Well That’s A Dealbreaker.

Summary

Samsung's latest Galaxy S25 series introduces flagship phones with impressive AI features, enhanced battery life, and upgraded performance. The S25 Ultra, though, loses the S Pen’s Bluetooth functionality, disappointing some users. New kid-friendly features for the Galaxy Watch 7 LTE and Google's Gemini assistant also make their debut. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s RTX 5090 is set to outperform its predecessors, and AMD prepares to launch new mid-range GPUs. In other tech news, OpenAI's Stargate project gets attention, while Apple and YouTube roll out exciting new features. It’s an eventful week in the world of tech, with plenty of innovation on display.

Takeaways

• 😀 Samsung's new flagship phones, the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra, were unveiled with new AI-focused features, including long battery life and new colors inspired by AI.
• 😀 The S25 Ultra has upgraded cameras but downgraded S Pen functionality, losing Bluetooth features previously used for remote camera control.
• 😀 Samsung's new health feature for the Galaxy S25 measures the user's antioxidant index, though a microplastics index might be more useful.
• 😀 The Galaxy Watch 7 LTE introduces new kids' features, allowing parents to call, message, and track their children independently of a smartphone.
• 😀 Samsung also teased the Galaxy S25 Edge, a thinner model, and revealed that Google's Gemini assistant will be the default on the S25 series.
• 😀 Gemini's AI assistant will be able to perform multi-app tasks, such as sending activity recommendations to friends, enhancing the user experience.
• 😀 There is leaked performance data for Nvidia’s RTX 5090 graphics card, showing a 30% performance boost over the RTX 4090, and potential release details for March 2025.
• 😀 AMD's RX 970 and 970X XT graphics cards will launch in March, with early availability in retail stores despite the official release date being two months away.
• 😀 OpenAI’s Stargate project will invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the U.S., drawing attention from several major firms, though Elon Musk expressed skepticism about its funding and openness.
• 😀 Reddit is seeing discussion around banning links to Twitter, especially due to Musk’s controversial actions during Trump's inauguration, with some subreddits already implementing the ban.
• 😀 YouTube Premium subscribers will receive new features, including higher-quality audio on music videos and faster playback speeds, as well as a new Google One subscription bundle for savings in the U.S. only.

Q & A

What new phones did Samsung unveil during their unpacked event?

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. The prices for these models are $800, $1000, and $1300, respectively.

What new features are included in Samsung's Galaxy S25 series?

The Galaxy S25 series features 12 GB of RAM and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite S processors, which are customized for better battery life. Additionally, the phones come in new colors inspired by AI, including shades of blue.

What is the battery life of the Galaxy S25 series phones?

Samsung claims that the Galaxy S25 series phones can play videos for up to 31 hours on a single charge.

What change was made to the Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen?

The Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen has been downgraded as it no longer includes Bluetooth functionality, meaning it can no longer be used as a remote camera shutter or for other air actions.

What new health feature does Samsung introduce in the Galaxy S25 Ultra?

The new health feature in the Galaxy S25 Ultra can measure the user's antioxidant index, although it has been noted that a microplastics index would be more useful.

What is the new feature for the Galaxy Watch 7 LTE?

The new feature for the Galaxy Watch 7 LTE is its ability to function as a standalone kids' watch, allowing parents to call, message, and track their children.

What is the Galaxy S25 Edge?

The Galaxy S25 Edge is a new phone teased by Samsung, which will be super thin and is expected to be released soon to compete with other phones this year.

What is the relationship between Google's Gemini assistant and Samsung's new phones?

The Galaxy S25 series will feature Google's Gemini assistant as the default, although users can still activate Samsung's Bixby assistant depending on the situation.

What new AI features are coming with Google's Gemini assistant on the Galaxy S25?

Gemini will be able to complete multi-app tasks, like finding activities that meet specific criteria and texting them to a friend, as well as sharing images, files, and videos with real-time voice mode.

What are the major upgrades expected in Nvidia's RTX 590 graphics card?

The RTX 590 is expected to achieve about a 30% performance lead over the RTX 4090 and a 40% performance lead over the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, according to early performance data.