The Galaxy S25 could have genuinely useful AI features that trump Apple Intelligence – including these 5 tricks

• Lots of AI features are tipped for the Galaxy S25
• Upgrades include notification summaries
• The phones are expected to launch on January 22

As the Samsung Galaxy S25 launch date gets closer – there's an event in the calendar for Wednesday, January 22 – we're getting a better idea of some of the new AI features and tricks that Samsung is set to unveil alongside the new hardware.

Yesterday we had an official teaser video from Samsung promising the Galaxy S25 would be a "true AI companion", and hinting that Bixby would be front and center – something that's been predicted in earlier leaks as well.

Over the last few days and weeks, we've had some official and unofficial sneak peeks at what's coming in terms of AI – and it seems like the upgrades might be substantial enough to put Apple Intelligence and the iPhone 16 in the shade.

Improvements to Sketch to Image

We've previously covered the Sketch to Image feature that's part of the Galaxy AI suite of tools on recent Galaxy phones: It lets you scribble out a basic drawing, then get AI to turn it into a proper piece of artwork (and the results are pretty impressive).

Now Samsung itself has teased a multimodal upgrade for Sketch to Image with the arrival of the Galaxy S25 and One UI 7 (Samsung's take on Android 15). That means you'll be able to use voice commands and text prompts to further enhance your AI drawings.

Smarter notification summaries

The AI-powered notification summaries that appear as part of Apple Intelligence on the iPhone have been a bit hit and miss so far: some alerts don't really lend themselves to being summarized and can end up being confusing and garbled.

Nevertheless, Samsung is pushing on with its own version. According to tipster @GerwinvGiessen (via SamMobile), Galaxy AI will be able to prioritize the conversations that are most deserving of your attention, summarize notifications, and group notifications together in a smarter way.

A new Now Bar in One UI 7

Another new feature coming with One UI 7 and the Galaxy S25 is what Samsung is calling a Now Bar. This is a pop-up on the interface that provides context-sensitive information for your day, such as weather forecasts and travel plans.

"It's where you’ll control your entertainment, time your next personal best workout, get directions to your next meeting or start communicating in other languages," says Samsung. "Now, your phone won’t just ping you, it will power your lifestyle."

Better video capture

Having previously teased "many new AI functions" for the Galaxy S25, well-known tipster @UniverseIce has also linked to a post detailing some of these functions – and it looks like there's lots more to come, including features that haven't been rumored yet.

According to @AhmedQwaider888, Galaxy AI will improve video capture on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra by giving you more control over color and brightness, and by making it easier to switch between different cameras while filming – with the increase in frames minimizing lag and stutter.

A free year of Gemini Advanced

We've already mentioned the upgraded Bixby AI that's set to appear on the Galaxy S25, but of course Samsung is a partner of Google, and the Galaxy S25 is an Android phone – and there's a rumor that the handset will come with a free year of Gemini Advanced.

The Advanced plan, which typically costs $19.99 / £18.99 / AU$29.99 a month, gives you access to newer features and more powerful AI models, compared with the standard Gemini apps and functionality that anyone is able to access.

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