“It’s designed to give people back time, and make people’s lives easier. It’s technology to help you live a better life.” Annika Bizon, Samsung’s senior director of marketing and omnichannel in the U.K. and Ireland told Digital Trends on the eve of the Samsung Galaxy S25’s announcement, as she spoke passionately about Galaxy AI and the advancements made over the last year.
It’s a big statement, especially when mobile AI has so far struggled to attract the attention of those not fully invested in the technology already, but Samsung is very confident it has found the formula and features to change that, as we found out in our revealing interview.
Are people using Galaxy AI?
“We’ve taken people on this AI journey and I’m loving the fact people are using it,” Bizon said.
Not only are people using Galaxy AI, but they’re finding it transformative, according to data in a report commissioned by Samsung from research company Symmetry. It states frequent mobile AI users are 1.6 times more likely to report a high quality of life compared to those who rarely use AI, an increase from 1.4 times six months ago. Frequent users are more than twice as likely to feel creative, and 1.6 times more likely to feel productive.
“We’ve got nearly five million people using Galaxy AI on a regular basis in the U.K, and we have 200 million Galaxy AI enabled devices worldwide as we wanted everybody, no matter what device you’re on, to have the opportunity to try AI,” Bizon continued. “This year, and the step forward we’re really proud of, is the Galaxy S25 truly becomes your personal assistant. It’s where AI steps into a different space because everything is seamlessly integrated on your phone, but you don’t see it.”
This was just one of the mentions of Galaxy AI’s new assistant-first functionality, primarily the Now Brief, not appearing to be an AI feature, but just a feature. It’s an important distinction, where people using Galaxy AI will think less about using AI for specific tasks, and simply letting it work its magic in the background while you get all the reward. It’s less feature-driven, and more experience driven.
Streamlining life
Bizon gave examples of how Galaxy AI will return specific search results to your phone and provide ways to send them directly to friends, which is helpful but not especially new. However, it was when she spoke enthusiastically about the Now Brief feature it became clear where Galaxy AI in One UI 7 has improved, and where it can potentially improve life.
“It’s where you start to see it come to life,” she told Digital Trends. “The Now Bar and Now Brief give one consolidated view of my life, from a work and a personal point of view, that tells me how I slept based on my Galaxy Ring, and then optimizes my day based on that data. It tells me how long it’ll take for me to get to meetings, remind me to check into a flight and show my boarding pass, and if I need an umbrella when I leave the house. The way it intuitively understands how my life works is a huge step forward.”
The Now Brief’s high level insights are then condensed down into snippets of helpful information and advice on the Now Bar, which sits at the bottom of the Galaxy S25’s lock screen.
“Those little prompts that help you with life are the fundamental differences in how [the Galaxy S25’s] AI can help you. Its about taking all that life admin away that none of us want to do, giving us time back for the things we want to do.”
Not thinking it’s AI
We’re bombarded with AI tools and AI gadgets at the moment, but what makes the latest iteration of Galaxy AI fascinating is how we can practically avoid mentioning AI at all. We are reaching the point where the AI part is disappearing into the background as it powers more useful functionality that’s pushed to the forefront.
“Yes, we’re talking a lot about AI, “Bizon agreed, “but AI is only the functionality to help get you there. People who understand AI know that, and what we’re doing is finding tools to make your life easier, so we don’t have to think about if AI is doing this, or not doing that.”
Kadesh Beckford, Samsung U.K.’s smartphone specialist product manager was also on our call, and told us about one of his favorite ecosystem features enabled by AI that most may not connect with the technology at all.
“A new Routine feature connects my Galaxy S25, Galaxy Watch Ultra, and my Samsung TV, which then knows when I’ve fallen asleep by what’s happening on my Galaxy Watch and my Galaxy S25. Maybe it hears me snoring, or notices my heart rate has dropped, and looks for a consistent pattern before turning off the TV for me.”
While people will have used AI translators and features like Circle to Search, Galaxy AI is moving beyond them to become genuinely more useful, and in a silent, unobtrusive way. It’s why we expect the newly improved Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S25 to have a greater impact on more people than the AI devices and services that have come before it.
How long before it knows me?
Galaxy AI and the Now Brief will need time to get to know you before enhancing your life in the way Bizon describes, but how long will it take?
“It will be almost immediate,” Bizon said. “It’s pulling together the data that’s already there on your phone, and then as it starts to learn and the more you use it, it’ll become more intuitive, and even understand your own individual speech patterns. It’s going to learn as it goes, and change and alter to your needs.”
There’s a lot more to Galaxy AI this year than before, but Samsung hasn’t lost sight of it needing to be simple to use.
“It’s really simple,” Bizon told us when asked about the initial setup process. “A lot of [the services and features] happen intuitively when you start to use the phone. We’ve made it simple because if there’s too many steps, that’s when you lose people.”
A big step change
As we closed our conversation, Bizon likened the ability of AI to how much of an advantage someone using the internet has over someone using the print version of an encyclopedia.
“It’s that big of a step change,” she smiled. “Once people start to get used to it, as everything takes a little bit of time to bed in, it’ll be the new standard and I’m so excited to see how this helps people make their lives simpler.”
Samsung’s ambitious plan for Galaxy AI hinges on the Daily Brief, its insights, and the convenience of the Now Bar. It has effectively conveyed a tantalizing message of it helping simplify our lives, and provided the Galaxy S25 and its AI smarts can deliver on that, other brands will have to work hard to catch up.
The Galaxy S25 series has been revealed during Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event held in San Jose, California. You can read about the Galaxy S25 Ultra here. The new phones will be released on February 7, 2025.
