TL;DR
- The Galaxy S25 phones lets you pick your default voice assistant.
- Gemini is now enabled by default instead of Bixby.
- Bixby is still around for the people who want it.
Bixby has been the default digital assistant on Samsung phones since 2017. Despite Samsung’s efforts to make Bixby the assistant people want to use, including giving it its own button on some older phones, it never caught on like Google Assistant or Gemini did. After nearly eight years, Samsung appears to be giving in, as Gemini is now the default assistant on the Galaxy S25 series.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
Snapdragon 8 Elite power • 12GB RAM • 7 years software support
A powerful 6.7-inch phone, with 7 years of updates
The middle offering of Samsung’s 2025 flagship launch, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is a 6.7-inch QHD+ device with a 50MP camera, 12GB of RAM, 256GB+ of storage, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. UWB connectivity, a 4,900mAh battery, and ProScaler for QHD+ round out the upgrades over the base model phone.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
100x zoom • Big battery • 7 years software support
Samsung’s best for 2025
Simply put, this is Samsung’s very best phone in 2025. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a 6.9-inch QHD+ device with 12GB of RAM, 256GB+ of storage, embedded S Pen, and the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. The key upgrade over the lower S25 models is a 200MP main camera and 100x Space Zoom.
Samsung Galaxy S25
12GB RAM • Vastly improved software • 7 years of support
Refined software, AI smarts, and next-gen hardware
With an emphasis on AI features, and a move to Gemini, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is an exciting update to the Galaxy S line. Equipped with a 6.2-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, 12GB of RAM, a powerful 50MP camera, and updated hardware materials, we expect big things from the base model of Samsung’s 2025 flagship phone.
Until now, Gemini has only been accessible on Samsung phones by swiping up from the corner of the display. Depending on your settings, long-pressing the power button summons Bixby or the power menu. You could assign Gemini to the power button using a Good Lock module, but it’s doubtful many people did so.
The Galaxy S25 lets users choose which voice assistant to summon with the power button without digging through Good Lock modules. Gemini is also selected by default. When asked about Bixby’s future, a Samsung representative at our briefing said that it will continue to exist in its current form and even provide the backend for other AI experiences, but Samsung will focus on Gemini as the virtual assistant moving forward.
The Galaxy S25 and other Samsung devices also benefit from some new Gemini features Google is set to roll out. Gemini is gaining the ability to “chain” actions across apps and services, like Google Maps, Messages, and more. This will depend on app extensions, and there’s good news on that front. Gemini extensions will soon support Samsung’s Reminders, Calendar, Notes, and Clock apps. All devices that support Gemini will have access to action chaining, including older Samsung models. This is good news for people like me who use Samsung’s first-party apps, as these extensions will allow them to integrate with Gemini.
Will you use Bixby or Gemini as the default assistant on your Galaxy S25?
16 votes
Some will be sad to see Bixby take a backseat despite its reputation. I may joke about Bixby, but I use it frequently to locate my SmartTag 2 or turn some of my smart home devices on or off. Still, Gemini provides a more feature-rich and complete experience, and having the option to choose which assistant you want to use is a good thing.
Are you looking forward to trying new Gemini features on the Galaxy S25, or will you stick with Bixby? Let us know.
