Our verdict on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S25

It’s early 2025, the weather’s still cold, so it must be time for Samsung to kick off the year’s flagship smartphone race with its latest barrage of devices. This time, we’ve got three S25 phones, ranging from the $800 S25 through to the $1,300 S25 Ultra.

Let’s start with the flagship, the S25 Ultra. This year, Samsung has honed the design of the slate to closer match the rest of its family, while adding a substantially upgraded ultrawide camera sensor. There’s also a powerful 3nm Snapdragon Elite for Galaxy added, a collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm that augments its computational photography skills and more. (Not to mention incredible battery life.)

And you know what? It’s another great phone, capable of going toe-to-toe with the iPhones and Pixels of this world. However, it also looks very similar to last year’s model, which makes the S25 Ultra a less impressive update, given its price.

Then there’s the Galaxy S25 — priced the same as the last few S-series base models. I spent over a week with it, and much of its hardware remains the same, with incremental improvements to the camera, courtesy of behind-the-scenes processing, and that incredible battery life. And it’s Samsung, so it was always going to be a solid premium phone with a gorgeous screen. But if you were thinking of upgrading from an S24 (or S23, even S22), it’s a hard pitch.

— Mat Smith

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The biggest tech stories you missed

Even if it didn’t name the Chinese startup explicitly.

The big story this week is around DeepSeek AI: the open-source chatbot that reportedly requires far less computing power than competitors and was developed on a (relative) shoestring budget.

It subsequently put stocks related to AI, like NVIDIA, into a tailspin, although they have somewhat recovered. DeepSeek’s had brief success, even stimulating a response from President Trump.

Now, ChatGPT maker OpenAI says Chinese startups are cribbing the models of US AI companies. It claims rivals are persistently trying to copy the technology of existing AI companies, adding that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft have been banning accounts suspected of “distilling” its models.

The company didn’t explicitly mention DeepSeek in its statement, but… yeah. Also, let’s not forget: OpenAI admitted last year that getting its AI models up to speed was impossible without dipping its toes into copyrighted materials.

How does it feel, having your hard work repurposed and regurgitated? I couldn’t possibly relate.

Continue reading.

If you install its app. And are in a handful of stores.

Offering the biggest reason yet to install a retail store’s app, CVS says it will let select users, without needing staff, to shop for items typically locked away in its stores. If you haven’t been to a CVS, many items are locked up to prevent theft (and antagonize everyone). The feature is only available to loyalty program members and in a handful of unnamed stores. It was being trialed in just three stores but will be expanded to 10 to 15 stores. (There are over 9,000 CVS locations in the US.)

Continue reading.

White hole? More like white noise.

By the headline alone, this sounds terrible, but you should read Devindra’s takedown in full. So many questions: Why the name? Why even make Incention? Who wants this? Does it smell like a blockchain-scented Quibi? Yes, yes it does.

Continue reading.

AMA or AEA.

What is the best Galaxy phone under $500? Are refurb iPads worth it? My Roomba stole my girlfriend, please advise. We’re bringing back Ask Engadget, with an entirely new email address: askmat@engadget.com. Aside from spamming free trials of apps and streaming services, let’s put it to use.

Ask me something!