Samsung announced that it will host an Unpacked event in San Jose on January 22 where it is expected to announce both new smartphones as well as the next generation of its Galaxy AI.
“On January 22, Samsung Electronics will host Unpacked in San Jose. Join us as we unveil a new chapter in mobile AI – premium Galaxy innovations that bring seamless convenience
into every moment of your life. The event will be streamed live on Samsung.com, Samsung Newsroom, and Samsung’s YouTube channel beginning at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. GMT, and 7 p.m. CET,” the company says.
Samsung promises the “next big leap in mobile AI experiences” and adds that users should “get ready for AI that is more natural and intuitive.” While it stopped short of calling out the next series of devices by name (instead referring to it as just the “new Galaxy S series”), the company is expected to unveil the S25 series of devices, including the flagship S25 Ultra.
As it did last year, Samsung is offering a $50 credit towards whatever the new device might be if folks place a pre-order between now and January 22. Additionally, those who do so are entered for a chance to win a $5,000 Samsung gift card. Also for a limited time, buyers can receive an additional $900 credit when they trade in an “eligible device.” Samsung did not publish the exact dates of the limited time trade-in offer.
“The new Galaxy S series is about to set the bar once again for mobile AI experiences now and into the future,” Samsung says.
Last year, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series debuted a series of firsts. It was the first platform that supported the upload of HDR photos to Instagram, were the first devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform, and were the first to put “Circle to Search” and other Google-powered AI features into a smartphone.
But it didn’t take long for Google to add all of those once exclusive features to its existing smartphones for free. That coupled with Samsung’s rather unimpressive generative AI led to the Galaxy S24 Ultra feeling less special with each passing day, especially since the camera hardware didn’t evolve from the previous generation — other than the removal of the 10x telephoto.
That means the S25 Ultra that will likely debut on January 22 stands to be the most important smartphone launch for Samsung in years.
Image credits: Samsung
