Samsung Electronics' first Unpacked event of the year has taken place with the focus now shifting to whether or not its new flagship devices are as good as advertised.
Before the release, the company is aiming to entice consumers in the UAE and other markets by offering to double the storage for free for pre-orders.
If you were to buy a 512GB model, you would only pay the cost of the 256GB version.
Before we further get into UAE specifics, here are The National's first impressions.
No aesthetic and hardware changes
If you've been a Samsung user, you'll readily realise with the Galaxy S25 that not much has changed since 2021's Galaxy S21 series.
While keeping an identity is crucial for a brand, it has been five years since the last major redesign for the Galaxy S.
The only aesthetic changes are the slightly rounder corners, smaller bezels and bigger rings on the camera lenses. Hardware-wise, the only spec upgrade worth mentioning is the Galaxy S25 Ultra's ultra-wide camera being significantly increased to 50MP from 12MP.
Apple employs a similar strategy of keeping a familiar design on the iPhone, but it does not take five cycles to refresh the iPhone's look, whether it be changing the edges and finishes or rearranging the camera lenses.
Samsung, however, may have a good reason for making minimal changes.
Samsung-Google versus Apple-OpenAI
Generative artificial intelligence continues to be a significant player in recent technology and smartphones are no exception.
Samsung brought generative AI to the mainstream mobile sector with its Galaxy AI in last year's S24 phones. However, the team-up between Apple and OpenAI signalled how serious future competition in this space will be.
Samsung announced a partnership with Google at Unpacked, and the Alphabet unit's Gemini Advanced is being offered on the Galaxy S25.
Finally, a complete switch to Qualcomm
In the past, users have had grievances with Samsung's Exynos chip, with complaints over short battery life, overheating and generally poorer performance when compared to Qualcomm chips.
Samsung was using both Exynos and Qualcomm chips to balance out costs and their availability globally. Samsung also used the Exynos to configure it to their specifications.
That has ended as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite is now being used on all Galaxy S25 devices. Samsung did say that the Elite is specifically configured for Galaxy devices, aiding it in enhancing the performance of Galaxy AI.
What about the Galaxy S25 Edge?
The slimmer version of the Galaxy S25 series was the surprise of Unpacked, but details were scarce.
It seems close to the reported 6.4 millimetres thickness and is Samsung's thinnest phone by far. It also only has two cameras.
However, no further details were provided.
The device won't be available alongside the rest of the Galaxy S25 line-up. Tech journalist Mark Gurman reported that the company is planning a release in the first half of this year and its price would be below that of the S25 Ultra.
But the biggest takeaway is that Samsung would beat Apple to the draw on a slim smartphone, especially amid reports that Apple is planning to release what has been called the “iPhone 17 Air”.
Galaxy S25's availability in the UAE
Orders for the Galaxy S25 series are now live, and its general availability will be on February 7.
In the UAE, the country's two telecom operators, e& and du, have made the devices available on their websites with several perks, including double storage for free, four months of Samsung Care+ and unlocked premium subscriptions for users of Samsung Members.
Major UAE electronics retailers, including Sharaf DG, Jumbo Electronics and Emax also offer the same perks, with additional bonuses such as free Samsung smart bands, bags and power banks.
You can also get your Galaxy S25 devices at Samsung's official stores in the GCC. The company is offering double storage for free, offering up to Dh679 in savings.
The device also comes in exclusive online-only colours. For the S25 and S25+, you can choose from blue, black, coral red and pink gold, while for the S25 Ultra, you can select from titanium jet black, titanium jade green and titanium pink gold.
How much will they cost in the UAE?
The price of the Galaxy S25 is set at Dh3,199 for 12GB, Dh3,449 for 256GB and Dh3,949 for the new 512GB version.
The Galaxy S25+ will cost Dh3,899 for 256GB and Dh4,399 for 512GB.
The top-tier Galaxy S25 Ultra is priced at Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,599 for 512GB and Dh6,599 for 1TB.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
