Samsung Galaxy S25 suggestions and methods: 10 methods to get extra out of your Galaxy machine

Establishing a brand-new telephone is one in every of my favourite issues. Whether or not ranging from scratch or rigorously restoring apps, messages, and photographs that matter to me, it all the time appears like a contemporary begin. With that contemporary begin often comes one thing new to discover, like a brand new digicam mode, up to date AI options, or possibly 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 collection.

Sure, as normal, Samsung launched its new flagships with loads of methods 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 just a few years, we have now you lined. Listed here are the information and methods we’ve discovered to get extra out of your Samsung Galaxy S25 machine straight away.

One of many first issues you must try in your Samsung Galaxy S25 machine is, effectively, one of many first belongings you’ll see day-after-day. Sure, it would look barely like Samsung is lifting its inspiration from Apple’s Dynamic Island, however there’s rather more to the Now Transient than that. The Now Transient solely actually covers half of Samsung’s real-time replace characteristic, working in shut live performance with the same however not equivalent Now Bar.

Basically, the Now Transient is an all-in-one place to test what you may have developing 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 may be concerned 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 case you neglect to test it a few times all through the day.

The Now Bar, alternatively, takes over for the Now Transient 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 telephone 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, while you’re completed with no matter data it’s offering, it disappears — no awkward Face ID sensor to disguise.

Though the Now Transient 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 you must all the time, all the time, purchase a telephone case. Sure, Samsung could also be utilizing more durable 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 could possibly be a spiderweb of cracks throughout your $1,000 telephone.

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

You don’t have to reside dangerously — defend your telephone.

Now, again to the brand-new options that Samsung has added to the Galaxy S25 collection. Nicely, possibly not brand-new, however definitely reimagined. Keep in mind the nice outdated days while you couldn’t publish 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 Kinds, Samsung has launched a brand new set of digicam filters to the Galaxy S25 collection, and I feel you must test them out.

If it helps, you don’t have to think about 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 help you change the colour profile of your picture, together with the saturation, distinction, and movie grain (principally handbook management over your ISO). If you happen to’re not bought 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 Kinds don’t: You possibly can create your personal. Whereas swiping to the left runs you thru a menu of pre-built filters, a swipe to the proper allows you to open your digicam roll and pick a picture with a colour science you want. From there, your Galaxy S25 machine will use Galaxy AI to emulate that very same profile to be used on future photographs. It’s not good — I nonetheless like the colours out of my Fujifilm X100V a bit higher — however I received’t argue with the comfort of getting one machine to seize every little thing.

Final yr, after I sat down to put in writing the following tips concerning the Galaxy S24 collection, one of many first issues I prompt was to remap the Bixby button. In any case, I hardly ever used Samsung’s in-house assistant and figured I in all probability 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 little bit vindicated. Now, you could possibly all the time remap the button away from Gemini, too, if AI isn’t your factor, however this time, I feel you must 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 Dwell 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 recommendations off in a distinct course than you might need anticipated.

After all, in case you’re nonetheless not onboard with a button to launch your digital assistant, you may also remap the facet key to energy off your telephone. 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 telephone’s energy

Simply do not forget that in case you boot Gemini off your energy button, you’ll need to entry it through voice instructions or the Gemini app itself.

Though you may choose out of getting Gemini launch from a {hardware} button, a number of of our remaining suggestions 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 methods accessible on the Galaxy S25 collection, 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 sooner.

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

1. Open the Samsung Gallery app (not Google Pictures)
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 simply wish to add and press Accomplished
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 your chosen clips to drag out their highlights and mix them into one video. From there, you may both regulate the size of the video, rearrange the person clips throughout the bigger video, or add stickers or textual content overtop, similar to you’ll when creating an Instagram story.

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

Sticking with the inventive facet of Galaxy AI, it simply obtained an entire lot simpler to doodle on the Galaxy S25 collection 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 known as Drawing Help. It basically works the identical manner that Sketch to Picture did, taking your handheld, usually shaky doodles and turning them into sharper, extra identifiable photographs. Additionally, in contrast to 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 appears like Samsung’s reply to the Pixel Studio or Apple’s Picture Playground in that it lets you select from just a few artwork types, like Watercolor, Sketch, or Oil Portray, earlier than you begin creating. If you happen to’re not satisfied by your inventive talents, 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 how you can 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 case you’re not pleased with the primary model. In case you have a Galaxy S25 Extremely, you may 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 telephone simpler. Whether or not it’s Apple with a redesigned Pictures app or OnePlus with context-aware search, it looks as if the new new factor is to take the guesswork out of your searches. Samsung isn’t any exception, and it’s beginning together with your digicam roll.

As soon as once more, to faucet into the total power of Samsung’s Galaxy AI, you’ll have to make use of its in-house Gallery app somewhat than Google Pictures. Nevertheless, as soon as there, you should utilize the Search characteristic (marked by the same old magnifying glass) to search for photographs of acquainted faces — whether or not individuals or pets — or determine precisely which day you spent exploring a nationwide landmark like Independence Corridor.

It really works fairly effectively in my expertise, managing to select the individuals and locations I’m searching for, however there are just a few methods to concentrate on. For starters, you may’t seek for individuals or pets by identify except you label them throughout the Gallery app. So, you probably have a cat named Spot, you’ll need to establish them to Samsung earlier than you may hold monitor of them. Fortunately, you received’t need to 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 in all probability disappear from smartphones earlier than lengthy — or a minimum of be minimized. And but, Samsung has determined that 2025 is the yr to deliver again animated avatars in a giant manner. It’s rebranded AR Emojis as Galaxy Avatars and massively lowered 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 little bit bit too near the uncanny valley, and consequently, I can depend on one hand the variety of occasions I ever despatched them to associates or household. Nowadays, although, the Galaxy Avatars are a little bit bit nearer to Apple’s Memojis, which is to say they’re a lot cuter and a little bit extra cartoonish — although Samsung’s mannequin appears to wrestle when your topic is sporting a hat within the reference picture.

You may 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 advantageous. At the moment, Galaxy Avatars reside throughout the Superior Options part of the Settings app, which might make them troublesome to search 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 in your new Galaxy S25 machine, let’s return to a different all-important accent: a shiny new charger. If you happen to’re utilizing a reasonably current Galaxy machine, you would possibly be capable of low cost this tip, however in case you’re switching from an iPhone, a Motorola machine, or any variety of different telephones, it’s possible you’ll have to spend a little bit 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 need to determine which one will finest meet your wants.

Additionally, in case you’re eyeing a brand new wi-fi charger, you may ignore every little thing about Qi2 for now. Samsung’s newest set of flagships determined to skip the magnet-based wi-fi charging normal, which means you may depend in your outdated flat charger for one more yr. After all, if you wish to attempt a model of MagSafe, you may all the time seize a third-party case and connect it to a magnetic charger.

Final however definitely not least, don’t neglect to customise your telephone. Samsung made just a few adjustments to among the most elementary elements of One UI 7, like just a few app icons and widgets, but it surely’s as much as you to make the remainder of your machine really feel like house. Whether or not which means dipping into Samsung’s AI-powered wallpaper generator or just loading up just a few photographs out of your gallery, all that actually issues is the telephone feels extra like your personal.

I’m nonetheless a fan of Samsung’s generative wallpaper device, a minimum of as a result of it permits me to change up the panorama I’ve to take a look at day-after-day. Proper now, I’m rolling with a surreal set of mountains in shades of navy blue, and it’s a a lot better look than the fundamental wallpaper that comes preloaded on the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

When you decide on a wallpaper, don’t neglect that you would be able to additionally theme the remainder of your machine round the primary colours, together with color-matched app icons and shades for every little thing 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 may’t uninstall.

These are just some issues I’ve been doing on my Samsung Galaxy S25 to this point, however I’m all the time open to studying new methods. If I missed one in every of your favorites, let me know within the feedback. Additionally, in case you haven’t grabbed a Galaxy S25 machine however are serious about upgrading, you are able to do with the finest costs we might discover so on the widgets under: