Although the Galaxy S25 Ultra looks sweet, other than the rounded corners, upgraded chip, and high-resolution ultrawide, there’s barely anything new as compared to the S24 Ultra. And speaking of the S25 and S25 Plus, they are basically the same as last year’s models, represented with new color options, and, well, some pretty interesting Galaxy AI features.

But here’s the catch – the Galaxy AI features themselves. Majority of the S25 series’ AI features are powered by Google’s Gemini. As revealed at the event, Galaxy S25 gets Gemini Advanced – Google’s most advanced AI models – for the first 6 months only.
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“We want Galaxy users to experience the best of Gemini. So, all devices will come with 6 months of Gemini Advanced and 2TB of cloud storage at no extra cost,” said Sissie Hsiao, VP at Google Gemini Experiences, at the Unpacked event.
So what happens after that? Does your phone get dumber after 6 months if you choose not to pay for the subscription? I mean it’s good to see the phones getting the latest tech, but Samsung spent the majority of the event flexing the features, which will technically see a downgrade after the 6-month-free period ends!

“Gemini Advanced comes with our most capable AI models and priority access to the newest features. It will also include ‘Screen Sharing’ and ‘live video viewing’ in the future,” she added.
I think the “most capable AI models” phrase is very significant here. While most of the new features may continue to function without the subscription, will they offer the same experience? Take the summarization feature for example. It’s not perfect yet. S25’s summarization feature is good, but that’s with the latest and best from Google.

Unfortunately, there’s no quote on what happens after the subscription ends. You have to use your logic and common sense here. In summary, if there is a $20 monthly plan for it, there’s supposed to be a difference, where the best has been showcased as what you get – a questionable way to sell a product, to say the least.
After S24 gets One UI 7, what remains exclusive to S25?
And one more thing: will the new Galaxy AI features reach the S24 series as part of One UI 7? Possibly, most of them will. But then, what’s left exclusive to S25? Tough to answer right? After all, last year’s models are already available at eye-catching low prices! There’s got to be some convincing additions to the new models, right? Might be the AI features…who knows!..
Of course, the S25 Ultra now looks even better, and overall, it’s going to be one of the best phones of 2025 – just like the S24 in 2024. It will still offer the best integrated AI experience paired with great performance thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite – that the Pixel doesn’t have.
It’s just many of the hardware aspects such as the camera, and the in-hand feel aren’t the best anymore as they once used to be. There are different alternatives such as the vivo X200 Pro or the OnePlus 13 that excel in certain aspects. And that’s why, I was expecting something new from Samsung for S25 other than the Galaxy AI flex build upon paid Gemini Advanced.