11 tips to get the most out of your new Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone

Samsung has unveiled its flagship Galaxy S25 phone series for 2025, and there’s a lot to like: Stunning screens, capable cameras, stacks of software features, and plenty of performance. As with most new smartphones, however, many of the most important and useful upgrades aren’t listed on the spec sheet. If you’ve picked up a new Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, or Galaxy S25 Ultra, you might miss some of the most useful new features. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your new device.

1. Turn on Galaxy AI

AI is ubiquitous for new smartphones and the Galaxy S25 devices are built for it. They can generate artwork, rewrite text, and much more. Before you get going, you need to turn all of this on, and register for a Samsung account at the same time (if you haven’t already), which is free to do.

Open Settings, then tap Galaxy AI and Continue, and sign up for a Samsung Account (or sign into an existing one). You then get full access to the Galaxy AI apps, including Interpreter (for live translations) and Browsing assist (for website summaries).

2. Configure the Edge Panel

Samsung phones come with an Edge Panel of shortcuts you can access at any time by swiping across the thin bar on the right of the display. This feature lets you create persistent shortcuts to commonly used apps and untilities. It can make your typical navigation process much quicker. To change the available shortcuts, or change the Edge Panel position, tap Display then Edge Panels from Settings.

3. Adjust advanced camera settings

The Galaxy S25 Camera app is more powerful than you might realize at first, and there are plenty of extra settings available to tweak: Tap the Quick Settings button (four dots, just above the camera switcher button) to access some of the most useful options.

From the buttons here you can make changes to exposure and color balance, as well as image quality and aspect ratio. For more options, including ISO speed and white balance, swipe across the camera modes under the shutter button, then tap More and Pro.

4. Choose your assistant

By default, Galaxy S25 phones use Google Gemini as the digital AI assistant that pops up when you press and hold the power button. To change this to Samsung’s own Bixby, open Settings and pick Advanced features > Side button > Long press to make the switch.

5. Customize the lock screen

You spend a lot of time looking at the lock screen, so make sure it’s customized the way you want it. From Settings, tap Lock screen and AOD to change the clock position, for example, and set how the always-on display (AOD) works when your phone is locked.

More settings live in the Wallpaper and style section of Settings. Not only can you customize the lock screen wallpaper from here, you can always tap on the editable areas to change which widgets and which shortcuts are available from the lock screen.

6. Transform your drawings with AI

Galaxy AI can produce great pictures even if your art skills leave a lot to be desired. Open the Edge Panel from the side of the screen, then tap Drawing Assist: Draw out an image on screen with your finger or the S Pen, then tap Generate to have AI bring it properly to life. The results are somewhat inconsistent, but you can try repeatedly until you get something that fits your needs.

7. Create ambient wallpaper

The Galaxy S25 can enhance a wallpaper image of your choice with ambient effects that reflect your local weather and daylight conditions. From Settings, tap Wallpaper and style > Change wallpapers > Photo ambient, then pick an image in your phone’s photo library.

This works best with outdoor shots showing wide landscapes. When you’ve chosen a photo, you can preview some of the effects (like rain and snow) that might appear as conditions change. When you’re happy, tap Done to confirm your choice of new wallpaper.

8. Create a secure folder

You can’t necessarily be sure no one else will ever have access to your phone, but you can lock away the most sensitive apps and files behind another lock screen. Think of it like another layer of security. From Settings, open the Security and privacy menu, and tap More security settings > Secure Folder.

9. Get an AI-powered daily briefing

One of the best AI-related features in the One UI 7 software on Galaxy S25 phones is the Now Brief: A daily summary of important information, including weather and calendar updates. Open Settings, then choose Galaxy AI and Now Brief to configure the tool.

There are a few different ways to launch Now Brief once you’ve set it up. By default, there will be a widget for it on the home screen, but you can also get at it from the Edge Panel (if it’s enabled), and from the notifications generated by Now Brief.

10. Tweak the notifications style

You no doubt get a host of notifications every day, and the Galaxy S25 gives you control over how distracting they are. Open up Settings, tap Notifications, and you’re able to select Notification pop-up style to make these interruptions larger or smaller.

11. Set up automated routines

One of the best features of Samsung’s One UI 7 take on Android 15 is access to routines, which you can find by choosing Modes and Routines from Settings. Switch to the Routines tab and you can start getting creative with these automated groups of actions.

Tap the + (plus) button top right, then pick a trigger and a related action. For example, you could enable the do not disturb mode every time you turn up to the office, or dim the screen at bedtime every night. There are a host of different options to experiment with.

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