Samsung Galaxy S25 ideas and tips: 10 methods to get extra out of your Galaxy system

Organising a brand-new cellphone is considered one of my favourite issues. Whether or not ranging from scratch or rigorously restoring apps, messages, and pictures that matter to me, it all the time looks like a recent begin. With that recent begin often comes one thing new to discover, like a brand new digicam mode, up to date AI options, or perhaps even one thing I’ve by no means thought-about. Generally, you get a little bit of all three — like with Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 sequence.

Sure, as normal, Samsung launched its new flagships with loads of tips up its sleeve, and it’s time to start out exploring. Whether or not that is your first foray into the Samsung Galaxy otherwise you’ve been away for a number of years, we have now you coated. Listed here are the information and tips we’ve discovered to get extra out of your Samsung Galaxy S25 system straight away.

One of many first issues it’s best to take a look at in your Samsung Galaxy S25 system is, properly, one of many first belongings you’ll see on daily basis. Sure, it would look barely like Samsung is lifting its inspiration from Apple’s Dynamic Island, however there’s rather more to the Now Temporary than that. The Now Temporary solely actually covers half of Samsung’s real-time replace characteristic, working in shut live performance with the same however not similar Now Bar.

Basically, the Now Temporary is an all-in-one place to test what you’ve arising for the day. It pulls the hourly climate forecast for the day and any calendar appointments you might need lined up and pairs them with information articles you could be eager about, together with a Spotify playlist for the day. I like that it places simply sufficient of the belongings you would possibly want collectively in a single place, but it by no means feels such as you’re downgrading your Galaxy S25 expertise in the event you overlook to test it a few times all through the day.

The Now Bar, however, takes over for the Now Temporary the remainder of the time. It’s nearer to Apple’s Dynamic Island in that it seems both on the prime or backside of your show (relying on whether or not your cellphone is unlocked or not) and may offer you up to date sports activities scores, monitor kitchen timers, and show driving instructions from Google Maps. Then, once you’re completed with no matter data it’s offering, it disappears — no awkward Face ID sensor to disguise.

Though the Now Temporary and Now Bar are brand-new options, our subsequent Galaxy S25 tip is something however. It’s a return to our favourite damaged report — a reminder that it’s best to all the time, all the time, purchase a cellphone case. Sure, Samsung could also be utilizing harder supplies than ever, with Gorilla Glass that retains getting stronger and the return of titanium on the Galaxy S25 Extremely, however no smartphone is invincible. All it takes is one errant drop, and you can be taking a look at a spiderweb of cracks throughout your $1,000 cellphone.

So, with that in thoughts, purchase a cellphone case. It doesn’t should be an costly first-party possibility — although Samsung’s collaboration with Hershey’s Chocolate takes the sweet bar cellphone to a brand new stage — simply please, purchase one thing. For those who’re uncertain the place to start out, we’ve completed some legwork for you. We’ve put collectively guides for the most effective Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus circumstances and Galaxy S25 Extremely circumstances, together with a mixture of manufacturers and case types for all three units.

You don’t have to stay dangerously — defend your cellphone.

Now, again to the brand-new options that Samsung has added to the Galaxy S25 sequence. Nicely, perhaps not brand-new, however actually reimagined. Keep in mind the great outdated days once you couldn’t put up a photograph to Instagram with out slapping an obnoxious outdated filter on it? Nicely, these days are again once more — however they’ve grown up. Taking a web page out of Apple’s e-book with its Photographic Types, Samsung has launched a brand new set of digicam filters to the Galaxy S25 sequence, and I feel it’s best to test them out.

If it helps, you don’t have to consider Samsung’s new instruments as filters. They received’t add canine ears or make your face sparkle like a vampire from Twilight — they’re extra like Fujifilm-level movie simulations. Samsung’s filters can help you change the colour profile of your picture, together with the saturation, distinction, and movie grain (mainly handbook management over your ISO). For those who’re not offered on any of the dozen default filters, you may also drag sliders for every setting to boost and decrease its depth.

Lastly, Samsung’s filters have one possibility that Apple’s Photographic Types don’t: You’ll be able to create your personal. Whereas swiping to the left runs you thru a menu of pre-built filters, a swipe to the fitting allows you to open your digicam roll and select a picture with a coloration science you want. From there, your Galaxy S25 system will use Galaxy AI to emulate that very same profile to be used on future photographs. It’s not excellent — I nonetheless like the colours out of my Fujifilm X100V a bit higher — however I received’t argue with the comfort of getting one system to seize every part.

Final 12 months, once I sat down to jot down the following tips in regards to the Galaxy S24 sequence, one of many first issues I steered was to remap the Bixby button. In any case, I not often used Samsung’s in-house assistant and figured I most likely wasn’t alone. So, when the Galaxy S25 Extremely landed on my desk, and an extended press of its energy button opened Gemini somewhat than Bixby, I couldn’t assist however really feel a bit of vindicated. Now, you can all the time remap the button away from Gemini, too, if AI isn’t your factor, however this time, I feel it’s best to give it a attempt.

In contrast to Bixby, which all the time felt just like the second-best possibility behind Google Assistant, Gemini feels completely succesful in most conditions. Whether or not you’re planning a weekend journey with Gemini Reside and asking for recommendation on nice museums in a brand new place or just looking for a suggestion for a brand new online game, Google’s AI-powered assistant picks up on rather more context than its predecessors. I additionally recognize that it’s a lot simpler to interrupt Gemini, particularly if it takes your strategies off in a special route than you might need anticipated.

After all, in the event you’re nonetheless not onboard with a button to launch your digital assistant, you may also remap the facet key to energy off your cellphone. To take action, observe these steps:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Head to Superior Options
3. Faucet Facet Button
4. Select between a wise assistant or controlling your cellphone’s energy

Simply keep in mind that in the event you boot Gemini off your energy button, you’ll should entry it by way of voice instructions or the Gemini app itself.

Though you possibly can decide out of getting Gemini launch from a {hardware} button, a number of of our remaining ideas will focus on Galaxy AI, so that you might need a tricky time escaping it altogether. For instance, Auto Trim is likely one of the latest digicam tips accessible on the Galaxy S25 sequence, and it’s about as straightforward because it sounds. Basically, Auto Trim acts like a pocket-sized video editor in your Gallery app, drawing the highlights out of your clips in an effort to publish a shiny Instagram Reel or TikTok a lot quicker.

Earlier than I clarify a bit of extra about the way it works, although, right here’s learn how to begin an Auto Trim video for your self:

1. Open the Samsung Gallery app (not Google Photographs)
2.  Faucet on the Menu button on the backside proper nook and choose Go to Studio
3. Press Begin New Mission
4. Select the video clips that you just wish to add and press Executed
5. Faucet the icon within the backside left nook that appears like a pair of scissors in a circle

When you press that icon, Galaxy AI will scrub by way of your chosen clips to drag out their highlights and mix them into one video. From there, you possibly can both regulate the size of the video, rearrange the person clips inside the bigger video, or add stickers or textual content overtop, similar to you’d when creating an Instagram story.

After all, you may also do all of this enhancing by hand, which supplies you higher management over the transitions from one clip to the subsequent or the flexibility to make some clips longer or shorter, however Auto Trim finds a cheerful medium to suit every part into one video.

Sticking with the artistic facet of Galaxy AI, it simply obtained an entire lot simpler to doodle on the Galaxy S25 sequence and have Samsung clear it up for you. Samsung’s model of Android 15 introduces an up to date, much-improved model of Sketch to Picture, now referred to as Drawing Help. It basically works the identical means that Sketch to Picture did, taking your handheld, usually shaky doodles and turning them into sharper, extra identifiable photographs. Additionally, not like Sketch to Picture, Drawing Help doesn’t require beginning with a photograph, making it even simpler to let your creativeness roam.

In some methods, Drawing Help looks like Samsung’s reply to the Pixel Studio or Apple’s Picture Playground in that it permits you to select from a number of artwork types, like Watercolor, Sketch, or Oil Portray, earlier than you begin creating. For those who’re not satisfied by your creative skills, you should utilize a textual content field to explain what you need Drawing Help to create, making it much more like its rivals from Apple and Google. Right here’s learn how to entry Drawing Help:

1. Swipe in your Edge Panel to open it
2. Faucet the button marked Drawing Help
3. Both doodle or describe your picture
4. Press Generate

From there, you may also ask Drawing Help to generate an extra picture in the event you’re not pleased with the primary model. In case you have a Galaxy S25 Extremely, you possibly can entry Drawing Help by eradicating your S Pen from its slot and deciding on the choice from the pop-up menu.

One other AI-powered characteristic I’ve come to understand is that everybody desires to make looking for issues in your cellphone simpler. Whether or not it’s Apple with a redesigned Photographs app or OnePlus with context-aware search, it looks as if the recent new factor is to take the guesswork out of your searches. Samsung is not any exception, and it’s beginning along with your digicam roll.

As soon as once more, to faucet into the total energy of Samsung’s Galaxy AI, you’ll have to make use of its in-house Gallery app somewhat than Google Photographs. Nonetheless, as soon as there, you should utilize the Search characteristic (marked by the standard magnifying glass) to search for pictures of acquainted faces — whether or not folks or pets — or work out precisely which day you spent exploring a nationwide landmark like Independence Corridor.

It really works fairly properly in my expertise, managing to pick the folks and locations I’m on the lookout for, however there are a number of tips to concentrate on. For starters, you possibly can’t seek for folks or pets by title except you label them inside the Gallery app. So, you probably have a cat named Spot, you’ll should determine them to Samsung earlier than you possibly can maintain monitor of them. Fortunately, you received’t should tag each single picture of Spot, but it surely does take among the automation out of Gallery Search.

Shifting on, I’ll admit that I believed the times of Memoji and Bitmoji have been behind us. I figured that most individuals wouldn’t be utilizing an animated model of themselves and that it could most likely disappear from smartphones earlier than lengthy — or no less than be minimized. And but, Samsung has determined that 2025 is the 12 months to deliver again animated avatars in an enormous means. It’s rebranded AR Emojis as Galaxy Avatars and massively decreased the creepy issue within the course of.

As a lot as Samsung could have preferred its earlier AR Emoji setup, the completed merchandise have been often a bit of bit too near the uncanny valley, and in consequence, I can rely on one hand the variety of occasions I ever despatched them to pals or household. Lately, although, the Galaxy Avatars are a bit of bit nearer to Apple’s Memojis, which is to say they’re a lot cuter and a bit of extra cartoonish — although Samsung’s mannequin appears to battle when your topic is sporting a hat within the reference picture.

You can also make Galaxy Avatars out of your front-facing digicam or by importing a picture from the Samsung Gallery, each of which appear to work simply fantastic. Presently, Galaxy Avatars stay inside the Superior Options part of the Settings app, which might make them troublesome to seek out, but it surely’s straightforward sufficient to create and customise your lookalikes when you get there.

Since we’ve already mentioned shopping for a case to your new Galaxy S25 system, let’s return to a different all-important accent: a shiny new charger. For those who’re utilizing a reasonably latest Galaxy system, you would possibly be capable of low cost this tip, however in the event you’re switching from an iPhone, a Motorola system, or any variety of different telephones, you could have to spend a bit of bit extra to succeed in peak charging speeds.

Though Samsung hasn’t wavered from 25W wired charging on its Galaxy S25 or 45W speeds on the Galaxy S25 Plus or Extremely, you’ll nonetheless want a USB PD PPS-enabled charger to succeed in these most speeds. Fortunately, there are many high-speed choices, together with chargers with a number of ports and USB-C and USB-A ports. You simply should determine which one will finest meet your wants.

Additionally, in the event you’re eyeing a brand new wi-fi charger, you possibly can ignore every part about Qi2 for now. Samsung’s newest set of flagships determined to skip the magnet-based wi-fi charging customary, that means you possibly can rely in your outdated flat charger for one more 12 months. After all, if you wish to attempt a model of MagSafe, you possibly can all the time seize a third-party case and connect it to a magnetic charger.

Final however actually not least, don’t overlook to customise your cellphone. Samsung made a number of modifications to among the most simple components of One UI 7, like a number of app icons and widgets, but it surely’s as much as you to make the remainder of your system really feel like residence. Whether or not meaning dipping into Samsung’s AI-powered wallpaper generator or just loading up a number of pictures out of your gallery, all that actually issues is the cellphone feels extra like your personal.

I’m nonetheless a fan of Samsung’s generative wallpaper device, no less than as a result of it permits me to modify up the panorama I’ve to have a look at on daily basis. Proper now, I’m rolling with a surreal set of mountains in shades of navy blue, and it’s a significantly better look than the primary wallpaper that comes preloaded on the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

When you choose a wallpaper, don’t overlook which you can additionally theme the remainder of your system round the primary colours, together with color-matched app icons and shades for every part from buttons within the Calculator app to Samsung’s Calendar. Apparently, the preloaded apps like Copilot and OneDrive aren’t included within the color-matching course of, making them stand out like sore thumbs you possibly can’t uninstall.

These are only a few issues I’ve been doing on my Samsung Galaxy S25 up to now, however I’m all the time open to studying new tips. If I missed considered one of your favorites, let me know within the feedback. Additionally, in the event you haven’t grabbed a Galaxy S25 system however are excited about upgrading, you are able to do with the finest costs we might discover so on the widgets beneath: