Latest news with #GalaxyS25Plus
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Samsung Galaxy S26 leak just revealed huge shakeup — this model now looks dead
The Galaxy S25 Plus released earlier this year may prove to be the last of its kind. A new report out of Korea claims that Samsung will only have three variants for the Galaxy S26 series — and one of them figures to be a successor the Galaxy S25 Edge instead of a new Plus. The Elec posted an article today (July 14) saying that next year Samsung will release a 6.27-inch base model, a 6.66-inch Edge, and a 6.89-inch Ultra phone. That would seem to spell the end of the Plus model in Samsung's Galaxy S lineup. This isn't exactly a new rumor, and The Elec isn't the only place reporting this rumor today. Regular tipster Instant Digital posted (via MacRumors) on the Chinese site Weibo that the S26 lineup would consist of the S26, S26 Edge and S26 Ultra. Ever since rumors emerged about Samsung producing an Edge-style phone, it's been assumed that the ultra-thin phone was likely to replace the Plus model. The move would make each S series phone a distinct model, rather than the Plus just being larger version of the base model. Beyond thinness, both the S25 Edge the S25 Plus have a lot in common between a 6.7-inch display, 50-megapixel main camera and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. That said, the Edge has more of a premium feel with its titanium chassis and ultra-thin design. As for the rumored display sizes, The Elec's numbers point to similar displays as the S25 series For comparison, that is a slightly larger display on the S26 base model, with the Galaxy S25 having a 6.2-inch screen. The S26 Ultra is about the same size as the Galaxy S25 Ultra which we have listed at 6.9-inches. The rumored 6.66-inch Edge display is the same as the current Galaxy S25 Edge. Currently, the Galaxy S25 Plus features a 6.7-inch screen. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. It's been rumored that Apple and Samsung are following similar paths with their lineups. Most Apple observers assume the company will replace its Plus model with the much-rumored iPhone 17 Air later this year. That would make this year's coming lineup the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. Current leaks paint a picture of a slightly smaller Air with lower battery life than the long-lasting iPhone 16 Plus. The iPhone 17 lineup might launch between September 8 and September 12, if a new Bloomberg report is to be believed.
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Phone Arena
Galaxy S25 FE vs Galaxy S25 Plus: Where's the cutoff line?
The Galaxy S25 FE is the upcoming affordable flagship from the Fan Edition series Samsung started back in 2020 with the S20 FE. Now, five years later, the next trimmed-down flagship is expected to come with a bigger battery, faster charging, and a new chipset. In the opposite corner of the metaphorical ring, we have the Galaxy S25 Plus, the middle child in Samsung's S-series flagship lineup. These two have a lot in common; they come in similar sizes and weights, the screen size is the same on both, and the camera system is also expected to be almost identical. So, how do these two stack up against each other? Time to find out! This is our preliminary Galaxy S25 FE vs Galaxy S25 Plus comparison. It's based on leaks and rumors at this point, so take it with a pinch of salt, but thanks to our experience and industry insight, we know almost everything about the S25 FE. Galaxy S25 FE vs Galaxy S25 Plus differences: *rumored Table of Contents: If we say that the Galaxy S25 FE and the Galaxy S25 Plus look similar, it would be an understatement. The latest leaked renders of the upcoming Fan Edition show a phone that's nearly identical to the S25 Plus when it comes to overall shape and form are the same, the position of the camera cutouts is also the same, and the LED flash is in the same place on both models. If you try and look really hard, you might notice a slight difference in the design of the camera rings, but you really have to look closely. The situation is similar on the front, but there's a slightly thicker chin on the Galaxy S25 FE compared to the Plus model. All buttons and ports also seem to be in similar places between these two. *rumored In terms of size and weight, both phones share a similar footprint; the Galaxy S25 Plus measures 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm, while the Galaxy S25 FE comes in at 161.4 x 76.6 x 7.4 mm. That's according to the same CAD render lead we've mentioned above. When it comes to weight, we expect the Galaxy S25 Plus to mimic the weight of the Plus at 190 grams. Both phones should feel the same in the hand despite the few millimetres difference in size, but we have to hold them side by side to pass judgement on that. As far as materials go, we don't have information on the Galaxy S25 FE, but we expect similar Gorilla Glass and aluminum frames as the ones used on the predecessor, namely Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+. The Galaxy S25 Plus comes equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. *rumored The Galaxy S25 Plus is available in Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold, Coral Red, and Blue Black. The Galaxy S25 FE, on the other hand, will most likely come in the same colors as its predecessor but at the moment, the renders show only the Graphite version. Display Differences Is it the same panel? The display of the Galaxy S25 FE is expected to be a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution, resulting in around 385 PPI pixel density. According to the latest rumors the display will have a 120 Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2600 nits. In contrast, the Galaxy S25 Plus ' display is the same size, but the resolution is better at 1440 x 3120 pixels (513 PPI), and the phone also comes with 1-120 Hz LTPO tech and the same 2600 nits advertised peak brightness. *rumored In our display test, the Galaxy S25 Plus was able to output almost 2400 nits at 20% APL, and that's an impressive result. We can't wait to test the S25 FE to see if Samsung packed the same panel in the affordable cousin of the S25 Plus. Stay tuned for test soon. Samsung just doesn't give up on its Exynos silicon, does it? The Galaxy S25 FE is expected to feature the Exynos 2400, a new silicon with an interesting architecture—it features 10 cores. There's one 3.2 GHz ARM Cortex-X4 core, 2 x 2.9 GHz ARM Cortex-A720 cores, 3 x 2.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A720 cores, and finally 4 x 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A520 ones. Early performance benchmarks place this chip somewhere between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8 Gen 3. Geekbench 6 scores are around 2000 points in single-core tests and 6500 points in multi-core. The Galaxy S25 Plus , in comparison, managed 3132 and 9935 in the same test, so it looks like a big advantage, but we have to test the S25 FE in our lab for some hard numbers and an objective result. *rumored In terms of RAM, the Galaxy S25 FE is expected to comes with 12GB on board in all storage configurations. This puts it in the same ballpark as the Galaxy S25 Plus . Speaking of storage, both phones start at 256GB and offer an additional 512GB in terms of software, there's no difference between these two. The same software version, seven years of support, and AI magic are expected to be found on both phones. The camera specs of the Galaxy S25 FE are not that interesting; the latest rumors suggest that the phone will use the same camera system as its predecessor. We expect the same 50MP main camera that is very similar to the main sensor of the Galaxy S25 Plus . The ultrawide is also similar, but the field of view is slightly different on the S25 FE. Finally, the biggest difference seems to lie in the telephoto camera. The S25 Plus comes with a 10MP telephoto sensor, while the S25 FE is expected to mimic the 8MP of its predecessor. Both phones offer the same 3x optical zoom. *rumored Now, of course, as similar as these two camera systems might be, the processing algorithms might be different. We need to snap some photos with the S25 FE and put them side-by-side with samples taken with the S25 Plus to offer you a final verdict. That being said, the Galaxy S25 Plus managed a very decent score of 147 points in our composite camera rating, while the previous generation FE managed even better, scoring 150 points in the same test. So, we're optimistic about the Galaxy S25 FE. The Galaxy S25 Plus has a 4,900 mAh battery inside, which is pretty decent, albeit not on par with Chinese silicon-carbon cells of 6,000+ mAh capacities. Still, the S25 Plus managed 7h 36m in our battery test, ranking #34 for phones tested in the past 2 Galaxy S25 FE is expected to bring an upgrade to the battery capacity of its predecessor, and one that's exactly 200 mAh worth. This will bring the total battery capacity to 4,900 mAh, exactly the same as the one on the Plus model. Stay tuned for our battery benchmarks, which will show how these 200 mAh have or have not improved the battery life of the FE. *rumored Another rumored change for the S25 FE concerns the fast charging. According to the latest leaks, the phone will bump up the speed to 45W, again matching the charging speed of the Galaxy S25 Plus . *rumored This shapes up to be a very interesting battle. With all the upgrades Samsung is expected to bring on the new Galaxy S25 FE, it seems that the model could cannibalise its much more expensive sibling, the Galaxy S25 Plus .There are differences, however, although we're not sure if they will be enough to justify the extra money for the S25 Plus. The phone has a better resolution screen, a faster processor, and a slightly different camera system (we can't tell if it's better or worse yet). Whether or not people will choose to pay $300 more for a faster processor and a slightly better screen, we don't know. Chances are the Galaxy S25 FE will further undermine the already not impressive sales of the Galaxy S25 Plus . Stay tuned for tests, benchmarks, and a final verdict once we finish the review of the Galaxy S25 FE.
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Galaxy S25 Plus and Edge too Similar? Samsung might axe one
In what could mark a significant shift in Samsung's flagship smartphone strategy, the tech giant may be preparing to axe the 'Plus' model from its Galaxy S series starting next year. This development comes amid growing speculation around the future of the Galaxy S25 lineup, particularly in markets like India, where the existence of both the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Edge appears increasingly redundant. According to a report from Sammy Police, the Galaxy S25 Plus seems to overlap heavily with the S25 Edge in terms of specifications and market positioning. The similarity between the two models has led to calls for a more streamlined lineup. Some industry watchers have suggested that Samsung could merge the features of the Plus variant into the Edge, potentially offering a single, more powerful handset in the segment. Reportedly, this move could also hint at Samsung's intent to bolster the Edge model with additional features typically reserved for premium devices, possibly even encroaching into 'Pro' territory. Doing so might not only simplify the lineup but also enhance the appeal of the Edge variant in competitive markets. If these indications hold true, the Galaxy S25 series could be the last to feature a 'Plus' model. Samsung first introduced the Plus branding in 2017 with the Galaxy S8+, which followed the Galaxy S7 Edge, a model that stood out with its larger, curved-edge display. The S7 Edge was seen as an evolution of the standard Galaxy S7, offering a more immersive screen experience without veering into phablet territory. While nothing has been confirmed by Samsung, the possibility of ending the Plus line signals a notable change in the company's approach to product differentiation. Until an official announcement is made, this remains speculative, but it may signal the end of an era that began nearly a decade ago.
Phone Arena
08-07-2025
- Phone Arena
Nothing Phone (3) vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus: Which one is better?
Nothing is entering the flagship phone space. Kind of. Its latest Nothing Phone (3) does not quite cost as much as your Pro Max and Ultra flagships, but at $800, it is the most expensive phone Nothing has made so far. So naturally, it has plenty of competition, and chief among the rivals is Samsung's Galaxy S25 Plus. The Galaxy is a bit more expensive at $1,000, but it is often discounted, so many people would end up buying it for much less. So... which one should you go for? Both phones come with big screens and big batteries, but the Galaxy is notably thinner and lighter, while packing a more powerful processor. The Nothing Phone has its quirky design and an all-new camera. Let's see who wins this battle. Nothing's latest high-class phone is available at Amazon. Right now, the 16/512GB variant is up for pre-order, with shipping set to begin on July 15. The device boasts a unique design, 6.77-inch AMOLED display, and a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip. Pre-order yours now and save $100! Pre-order at Amazon $600 off (54%) Trade in your old phone to save up to $480 on the exciting Galaxy S25+. Online exclusive colors are available at the official store. The 512GB variant arrives with a $120 discount before trade-ins. Buy at Samsung Nothing Phone (3) vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus differences explained: Table of Contents: Design and Display Performance and Software Camera Battery Audio Specs Conclusion Both the Nothing Phone (3) and Galaxy S25 Plus are big phones, but once you actually get to hold them, you instantly notice the difference. The Galaxy is much thinner and weighs less, so it almost feels like carrying a much smaller phone. The Nothing Phone (3) on the other hand is big, chunky and you can kind of feel that extra heft when you have it in your pocket. Of course, Nothing beings its quirky self, you know you will see some unique visual elements that make it stand out. The transparent back is something we have come to expect of Nothing, but not these shockingly misaligned cameras. Well, we guess Nothing wanted to stand out and they did, but while we loved the quirky style of previous Nothing phones, we are not enamored with this one. There is also a tiny dot-matrix display on the rear of the device (the "Glyph Matrix"). You can play spin the bottle on it by long pressing a capacitive button located on the back of the phone. Uhm... okay? Or you can see a timer on the back of your phone for some reason. The most useful of these seems to be a pixelized preview of your camera, but why not just include a slightly bigger regular screen then? The Essential key is also back, after first appearing a few months ago on the Nothing A series phones. Press once to capture your screen, long-press to record voice memos, and double-press to go to the Essential Space where all of that is aggregated. We are not huge fans of the idea, but we do like having one extra physical button on board, and Samsung should take notice. As far as display quality goes, the Galaxy has the upper hand. As you can see from our in-house lab tests, the Galaxy gets much brighter outdoors hitting nearly 2,400 nits of brightness compared to just 1,500 nits on the Nothing Phone (3) . The Galaxy also does a better job at night when it can drop to under 1 nit, much easier on the eyes than the 2-nit minimum value of the Nothing. As for biometrics, the Galaxy has an ultrasonic fingerprint reader compared to an optical one on the Nothing, which can again be a bit annoying at night when it lights up. The one on the Galaxy feels just a bit more responsive, too. Nothing calls the (3) a flagship phone, but the traditional definition of a flagship usually centers around the latest processor and that is not the case for the Phone (3). It uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead, a chip comparable to last year's best, but it is definitely slower than the Snapdragon 8 Elite that you can find on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. In either case, the performance difference can be seen only in intense tasks in gaming, while in daily use both phones feel equally snappy. There is a big gap between the two phones when it comes to CPU performance, and it's not in Nothing's favor. Interestingly, the Galaxy beats the Nothing in gaming BUT only for the first few runs. After a few minutes of graphics-heavy gaming, the Galaxy throttles and the performance drop below that of the Nothing Phone. Apparently, the Nothing does a much better job with are also happy to see 256GB of fast, UFS 4.0 storage on both phones as the base model. You can also upgrade to a 512GB version, which also comes with more RAM on the Nothing - 16GB of it, while all the Galaxy storage tiers have 12GB RAM. Both Nothing and Samsung meet the standard for a flagship camera system: three fully functional rear cameras, an ultra-wide, main one and a telephoto one. There are some slight differences in sensor sizes, with the biggest news being the Phone (3) upgrading to a 1/1.3-inch main camera sensor. A bigger sensor is a trademark of flagships, and actually the S25 Plus has a smaller sensor than the Nothing (the Galaxy uses a 1/1.56-inch main camera sensor). On our in-house PhoneArena Camera testing protocol, the Galaxy S25 Plus gets a much higher score than the Nothing Phone (3) . A lot of that is due to a much better video recording quality, with big advantages in levels of resolve detail and artifacts on the Samsung phone. However, when it comes to pure photography prowess, the Nothing holds its ground quite well, with a score very close to that of the S25 Plus. Against the direct sun, the Galaxy is having a harder time coping with the bright light and the Nothing captures the prettier photo. Indoors, we also prefer the Nothing camera quality. The picture has more contrast and does not look washed out like on the Galaxy. Zoom quality is comparable across the two phones. Notice the flaring occurring on this ultra-wide photo, that's a common issue that you have to avoid and the Galaxy does a better job here. We test both phones in 4K quality and the Galaxy has the upper hand for video recording. We have seen the Galaxy S25 Plus score quite a few wins, but what about the battery? The Galaxy comes with a 4,900mAh capacity, while the Nothing Phone (3) features an even bigger, 5,150mAh battery. Still, on our in-house battery tests, the Galaxy manages to get a higher score. The Phone (3) disappoints with just 14 hours and a half on our browsing test, while the Galaxy finishes the same test with over 19 hours. Then the roles revers for YouTube video streaming, the Phone (3) scoring an hour and a half more. But overall, we estimate you can expect around 6 hours and 45 minutes of screen time on the Phone (3) and 7 hours and 36 minutes on the Galaxy. Then, on the charging front, the Nothing Phone (3) takes the lead with 65W maximum wired charging speed compared to 45W on the Samsung. In real-life, the difference is not huge, but it's there. A full charge takes an hour on the Nothing and 10 minutes longer on the Galaxy. Both also support 15W wireless charging, but no magnets. These two are not the greatest when it comes to loudspeaker quality, but they are not bad either. The Nothing Phone (3) speakers in particular did not wow us. They get quite boomy and have a roomy projection. There is not a lot of thumpy bass, but they don't sound thin either. The mids are pronounced, while the upper midrange is a bit "shouty." Overall, not the best phone for music, just as the Galaxy. Haptics are actually fine on both models, but not remarkable or special. Well, at least you won't miss an incoming call (like you could on the OnePlus 13 with its weaker haptics). The Nothing Phone (3) is the one with the striking looks, gimmicks like the Glyph Matrix and Essential Key, and it's got a clean and likable user interface. But the Galaxy S25 Plus clearly offers more, from the faster processor to the more capable camera, especially for video. We also like that you get very good battery life on the Galaxy, with the phone being much lighter and thinner than the Phone (3). With so many deals on the Galaxy, these two end up in the same price ballpark. There seem to be a few more objective reasons to go Galaxy, but let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Tom's Guide
07-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
I tested the AI transcription tools for iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy vs Google Pixel — here's the winner
This article is part of our AI Phone Face-Off. If you're interested in our other comparisons, check out the links below. Long before AI was a buzzword included in every handset's marketing material, a few lucky phones already offered automatic transcripts of voice recordings. But the arrival of on-device AI has extended that feature to more phones and more apps, including the Phone app itself, while also adding auto-generated summary features to the mix. All three of the major smartphone makers — Apple, Google and Samsung — offer some type of voice recording app on their flagship phones with real-time transcription as part of the feature set. Those phones now record and transcribe phone calls, too. And summary tools that tap into AI to produce recaps of conversations, articles, recordings and more have become commonly available on iPhones, Pixels and Galaxy S devices alike. But which phone offers the most complete set of transcription and summarization tools? To find out, I took an iPhone 15 Pro, Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 Plus loaded with the latest available version of their respective operating systems, and put each device through a series of tests. If you need a phone that can turn your speech into text or cut through a lengthy recording to bring you the highlights, here's which phone is most up to the job. I wrote out a scripted phone call, handed one copy to my wife and then scurried outside to call her three separate times from the iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy S device. By scripting out our conversation, we could see which on-board AI provided a more accurate transcript. And after each call, I took a look at the AI-generated summary to see if it accurately followed our discussion of rental properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The iPhone's transcript was the most muddled of the three, with more instances of incorrect words and a lack of proper punctuation. The biggest misstep, though, was mixed up words that my wife and I had said, as if we had been talking over each other. (We had not.) Because I was calling someone in my Contacts, though, the iPhone did helpfully add names to each speaker — a nice touch. The transcripts from the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 Plus were equally accurate when compared to each other. Samsung displays its transcripts as if you're looking at a chat, with different text bubbles representing each speaker. Google's approach is to label the conversation with 'you' and 'the speaker.' I prefer the look of Google's transcript, though I appreciate that when my wife and I talked expenses, Galaxy AI successfully put that in dollar amounts. Google's Gemini just used numbers without dollar designations. As for the summaries, the one provided by iPhone accurately summed up the information I requested from my wife. The Galaxy AI summary was accurate, too, but left out the budget amount, which was one of the key points of our discussion. Google's summary hit the key points — the budget, the dates and who was going on the trip — and also put the summary in second person ('You called to ask about a rental property…"). I found that to be a personal touch that put Google's summary over the top. I will point out that the iPhone and Galaxy S25 Plus summaries appeared nearly instantly after the call. It took a bit for the Pixel 9 to generate its summary — not a deal-breaker, but something to be aware of. Winner: Google — The Pixel 9 gave me one of the more accurate transcripts in a pleasing format, and it personalized a summary while highlighting the key points of the conversation. I launched the built-in recording apps on each phone all at the same time so that they could simultaneously record me reading the Gettysburg Address. By using a single recording, I figured I could better judge which phone had the more accurate transcript before testing the AI-generated summary. The transcript from Samsung's Voice Recorder app suffered from some haphazard capitalization and oddly inserted commas that would require a lot of clean-up time if you need to share the transcript. Google Recorder had the same issue and, based on the transcript, seemed to think that two people were talking. The iPhone's Voice Memos app had the cleanest transcript of the three, though it did have a handful of incorrectly transcribed words. All three recording apps had issues with me saying 'nobly advanced,' with the Galaxy S25 Plus thinking I had said 'nobleek, advanced' and the iPhone printing that passage as 'no league advanced.' Still, the iPhone transcript had the fewest instances of misheard words. As for summaries, the Galaxy AI-generated version was fairly terse, with just three bullet points. Both the Pixel and the iPhone recognized my speech as the Gettysburg Address and delivered accurate summaries of the key points. While getting a summary from the iPhone takes some doing — you have to share your recording with the iOS Notes app and use the summary tool there — I preferred how concise its version was to what the Gemini AI produced for the Pixel. Winner: Apple — Not only did the iPhone have the best-looking transcript of the three phones, its summary was also accurate and concise. That said, the Pixel was a close second with its summarization feature, and would have won this category had it not heard those phantom speakers when transcribing the audio. Why keep testing the transcription feature when we've already put the recording apps through their paces? Because there could come a time when you need to record a meeting where multiple people are talking and you'll want a transcript that recognizes that. You may be in for a disappointing experience if the transcripts of me and my wife recreating the Black Knight scene from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' are anything to go by. Both the Galaxy and Pixel phones had problems recognizing who was speaking, with one speaker's words bleeding into the next. The Pixel 9 had more than its share of problems here, sometimes attributing an entire line to the wrong speaker. The Galaxy had more incorrectly transcribed words, with phrases like 'worthy adversary' and 'I've had worse' becoming 'where the adversary is' and '5 had worse,' respectively. The Pixel had a few shockers of its own, but its biggest issue remained the overlapping dialogue At least, those phones recognized two people were talking. Apple Intelligence's transcript ran everything together, so if you're working off that recording, you've got a lot of editing in your future. With this test, I was less interested in the summarization features, though the Pixel did provide the most accurate one, recognizing that the dialogue was 'reminiscent' of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail.' The Galaxy AI-generated summary correctly deduced that the Black Knight is a stubborn person who ignores his injuries, but wrongly concluded that both speakers had agreed the fight was a draw. The iPhone issued a warning that the summarization tool wasn't designed for an exchange like this and then went on to prove it with a discombobulated summary in which the Black Knight apparently fought himself. Winner: Samsung — Galaxy AI had easier-to-correct errors with speakers' lines bleeding into each other. The Gemini transcript was more of a mess, but the summary nearly salvaged this test for Google. Of all the promised benefits of AI on phones, few excite me more than the prospect of a tool that can read through email chains and surface the relevant details so that I don't have to pick through each individual message. And much to my delight, two of the three phones I've tested stand out in this area. I'm sad to say it isn't the Galaxy S25 Plus. I found the feature a bit clunky to access, as I had to use the built-in Internet app to go to the web version of Gmail to summarize an exchange between me and two friends where we settled on when and where to meet for lunch. Galaxy AI's subsequent summary included the participants and what we were talking about, but it failed to mention the date and location we agreed upon. Both the Pixel and the iPhone fared much better. Gemini AI correctly listed the date, time and location of where we were going to meet for lunch. It even spotted a follow-up email I had sent en route warning the others that I was running late. Apple Intelligence also got this feature right in the iPhone's built-in Mail app. I think the Pixel has the better implementation, as getting a summary simply requires you to tap the Gemini button for all the key points to appear in a window. iOS Mail's summary feature lives at the top of the email conversation so you've got to scroll all the way up to access your summary. Winner: Google — The Pixel and the iPhone summarized the message chain equally well, but Google's implementation is a lot easier to access. In theory, a summary tool for web pages would help you get the key points of an article quickly. The concern, though, is that the summary proves to be superficial or, even worse, not thorough enough to recognize all the key points. So how do you know how accurate the summary is? I figured to find out, I'd run one of my own articles through the summary features of each phone — this article about the push to move iPhone manufacturing to the U.S., specifically. I mean, I know what I wrote, so I should be in a good position to judge if the respective summary features truly got the gist of it. Galaxy AI did, sort of, with its summary consisting of two broadly correct points that the Trump administration wants to move phone manufacturing to the U.S. and that high labor costs and global supply chain automation are the big roadblocks. That's not horribly inaccurate, but it is incomplete, as the article talked more about the lack of dedicated assembly plants and equipment in the U.S. The iPhone's summary — appearing as a tappable option in the menu bar of Safari — was a little bit more detailed on the key roadblock, while also noting the potential for rising prices of U.S.-built phones. However, the summary provided via Gemini AI is far and away the most substantive. It specifically calls out a push for reshoring, notes what Apple already produces in the U.S., and highlights multiple bullet points on the difficulties of U.S. phone manufacturing. Winner: Google — Summaries don't always benefit from being brief, and the Galaxy AI-generated summation of my article hits key points without sacrificing critical details and explanations. You can read that summary and skip my article — please don't, it would hurt my feelings — and still get a good grip on what I had written. Sometimes, notes can be so hastily jotted down, you might have a hard time making sense of them. An ideal AI summary tool would be able to sort through those thoughts and produce a good overview of the ideas you were hoping to capture. If you remember from our AI Writing Tools test, I had some notes on the new features in iOS 26 that I used to try out auto-formatting features provided by each phone's on-device AI. This time around, I tried out the summary features and found them to be generally OK, with one real standout. Both Galaxy AI and Apple Intelligence turned out decent summaries. When I selected the Key Points options in Writing Tools for iOS Notes, the iPhone featured a good general summation of changes in iOS 26, with particular attention paid to the Safari and FaceTime enhancements. Other descriptions in the Apple Intelligence-produced summary were a bit too general for my tastes. I did like the concise descriptions in the Galaxy AI summary, where my lengthy notes were boiled down to two bullet points summing up the biggest additions. It's not the most detailed explanation, but it would work as an at-a-glance synopsis before you dive into the meat of the notes themselves. Gemini AI on board the Pixel 9 struck the best overall mix between brevity and detail. Google's AI took the bullet points of my original notes and turned them into brief descriptions of each feature — a helpful overview that gets to the heart of what I'd be looking for in a summary. Winner: Google — While Galaxy AI scores points for getting right to the point in its summary, the more useful recap comes from Gemini AI's more detailed write-up. If we had restricted these tests to transcripts, it might have been a closer fight, as both Apple and Samsung held their own against Google in converting recordings to text. But throw summaries into the mix, and Google is the clear winner, taking the top spot in four of our six tests. Even in the tests where the Pixel was bested by either the iPhone or the Galaxy S25 Plus, it didn't lag that far behind. Some of this comes down to what you prefer in a summarization tool. If it's concise summaries, you may be more favorably inclined to Galaxy AI than I was. Apple Intelligence also shows some promise that would benefit from fine-tuning to make its tools easier to access. But for the best experience right now, Google is clearly the best at transcription and summarization.
