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Samsung Launches Galaxy S25 Smartphones With New AI Features
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Tulip mania lasted about 4 years. Imagine spending billions on mining academic and scientific data and then thinking, you know what, lets chuck a shed load of Reddit, Facebook and other detritus into the mix, that will improve our models.oooooh new AI features
Where the comparisons largely fall down is app parity. Android Phones have had plenty more raw power over iPhones for a while now yet no applications that actually utilise it. I found the OS to be smooth on a £300 Nothing 2a; anything over that for just running Android is a waste.
Apple's processors are being pushed by, off the top of my head throughput Log video to SSDs, high-end exclusive console titles, realtime LiDAR area scans, on-device AI requests and an operating system coded specifically for the A-series chipsets. In terms of app parity iOS still has hundreds more exclusive apps and games.
The S25 series will no doubt run every app and the underlying OS at a great speed, but they aren't really doing it any better than the handsets from 2-3 years ago because there isn't really any Android-based metric, beyond a superflous benchmark of how useful that actually is. At the same time you cannot play high-end console games nor throughput Log video on a 14 Pro Max. I'm not saying every user will do these things but it is a noticeable, demonstrable advantage to the consumer. A top-end Android game like Genshin Impact isn't noticeable better than on a 16 Pro Max.
Please note I'm not equating this to a full on Android vs iPhone debate. There are dozens of great Android handsets out there that cater to the majority of customers. Whilst I am between iPhones I use a Pixel 8a every day and it does 90% of what I need really well and I can use it with one hand. But Apple's silicon isn't just the raw output, its the whole stack.
Some carriers do shorter upgrades too. On O2 in the UK they offer a 6-month upgrade cycle where you just give the device back for them to sell as refurb without paying off the remainder of its cost. Most people don't bother to use it so they don't lose much money but if you could upgrade your iPhone annually without actually paying for it, you would.Not spot on, i don't have a trust fund, i'm not rich, but i am on the Apple upgrade program and i can upgrade every year and do so
I'm on O2 and you can only get on that if you have a Plus plan and sign up to 'Switch Up' upon starting contract as you cant join at anytime.
My main issue with iOS is Siri. Close to useless.
I have many shortcuts, and Siri often refuses to run them or just spins and does nothing.
I have one called "freeze" which simply sends a "play/pause" command to my TV box, which worked fine until the latest beta. Now, saying "Hey Siri, freeze" it either gets belligerent and just says "no", or that it doesn't understand.
Then there's the issue that it stays active and messes up most shortcuts that take longer than a few seconds to run., You can have Siri work when the phone is locked, but Apple have deliberately blocked the "Dismiss Siri and Continue" shortcut action on locked phones. You can have Siri without any authorisation, but you can't get rid of it.
So ... Samsung's new "AI" features which can handle multiple tasks as one request is very tempting.
As for "blue bubbles", almost everyone I message has moved from iMessage to WhatsApp already, and the few who haven't still use WhatsApp for other people, so it'll be a very easy switch.
iMessage and FaceTime are still a mess whereby they conflate phone numbers and email addresses, and merge themselves into other functions. iMessage is not SMS, but that's where it resides and will revert to by default. FaceTime recents/favourites sits in the Phone app but they're not phone calls.
The amount of grief I've had trying to explain to my parents why they're being charged for iMessages to friends (their friends don't use iMessage or had logged out by mistake, so international messages sometimes got sent my MMS!) or that they opened a contact and called them by mistake instead of FaceTime audio. Grrr. (Sorry, this has been a bugbear of mine for years.)
I have many shortcuts, and Siri often refuses to run them or just spins and does nothing.
I have one called "freeze" which simply sends a "play/pause" command to my TV box, which worked fine until the latest beta. Now, saying "Hey Siri, freeze" it either gets belligerent and just says "no", or that it doesn't understand.
Then there's the issue that it stays active and messes up most shortcuts that take longer than a few seconds to run., You can have Siri work when the phone is locked, but Apple have deliberately blocked the "Dismiss Siri and Continue" shortcut action on locked phones. You can have Siri without any authorisation, but you can't get rid of it.
So ... Samsung's new "AI" features which can handle multiple tasks as one request is very tempting.
As for "blue bubbles", almost everyone I message has moved from iMessage to WhatsApp already, and the few who haven't still use WhatsApp for other people, so it'll be a very easy switch.
iMessage and FaceTime are still a mess whereby they conflate phone numbers and email addresses, and merge themselves into other functions. iMessage is not SMS, but that's where it resides and will revert to by default. FaceTime recents/favourites sits in the Phone app but they're not phone calls.
The amount of grief I've had trying to explain to my parents why they're being charged for iMessages to friends (their friends don't use iMessage or had logged out by mistake, so international messages sometimes got sent my MMS!) or that they opened a contact and called them by mistake instead of FaceTime audio. Grrr. (Sorry, this has been a bugbear of mine for years.)
We have reached the point that the most important feature of a new phone is the new battery with 0 cycles and a prestine body and front glass. And that applies to iPhones as well
Personally, I feel that the whole "competition is good" saying is a meaningless motherhood statement that doesn't really represent the realities on the ground. People have parroted this adage so many times as some sort of default template in response to any company releasing a new product that it has basically lost all significance, because they don't stop to analyse and make the distinction between "competition" and "meaningful competition".
I didn't downvote that comment (in fact, I don't think I have ever downvoted anything here), but I didn't really pay it any attention either. It's just...there for the sake of being there.
For me, it all begins with Apple's own unique definition of innovation, which isn't simply to be first or different. With a company like Samsung, I often get the impression that they release certain product categories like phablets or folding phones not so much because of the user experience, but simply so they can claim the credit for being the first to come up with a new ideas, however half-baked. It feels like this strategy is driven more by Samsung's component business, where they try to lure competitors into following them to adopt new categories (and in turn boost demand for components like folding displays), rather than because anyone at Samsung genuinely cares about the end user experience.
Samsung just feels rudderless (for lack of a better term) from a product vision perspective in my book. Frankly, I am not seeing any clear direction from them.
It's the opposite with Apple, where design is the magic ingredient. Designers call the shots, and search for and have technology made to serve the product experience, and not engineers excited about some hot new tech and trying to turn it into a product. This is why I am not particularly bothered about Apple products seemingly losing the "spec war". Apple devices have never been about having the most ram or the most megapixels, but about hardware and software integrating together to enable a unique experience.
Hearing aid on AirPods is an example of a feature that can legitimately enhance lives. I continue to use airplay mirroring with my iPad every day, and the experience has been rock solid. You see something like double tap on the apple watch being expanded to the Vision Pro. And let's be honest - are any of these actually posing legitimate competition to Apple? From what I can see, Apple continues to hold its own in the smartphone market, and its active user base continues to grow. Many industries were expected to put Apple in its place, but where exactly are the viable alternatives to the iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, or even apple silicon?
Sure, there's competition (again, for lack of a better term), but how much of this is actually "meaningful competition"?
Apple intelligence doesn’t run on our devices. They have a whole lot more cooked into their install than we do.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Benchmark showdown - Gizmochina
Snapdragon 8 Elite faces off against Apple A18 Pro in an intense benchmark showdown. Discover which chip offers best speed and efficiency.
www.gizmochina.com
Well here they show that the Single Core score is pretty much on par, with the SD 8 Elite being faster in every other metric. The point is Apples A SoC’s were 2 years ahead of the equivalent SD chip in Single Core performance, but that is no longer the case. Samsung have overclocked the SD 8 Elite though, so heat may be an issue but they did also increase the size of the Vapour chamber.
The place where improvements to the snapdragon processor (and RAM) is if you have a use for multi tasking on your phone. Most people don’t need multi tasking on a phone, and Apple purposely disabled it using iOS. But multi tasking is a current capability on android devices.
I’ve made it easier for you. Some people better understand with images than written text:
Carriers have tricked people into basically Renting a phone for a year. Pay us $40 per month for the phone or maybe $10 and you can get early upgrade and get the new phone that comes out next year
Well the trade in deals from carriers are we will credit the trade in over the next 36 months so if you cancel before then you lose the rest of your trade in value. Direct from Samsung they seem to give the trade in value up front
The s25 is just a point release with a basically even processor to the iPhone 16. Yes, if finally took Qualcomm 12 years to catch up and after next year it will be another 12.
It is impressive how Qualcomm has worked to close the gap. Although, I’m more interested in whether they can get it to be a legitimate option for the PC market, but I think that depends on the choices of Microsoft.Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple A18 Pro: Benchmark showdown - Gizmochina
Snapdragon 8 Elite faces off against Apple A18 Pro in an intense benchmark showdown. Discover which chip offers best speed and efficiency.
Well here they show that the Single Core score is pretty much on par, with the SD 8 Elite being faster in every other metric. The point is Apples A SoC’s were 2 years ahead of the equivalent SD chip in Single Core performance, but that is no longer the case. Samsung have overclocked the SD 8 Elite though, so heat may be an issue but they did also increase the size of the Vapour chamber.
The SD 8 Elite is definitely a solid SoC for Android/Samsung tablets. They already use the SD X Elite for PC's though.
It's going to be interesting to see if Microsoft commits to the platform enough for a critical mass of developers support it. Even though I'm quite keen to not have to use Windows again, I would like to see that.
So ... giving a challenging prompt where the assistant can access and use multiple apps to complete the prompt is NOT helping the user experience?!
Seriously?
e.g. Create a meeting with my wife and our home insurance agent for Friday 3PM EST, if not available prompt recipients for a suggested time and pick one that all agree on and is available with my itinerary. Include our latest quotes and signed documents for the current year and attach them to the meeting, check my bank balance as well yet keep that private and ONLY in my meeting notes. Finally auto record and take highlights in text into notes for the entire meeting and share with my wife.
^ That is one step closer to Knowledge Navigator of 1984 - something Siri nor Bixby can do nor can ChatGPT do as a isolated application nor any other A.i assistant that's isolated as an app or web-based instances! This alone WILLS web services or web-coded applications!
This is a crucial step to having a block of processing power in your pocket or write and XR glasses as your primary or sole interface to replace the smartphone.