Samsung S25 Ultra on display at one of Samsung’s stores in London, U.K. Samsung has boosted the capabilities of the S25 on the Ultra model.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Samsung Electronics on Wednesday launched its latest flagship smartphones — the Galaxy S25 series — touting a custom chip and boosted AI features.
The S25 release comes after a year in which Samsung’s smartphone shipments came under pressure from Chinese players and Apple.
Samsung’s S25 series comes in three variants — the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra — as has been the case with previous flagship launches.
The starting prices are as follows:
Galaxy S25: $799
Galaxy S25+: $999
Galaxy S25 Ultra: $1,299
Samsung will start taking preorders for the S25 series on Wednesday and the devices will go on sale on Feb. 7.
Samsung Galaxy AI front and center
Last year, Samsung launched Galaxy AI — its suite of artificial intelligence features — on the S24.
With the S25, Samsung unveiled additional AI applications with the aim of making the phone more like a digital personal assistant.
Samsung’s latest devices can carry out tasks across multiple apps when prompted. For example, a user can ask the phone to find their favorite football team’s schedule and add it to their calendar. Or a user could prompt the AI application to find nearby pet-friendly restaurants to send to a specific contact. All of these actions will be carried out by the device across multiple apps.
Samsung said the feature supports third-party apps like Spotify and Meta-owned WhatsApp, as well as its own and Google‘s apps.
The AI application can also change settings on the phone when prompted by a user.
Samsung’s latest features underscore the way in which the South Korean tech giant and some of its rivals are racing to make AI on devices more like personal assistants that cater to a person’s usage habits and preferences.
The Samsung S25 series consists of three devices – the S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra.
Device makers view AI as way to differentiate their hardware from the sea of competitors. Samsung, for example, is hoping the technology will help revive sales for its high-end product.
“At a time when improvements to hardware capabilities and product design are largely incremental, Samsung is doubling down on its AI story. There are some clever enhancements included in the Galaxy S25 line-up, but it’s unlikely they’ll be enough to have consumers rushing out to upgrade their phones prematurely,” Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC.
“However, this is far from being a unique issue for Samsung. Apple is facing the same challenges with the iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence. AI is a boon for someone who needs an upgrade, but not enough to move the needle for consumers who have a relatively up-to-date phone already.”
Shipments of Samsung smartphones fell 2.7% year on year in the fourth quarter of last year as its market share contracted, according to International Data Corp. figures. Samsung was the No. 2 player by shipment volume after Apple.
Meanwhile, Chinese players Xiaomi, Transsion and Vivo increased market share, with aggressively priced devices boasting solid specs.
CCS Insight’s Wood concluded that the S25 series is “well suited to the growing number of consumers who have a mobile phone that’s three or four years old” but “it’s unlikely to get people upgrading any sooner.”
Custom chip, new design
To power its latest AI features, Samsung and Qualcomm worked on a custom processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is exclusive to Samsung with the South Korean giant claiming it is the fastest processor ever in a Galaxy device.
Fast but low power consumption processors inside of smartphones are vital for ensuring management of heavy AI workloads without draining the battery.
Samsung also talked up other changes to the hardware including an improved camera on the S25 Ultra model and new design.
The S25 series now has rounded corners rather than the more angular design of its predecessors.
Technology stocks bounced Tuesday after three rocky trading sessions, spurred by rising optimism that President Donald Trump could potentially negotiate tariff deals with world leaders.
The sector is coming off a wild trading session after speculation that the White House could potentially delay tariffs fueled volatile swings. Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Nvidia finished higher, while Apple, Microsoft and Tesla posted losses.
Trump’s wide-sweeping tariff plans have sparked violent turbulence over the last three trading sessions. Trading volume on Monday hit its highest in nearly two decades. Technology stocks gyrated after the Nasdaq Composite posted its worst week in five years and the Magnificent Seven group lost $1.8 trillion in market value over two trading sessions.
Chipmakers were excluded from the recent tariffs, but have come under pressure on worries that higher duties could diminish demand for products they are used in and slow the economy. The sector is also expected to see tariffs further down the road.
Elsewhere, Broadcom surged 9% after announcing a $10 billion share buyback plan through the end of the year. Marvell Technology also bounced more than 9% after agreeing to sell its auto ethernet business for $2.5 billion in cash to Infineon Technologies.
Glen Tullman, chairman and chief executive officer at Livongo Health Inc., speaks during the 2015 Bloomberg Technology Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 16, 2015.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Digital health startup Transcarent on Tuesday announced it completed its acquisition of Accolade in a deal valued at roughly $621 million.
Transcarent first announced the acquisition in January, and the company said it has received all necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals to carry out the transaction. Accolade shareholders received $7.03 per share in cash, and its common stock will no longer trade on the Nasdaq, according to a release.
“Adding Accolade’s people and capabilities will significantly enhance our existing offerings,” Transcarent CEO Glen Tullman said in a statement. “We’re creating anentirely new way to experience health and care. We are truly better together.”
Transcarent offers at-risk pricing models to self-insured employers to help their workers quickly access care and navigate benefits. As of May, the company had raised around $450 million at a valuation of $2.2 billion. Transcarent also earned a spot on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list last year.
More CNBC health coverage
Accolade offers care delivery, navigation and advocacy services. The company went public during the Covid pandemic in 2020 as investors began pouring billions of dollars into digital health, but the stock tumbled in the years following.
Accolade is the latest in a string of digital health companies to exit the public markets as the sector struggles to adjust to a more muted growth environment.
Transcarent said the executive leadership team will report to Tullman and includes representatives from both organizations. Accolade’s Kristen Bruzek will serve as executive vice president of care delivery operations, for instance.
Tullman is no stranger to overseeing major deals in digital health. He previously helmed Livongo, which was acquired by the virtual-care provider Teladoc in a 2020 agreement that valued the company at $18.5 billion.
General Catalyst and Tullman’s 62 Ventures led the acquisition’s financing, with additional participation from new and existing investors, the release said. The companies also leveraged cash from their combined balance sheet, and JP Morgan led the debt financing.
A drone operator loads a Walmart package into Zipline’s P1 fixed-wing drone for delivery to a customer home in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, on March 30, 2023.
Bunee Tomlinson
Zipline, a startup that delivers everything from vaccines to ice cream via electric autonomous drones, expanded its service to the Dallas area on Tuesday through a partnership with Walmart.
In Mesquite, Texas, about 15 miles east of Dallas, Walmart customers can sign up to receive orders within 30 minutes, delivered on Zipline’s newest unmanned aerial vehicles, known as P2 Zips.
The drones are capable of carrying up to eight pounds worth of cargo within a 10-mile radius, and can land a package on a space as small as a table or doorstep. The company, which ranked 21st on CNBC’s 2024 Disruptor 50 list, plans to expand soon in the Dallas metropolitan area.
Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Rinaudo Cliffton said P2 Zips have “dinner plate-level” accuracy. They employ lift and cruise propellers and feature a fixed wing that helps them maneuver quietly, even through rain or gusts of wind up to 45 miles per hour.
In the delivery process, a P2 Zip will hover around 300 feet above ground level and dispatch a mini-aircraft with a container called the delivery zip, which descends on a long tether and moves into place using fan-like thrusters before setting down and allowing package retrieval.
Both the P2 Zip and the delivery zip use cameras, other sensors and Nvidia chips to determine what’s happening in the environment around them, and to avoid obstacles while making a delivery.
In March 2025, Zipline announced that its drones have logged more than 100 million autonomous miles of flight to-date, a number equivalent to flying more than 4,000 loops around the planet, or 200 lunar round trips, the company said in a video to mark the milestone.
Since it began operations in 2016, Rinaudo Cliffton said, Zipline has completed around 1.5 million deliveries, far more than competitors in the West. Wing, a Zipline rival focused on residential deliveries, has reported more than 450,000 deliveries since 2012.
Zipline initially focused on logistics in health care, making deliveries by drone to clinics and hospitals in nations where infrastructure sometimes impeded timely access to life-saving medicines, blood, vaccines and personal protective equipment. The company, valued at $4.2 billion in a 2023 financing round, is now making deliveries in Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Japan and the U.S., and expanded well beyond hospitals and clinics.
In addition to Walmart, customers include Sweetgreen, Chipotle and other quick-serve restaurants, as well as health clinics and hospital systems such as Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic.
Zipline’s launch in Mesquite comes days after President Donald Trump’s announcement of widespread tariffs roiled markets on concern that companies would face rising costs and a slowdown in consumers spending. Rinaudo Cliffton said he doesn’t anticipate massive impediments to Zipline’s business, as its drones are built in the U.S., with manufacturing and testing in South San Francisco.