The MacRumors Show: Samsung's 2025 Challenge to Apple

[MacRumors]

The MacRumors Show is back for 2025! On this week's episode, we look at how Samsung's latest announcements challenge Apple.

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Samsung this week announced the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra. The new devices will directly compete with Apple's iPhone 16 and upcoming iPhone 17 lineup.

Similar to the iPhone 16, AI is a major focus for the S25 lineup, with Samsung touting a new "Personal Data Engine" with a Dynamic Island-like "Now Bar" with a "Now Brief" that guides users through their day, Circle to Search, generative photo editing, context-aware searches with suggested actions, improved natural language understanding, third-party integrations via Gemini, Portrait Studio, and more.

Samsung also previewed the all-new "Galaxy S25 Edge," a super-thin variant of the S25 set to launch in the first half of 2025. It appears to be positioned as a direct rival to Apple's upcoming "iPhone 17 Air," which is expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever at just 6mm and a radical departure from previous devices with a 6.6-inch display with ProMotion, a single speaker, a single rear camera, and Apple's custom 5G modem.

Finally, Samsung unveiled its upcoming "Project Moohan" AR/VR headset, which it has designed in collaboration with Google. It is intended to compete with Apple's Vision Pro and bears a striking similarity to it in terms of design.

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Article Link: The MacRumors Show: Samsung's 2025 Challenge to Apple

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I was just about to ask where the MacRumors show had gone!!!

 

[DrJR]

I watched Samsung keynote last night. They are ahead on a couple things, behind on a few things. Intriguing. Look forward to you show!

 

[Joshuaorange]

At this point, they’re so similar they may as well merge, name the new company Sample and sell 347 VR headsets a year.

 

[HJM.NL]

Samsung has all the AI Apple promises for this year and next year now. It’s working in all languages. The galaxy is also 40% faster in AI as Apple’s iPhone 16 pro. I really think it’s peak iPhone from now because Apple is stuck on a braindead Siri. Don’t see Siri improving soon and definitely not in different languages. I think Apple is about two years behind and the gap is widening.

 

[klasma]

Yeah, I don’t see how Apple will be able to catch up on the AI functionality with just their own LLMs and with the on-device focus, however desirable the latter may be for privacy.

 

[Expos of 1969]

@Dan Barbera

It would be good if MR could alert us when your show will not be happening. I was searching last Friday and Saturday and found no show and no notification that the show was cancelled due to illness.

 

[klasma]

@Dan Barbera Take a look at the Meta Quest Pro. The shape of the Moohan headset looks rather more like that than like the Vision Pro.

 

[Joshuaorange]

Samsung has all the AI Apple promises for this year and next year now. It’s working in all languages. The galaxy is also 40% faster in AI as Apple’s iPhone 16 pro. I really think it’s peak iPhone from now because Apple is stuck on a braindead Siri. Don’t see Siri improving soon and definitely not in different languages. I think Apple is about two years behind and the gap is widening.

Kudos to Samsung. Now if only they could come up with their own phone OS. I’d love to leave Apple. I tried a galaxy fold 6 for a couple weeks. Loved the hardware but for some of us, android is a flat out no. Full stop. I can’t believe how trash that OS is.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Samsung has all the AI Apple promises for this year and next year now. It’s working in all languages. The galaxy is also 40% faster in AI as Apple’s iPhone 16 pro. I really think it’s peak iPhone from now because Apple is stuck on a braindead Siri. Don’t see Siri improving soon and definitely not in different languages. I think Apple is about two years behind and the gap is widening.

Luckily, most people don't care and will never use any of the AI features anyway.

 

[harmonthe3rd]

At this point it's not about Samsung vs Apple. If you are in the Google Ecosystem you use Samsung. If you are in the Apple Ecosystem you use the iPhone.

 

[harmonthe3rd]

Luckily, most people don't care and will never use any of the AI features anyway.

I beg to differ. Most people didn't care about a camera on their phone, nor did Kodak care about cell phones with cameras. Things change as people evolve how they use their devices. Google had the Nexus with NFC chip for payments back in 2010. People didn't care. Apple released Apple Pay in 2014, some people cared, most didn't. Now in 2025 people complain if a retailer doesn't take Apple Pay. Can't discount what features people want or don't want at any given time.

 

[StevieD100]

What percentage of the user base is actually interested in things like Apple intelligence? I hazard a guess that it is just the ultra fanbois. For most of us, we just want a device that works and does not try to second guess what we might or might not be thinking. I will make sure that is it disabled on all devices I own.
There are things that Apple should be spending its R&D funds on rather than jumping on the AI bandwagon. OLED for example. It keeps getting put back.

 

[HJM.NL]

Luckily, most people don't care and will never use any of the AI features anyway.

I think you probably already using it without knowing. I think every person will use it when it saves time.

There are lots of good examples of AI. Image playgrounds and genmoij aren’t useful.

When your phone has a good working assistant that really understands the words you’re saying and doing the things you want it to do… that’s helpful!

Samsung use of Google Gemini is a very good working example (have you seen the introduction video?)

If you really don’t want to use AI than why buy a smartphone? AI is everywhere without knowing its there. The pace of innovation in AI really goes fast. As a technology company you have to step in big or being crushed by the competition if you don’t.

 

[StevieD100]

At this point it's not about Samsung vs Apple. If you are in the Google Ecosystem you use Samsung. If you are in the Apple Ecosystem you use the iPhone.

Don't Google Pixel phones count? Here in the UK we even have Kevin Bacon extolling their brilliance on TV.(sic)

 

[HJM.NL]

What percentage of the user base is actually interested in things like Apple intelligence? I hazard a guess that it is just the ultra fanbois. For most of us, we just want a device that works and does not try to second guess what we might or might not be thinking. I will make sure that is it disabled on all devices I own.
There are things that Apple should be spending its R&D funds on rather than jumping on the AI bandwagon. OLED for example. It keeps getting put back.

There is much AI you don’t even noticed it’s there. The stupid gimmicks like genmoij and image playgrounds give AI a bad name. AI can make you do your daily tasks much more efficient so you can use the time you’ve saved for the things that matters to you.

 

[8667132]

Samsung has all the AI Apple promises for this year and next year now. It’s working in all languages. The galaxy is also 40% faster in AI as Apple’s iPhone 16 pro. I really think it’s peak iPhone from now because Apple is stuck on a braindead Siri. Don’t see Siri improving soon and definitely not in different languages. I think Apple is about two years behind and the gap is widening.

Honestly, it feels like Apples software department needs gutting from the top down.

I get that it's never a good thing to pander to shareholder demands and rush software. Rushing software just doesn't work. Everything feels like its built on sand now, with completely unnecessary features that no one wants being given preference over fixing and finishing useful things from the last few years that were 'rushed' out and seem incomplete.

There are so many bugs and quirks that have existed in MacOS and iOS for years now and will probably never ever get resolved because the focus is put onto updates that don't real create any value to the operating system but create $$$ through buzz words on the stock market.

And let's not forget that software has had 'AI' for years. It was just called 'features' before, but that didn't create market hysteria.

 

[Joshuaorange]

I think you probably already using it without knowing. I think every person will use it when it saves time.

There are lots of good examples of AI. Image playgrounds and genmoij aren’t useful.

When your phone has a good working assistant that really understands the words you’re saying and doing the things you want it to do… that’s helpful!

Samsung use of Google Gemini is a very good working example (have you seen the introduction video?)

If you really don’t want to use AI than why buy a smartphone? AI is everywhere without knowing its there. The pace of innovation in AI really goes fast. As a technology company you have to step in big or being crushed by the competition if you don’t.

This is a silly take. Smartphones have been around over 20 years and have been useful without AI for all of them. I’m not saying AI isn’t helpful but to say a smartphone has no place without AI is foolish.

 

[HJM.NL]

This is a silly take. Smartphones have been around over 20 years and have been useful without AI for all of them. I’m not saying AI isn’t helpful but to say a smartphone has no place without AI is foolish.

Then buy a smartphone from 10 years ago and use the software from 10 years ago. Every smartphone uses some kind of AI today without you knowing it.

Your camera is enhanced with ai, your voice or noice canceling is enhanced with ai, you name it.

Calling it silly makes you silly.

 

[Joshuaorange]

Then buy a smartphone from 10 years ago and use the software from 10 years ago. Every smartphone uses some kind of AI today without you knowing it.

Your camera is enhanced with ai, your voice or noice canceling is enhanced with ai, you name it.

Calling it silly makes you silly.

Bro, AI has been part of iPhone OS for a whopping 3 months. Do you think we had nothing but flint and sticks in September 2024? Your AI can’t even help you spell correctly. I’m not calling AI silly. I’m calling you silly for claiming a smartphone irrelevant without it. Honestly that’s flat out ignorant but I was trying to be nice.

 

[I7guy]

I think you probably already using it without knowing. I think every person will use it when it saves time.

There are lots of good examples of AI. Image playgrounds and genmoij aren’t useful.

Sure they are not useful to pay my taxes, but as interesting apps to show off the power of ai, they are useful.

When your phone has a good working assistant that really understands the words you’re saying and doing the things you want it to do… that’s helpful!

If one likes using assistants.

Samsung use of Google Gemini is a very good working example (have you seen the introduction video?)

Not impressed.

If you really don’t want to use AI than why buy a smartphone?

Because some people like to do more than make a phone call.

AI is everywhere without knowing it’s there.

It’s in some places.

The pace of innovation in AI really goes fast.

But the accuracy hasn’t kept up.

As a technology company you have to step in big or being crushed by the competition if you don’t.

Ai for Netflix is different than ChatGPT.

 

[I7guy]

Then buy a smartphone from 10 years ago and use the software from 10 years ago. Every smartphone uses some kind of AI today without you knowing it.

Your camera is enhanced with ai, your voice or noice canceling is enhanced with ai, you name it.

Calling it silly makes you silly.

10 years ago, which was almost the iPhone 8 which had the nueral processor. Some type of ml and ai has been in phones for many years in albeit small quantities.

 

[citysnaps]

10 years ago, which was almost the iPhone 8 which had the nueral processor. Some type of ml and ai has been in phones for many years in albeit small quantities.

Spot-on. Going back years I could do a Finder search through my thousands of photos for people, cars, dogs, buildings, red, etc , etc. and it would almost instantly find all of them.

This was before AI was in the public consciousness.

Cracks me up that many people really believe Apple is doomed. Again.

 

[New Mexico Bob]

What percentage of the user base is actually interested in things like Apple intelligence? I hazard a guess that it is just the ultra fanbois. For most of us, we just want a device that works and does not try to second guess what we might or might not be thinking. I will make sure that is it disabled on all devices I own.
There are things that Apple should be spending its R&D funds on rather than jumping on the AI bandwagon. OLED for example. It keeps getting put back.

I've had zero use for Apple AI thus far. Siri still gives me absurd results. Having said that, the S24 Ultra's Gemini AI is only a little better. I'm hoping the S25's AI is more useful now that it can cross apps.

 

[New Mexico Bob]

Kudos to Samsung. Now if only they could come up with their own phone OS. I’d love to leave Apple. I tried a galaxy fold 6 for a couple weeks. Loved the hardware but for some of us, android is a flat out no. Full stop. I can’t believe how trash that OS is.

I don't agree here at all regarding "how trash" the Android operating system is. Personal pref for sure, but I find Android to be a lot more engaging. IOS is tighter, but still has its awkward glitches where Apple is just trying too hard to mandate/control the user experience. Android on my S24 has been very liberating and refreshing.