as useful as the interpretation and support that accompanies it. While the S25 series isn’t available to purchase until 7 February, for a limited period from 22 January to 13 February 2025, customers in South Africa can secure their Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+, or Galaxy S25 by pre-ordering and enjoy an exclusive offer: add on theGalaxy Watch7 for just R49 per month (for post-paid customers) or R1,999 (for pre-paid customers).
This article originally appeared on menshealth.com/uk
