Samsung's September 4 event promises to introduce "Galaxy AI experience to our latest innovations." That's corporate speak for "we're going to mention AI approximately 47 times in a 30-minute presentation."
Look, Samsung makes solid hardware. But their marketing department discovered the word "AI" sometime in 2023 and won't shut the fuck up about it. I've sat through enough of these presentations to know exactly what's coming.
What We're Actually Getting: The S25 FE
The "newest member of the Galaxy S25 family" is almost certainly the Galaxy S25 FE (Fan Edition). This is Samsung's mid-range flagship that offers flagship features without the flagship price tag.
Expected specs:
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (good processor, handles AI tasks locally)
- Around $600-700 price point (reasonable for what you get)
- Galaxy AI features from the main S25 series
- Decent cameras with AI scene optimization
The S25 FE will probably be fine. Samsung's FE phones are usually solid devices that offer good value. The AI features might actually be useful for photography and text handling, even if the marketing is obnoxious.
The "Premium AI Tablets" Nobody Asked For
Samsung keeps trying to make tablets happen. The Galaxy Tab S11 series will probably have nice OLED displays, S Pen support, and a bunch of AI features for productivity.
Tablet productivity is still mostly a myth. Despite years of "replace your laptop" marketing, most people use tablets for Netflix and reading Reddit, not creating presentations with AI-assisted note-taking. I've tested dozens of "productivity tablets" and they almost always end up as expensive YouTube machines.
The enterprise market might care about AI document analysis and smart stylus features. Regular consumers just want tablets that don't suck for watching Netflix and reading.
The AI Marketing Overload Problem
Samsung has decided that "Galaxy AI" is their competitive differentiator against Apple and Google. Fair enough - Apple's AI is still catching up, and Google's Pixel AI features are hit-or-miss.
But Samsung's approach is to slap "Galaxy AI" on every feature and hope people get excited about AI-enhanced this and intelligent that. Some of it's genuinely useful (real-time translation, photo editing), some is marketing fluff.
Competing with Apple's September Event
This timing isn't accidental. Apple will probably announce iPhone 16 models around the same time, and Samsung wants to steal some thunder with their own hardware announcements.
The strategy makes sense: position Galaxy AI as more flexible and capable than whatever Apple Intelligence offers. Samsung's advantage is deeper Android integration and willingness to experiment with features Apple considers too risky.
The Real Question: Do People Want This Much AI?
Samsung's betting that consumers want AI integrated into every aspect of their devices. Photography AI? Useful. Text generation? Sometimes helpful. AI that recommends what apps to open based on your location and time of day? Maybe getting into creepy territory.
The S25 FE will probably be a good phone regardless of how much they talk about AI during the presentation. Just be prepared for a lot of buzzword bingo about "intelligent experiences" and "AI-powered productivity."