Smartphones

Now Brief & Now Bar on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Series

“Human-like AI agent”

Published

January 23, 2025

You’ve likely seen your fair share of sci-fi flicks. You know how in many of them, the main character has some form of Cyber Assistant they talk to summarizing their day, giving them suggestions, and in some instances exchanging in playful banter? The Galaxy S25 series offers some of that with Now Brief and Now Bar.

We’re probably a ways away from the playful banter type. But in terms of offering useful information as well as being conversational, that’s what Now Brief promises and it’ll be displayed through the Now Bar.

The Now Brief will work across the apps installed on your phone. It will learn your schedules, tendencies, priorities, and what not. You can then ask it to do things on your behalf.

In the demo that Samsung showed us, the person received an alert about a meeting the following day. This appeared in the Now Bar that’s a pill-shaped notification-like visual cue on the bottom of the lockscreen.

Without even opening the Galaxy S25, the person asked the phone to move the schedule to another time and it did so. The idea isn’t new and the jury is still out on the actual execution and implementation But it’s a promising tool – one that lets you be more present in your immediate environment.

Working across apps

It’s not just your schedule, too. It can do many things for you like provide or look for restaurant recommendations. Just tell it where to look and what you’re craving.

If you’d rather stay home and cook than eat out, you can take a quick snap of your fridge and it’ll suggest recipes given the ingredients you already have. If you’ve been following Smart Home tech over the years, some Smart Fridges have this function too. Now, your fridge doesn’t have to be that smart, you can just leave it to your Galaxy S25 smartphone.

Samsung said this will work with Google Apps, Galaxy native apps, and select third-party apps.

Now Bar

The Now Bar, available on your lockscreen, will display all of these and more. And you can take actions on supported apps based on what’s being shown.

These can be your schedules, sports scores, navigation, and what not. At first glance it looks like the Dynamic Island moved to the bottom. But that’s an oversimplification. And there’s plenty of AI baked into it to make our lives easier.

Samsung Security

Samsung foresees the security questions users may have given the amount of information that the smartphone learns about you to help aid you better.

The company promises both Cloud and On-device security to make sure all your data is protected.

Double down on AI

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series doubles down on AI. It comes additions and refinements to Galaxy AI along with other improvements in hardware and performance

Circle to Search

Some of the more notable ones include an expanded Circle to Search function. It now anticipates what action you might take with your selection and opens an Edge Panel to help you decide. There’s even two additional two icons: one for finding out the music in your surroundings and another for AI Translate.

Content Creation things

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series adds a 50MP Ultra Wide camera that offers four times better detail than its predecessor.

Meanwhile, you get key additions to your content creation suite with features like Nightography Video that denoises the videos you capture in night and low light shooting conditions.

There’s also Audio Eraser that offers you granular control on the volume of your video. You can adjust the volume levels of Speaker, Music, Wind, Nature, and Crowd.

In addition, you also have Galaxy Log and Virtual Aperture for improved color correction and shot composition.

More content-adjacent AI things are improved Generative Edits (Magic Erase, etc), and a more accurate Portrait Studio.

Hardware and Performance

The entire Galaxy S25 line is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC that’s especially tuned for Galaxy.

As for hardware changes, the Galaxy S25 series is slimmer and lighter compared to the Galaxy S24 series. The corners and edges have also been rounded for a better grip. For durability, there’s improved titanium and Corning Gorilla Armor 2.

Colorways

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Series come in various color options:

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:

Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Gray, Titanium Black. With online exclusives being the following: Titanium Blackgold, Titanium Jetblack, Titanium Jadegreen.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 share the following color options:

Navy, Icyblue, Mint, and Silver Shadow. Online exclusives are: Blueblack, Coralred, and Pinkgold.

Galaxy S25 Series specs:

	Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	Galaxy S25+	Galaxy S25
Display	6.9-inch QHD+  Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display   Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)    Vision booster  Adaptive color tone	6.7-inch QHD+  Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display    Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)    Vision booster  Adaptive color tone	6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display    Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)    Vision booster  Adaptive color tone
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
Camera	50MP Ultra-Wide Camera F1.9, FOV 120˚200 MP Wide Camera OIS F1.7, FOV 85˚50MP Telephoto Camera 5x Optical Zoom, OIS F3.4, FOV 22˚10MP Telephoto Camera 3x Optical Zoom, OIS F2.4, FOV 36˚12MP Front Camera F2.2, FOV 80˚	12MP Ultra-Wide Camera F2.2, FOV 120˚50 MP Wide Camera OIS F1.8, FOV 85˚10MP Telephoto Camera 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚12MP Front Camera F2.2, FOV 80˚
Memory & Storage	12GB + 1TB   12 + 512GB   12 + 256GB	12 + 512GB   12 + 256GB	12 + 256GB   12 + 128GB
Battery	5,000 mAh	4,900 mAh	4,000 mAh
Charging	Wired charging: Up to 65% charge in around 30 mins with 45W Adapter and USB C cable Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare	Wired charging: Up to 65% charge in around 30 mins with 45W Adapter and 3A or 5A USB-C cable Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare	Wired Charging: Up to 50% charge in around 30 mins with 25W Adapter and 3A USB-C cable Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
OS	Android 15 One UI 7
Network and Connectivity	5G, LTE, Wi-Fi , Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth v 5.4
Water Resistance	IP68

Smartphones

Motorola updates the razr family with its first book-style phone

Plus, here’s the new moto buds 2 plus.

Published

May 1, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Motorola isn’t a fan of making fans wait. Instead of drip-feeding its devices throughout the year, the brand has launched four phones and a pair of buds in one fell swoop.

An update to razr

No points for guessing the razr family as the highlight of this batch of launches. Once again, motorola is updating its foldables for the year.

First up is the razr ultra. The premium outing has a 7-inch foldable screen with 1224 x 2992 resolution. This is paired with a 4-inch cover screen. Inside, it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.

All of these are capped off with a trio of 50-megapixel shooters. Finally, it will have a 5000mAh battery with 68W wired charging.

Meanwhile, the razr+ has a 6.9-inch 1080 x 2640 main screen, paired with a 4.0-inch 1272 x 1080 cover screen. Under the hood, the phone has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. Finally, it has a 4500mAh battery with 45W charging.

Rounding off the family, the new razr has a similar main screen but a smaller 3.6-inch 1056 x 1066 cover screen. It has a MediaTek Dimensity 74350X chipset, paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The phone also has the same cameras as the plus variant. Finally, the base model will have a 4800mAh battery with 30W charging.

Turning the foldable by 90 degrees

For years, the razr family has thrived with clamshell-type foldables. Now, for the first time ever, the family has a book-style foldable in the new razr fold.

The razr fold has a sizable 8.1-inch 2484 x 2232 main screen with a 6.6-inch 2520 x 1080 secondary screen. Under the hood, the phone has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

The main camera setup consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera. This trio is supplemented by a 32-megapixel cover screen camera and a 20-megapixel shooter for the foldable screen.

Finally, it will have a huge 6000mAh battery inside.

Introducing the moto buds 2 plus

That’s it for the phones. To conclude this batch, motorola also launched the new moto buds 2 plus. The wearable comes with Dynamic Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio bolstered by six microphones.

The battery case can hold up to 40 hours of life. Meanwhile, the earbuds themselves can hold up to nine hours of juice.

Price, availability

All four phones will start coming out on May 14. The base razr sells for US$ 799.99. The razr+ sells for US$ 1,099.99. Meanwhile, the razr ultra retails for US$ 1,499.99. And finally, the new razr fold sells for US$ 1,899.99.

On the other hand, the moto buds 2 plus retails for US$ 149.99 and comes in PANTONE Silhouette.

News

Next year’s iPhone might have a curved Liquid Glass screen

A lot of plans are in store for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary.

Published

April 29, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Apple’s Liquid Glass design marked a return to the three-dimensional aesthetic of Windows Vista. Not content with letting the new design thrive solely on the software side, Apple is reportedly bringing “Liquid Glass” to the iPhone’s hardware.

Next year is important to the history of the iPhone as the ubiquitous phone will celebrate its 20^th anniversary. Apple will definitely have major plans to herald the milestone.

According to rumors (via Ice Universe on X), the 20^th anniversary iPhone will have a “curved display,” much like the aesthetics of Liquid Glass. However, the device will not be “anything like the curved screen solutions we have seen on Android phones over the years.”

Instead, the iPhone’s curve will be subtle and will rely on “optical refraction” to produce the illusion of a truly curved screen. The ultimate goal is to reduce the bezel as much as possible, creating an all-screen iPhone.

Naturally, such a form factor comes with questions. For example, where will Apple store the Dynamic Island and its hardware underneath? How will cases work if there are no bezels?

It’s still very early in the news cycle of next year’s iPhone. In fact, reports about the iPhone 18 series are just getting started. As with all rumors this early on, take it with a grain of salt. However, if anything, incorporating “Liquid Glass” into the iPhone’s hardware feels poetic.

News

Foldable iPhone might be called the iPhone Ultra

Goodbye, iPhone Fold.

Published

April 29, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

With so many rumors coming out as of late, it’s fair to assume that the first foldable iPhone is really coming this year. Right now, there’s still so much time before its projected launch date in the fall, meaning a lot of chances for more rumors to pop out. Case in point, today sees the rumored name for this upcoming device show up: the iPhone Ultra.

We’ve been calling the foldable iPhone as the iPhone Fold for a while now. After all, what else would you call a foldable in a world dominated by the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series?

According to a new rumor from Macworld, Apple will resurrect the Ultra moniker, which last made an appearance in the Apple Watch Ultra series, for its upcoming premium iPhone model. The foldable iPhone will be called, very simply, the iPhone Ultra.

Much like the iPhone Air, the iPhone Ultra will not have a number in its name, making it distinct from the upcoming iPhone 18 series. As a foldable, it makes sense for Apple to establish its own series for the form factor.

Additionally, Apple will reportedly use the same Ultra naming convention for a new series of MacBooks with a touchscreen OLED display. The MacBook Ultra might come out next year.

Both the iPhone Ultra and the MacBook Ultra will likely occupy top spots in Apple’s gallery of devices. Apple has even reportedly pushed the regular iPhone 18 duo’s launch to next year, clearing the room for the Pro duo and the Ultra for this fall’s event.