Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, Galaxy Tab S11, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI Crusade

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

Ewan Spence

You can’t help but notice there’s a huge push to bring the benefits of artificial intelligence to consumers, especially in the mobile space, with IDC noting an expected 910 million GenAI-capable smartphones shipped in 2028. There’s also a continued push to define what it means to offer AI in this space. Samsung is at the forefront of this, with over 200 million users of its Samsung Galaxy AI software, and an ambition to reach 400 million users by the end of 2025.

Three of the key bridges to the target were launched last week: the Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra tablets, and the Galaxy S25 FE smartphone. I sat down with Samsung UK’s VP of Product and Marketing Annika Bizon, and smartphone specialist product manager Kadesh Beckford to talk about how the new hardware can supercharge Galaxy AI.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 And Tab S11 Ultra

Samsung released two tablets at the recent Berlin IFA consumer trade show, the Galaxy Tab S11 and the Tab S11 Ultra. Tablets continue to sit in a space that is “more than a smartphone but less than a traditional laptop.” The tablet market grew by over thirteen percent in the second quarter of 2025, with IDC estimating Samsung’s year-on-year tablet growth of 4.2 percent.

The size of both Tab S11 displays (especially the 14.6-inch display of the S11 Ultra) offers a considerable amount of screen real estate. With the use of Samsung Dex, a more PC-like experience can be provided. Using external keyboards, monitor and peripherals has been the driving force behind the DEX desktop experience. Still, the size of the S11 Ultra display creates a flexible all-in-one DEX experience.

Annika highlights its utility, “The fact you have 1600 nits on a quality screen to watch content on the move, and at the same time you can work on a PowerPoint presentation with your notes side by sid,e with that level of quality… it gives you a laptop experience in a lightweight form you can carry around.”

“A laptop is for heavy content creation, graphic design, a completely different world,” Kadesh points out. “You can look at the Android ecosystem, you can pair with a smartphone and share content. It’s a completely different world.”

A world that includes AI? “Yes, you have access to the complete Galaxy AI features, which help productivity and make you more efficient.”

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

Photography remains an area where value for money can be found. Larger lenses with more capability can be easily described and visualised. There’s one group of people who were identified during our interview.

“The world is full of content creators,” Annka explains, “and you have that 12 megapixel front camera, you couple that with AI and the aurio erase, you can make content on the go, in a device with great battery power.” Meanwhile, Kadesh notes the physical changes, “The Galaxy S25 FE is thinner,” down from 8mm to 7.4mm, “but we’ve increased the battery capacity and the charging speed.”

Once more, manufacturers are leaning into “thin” as a defining feature of a handset. This isn’t surprising, as hardware specifications are becoming commoditised, promoting visible features as smaller bezels or impressive colourways as the way forward to reach the broader market.

Yet the commoditization of premium parts allows Samsung to bring something to the S25 FE… Galaxy AI. Although the Galaxy S25 FE is on the lowest rung of the ladder of this year’s S devices, it still trumps the Galaxy A range. “If you are looking for the cutting edge of AI features and technology, then S25 FE is the perfect step up.”

Samsung Galaxy AI Rising

My eyebrow did rise when the Galaxy S25 FE was announced. Not because I wasn’t expecting the handset, but that the handset has arrived in early September, rather than the previous dates deeper into the fourth quarter. While there was a launch story to tell at IFA, as the Galaxy Tab S11 tablets debuted alongside it, the earlier release offers a longer sales window. And more sales mean more consumers entering the Samsung world, which includes Galaxy AI and the push to 400 million.

This is perhaps the defining feature of the new releases. While the hardware is polished, consumer needs have been met and exceeded, and the specifications build on previous years, there’s a greater focus on getting ‘Galaxy AI’ to customers. The IFA releases increase the addressable market of Galaxy AI.

At one end, you have the Galaxy S25 FE, coming in not only as the lowest-priced Galaxy S25 model but also the first model in the portfolio that offers a full Galaxy AI experience. At the other end, you have the behemoth that is the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, which brings not just Galaxy AI but the full power of the Android ecosystem to bear on a desktop experience.

That’s the path to 400 million Galaxy AI users by the New Year.

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