Your next phone won’t just be fast—it’ll be intelligent. While “smart” phones have always allowed for advanced use-cases over more traditional “dumb” phones, it was never really accurate to call them smart… until now. With AI integrations, phones now have an active intelligence that can help perform minor tasks, boost offline processing power, and act as a personal assistant.
Mobile AI technology is quickly advancing, and “AI phones” are the next generation of smartphones taking the stage in 2025 That said, let’s look at what AI features are available and which phones are at the top of the AI phone category.
What Makes a Phone “AI-Powered”?
It’s not just about chips and specs—it’s about smarter experiences. Before, determining a phone’s “smartness” could generally be done by reviewing its spec sheet. In other words, if it had a lot of processing power, sufficient ventilation, and enough memory (among other things), then it could be ranked at the top of its class. Now, that is no longer the case. While the specs still matter, with AI phones, they take a more supportive role, and it really comes down to what the AI is capable of. Some AI smartphone features that are common in this space include:
- Generative AI
- Smarter Cameras & Photo Processing
- Translation
- Writing Tools
- Transcription and Summarization
In practice, an AI-powered camera, for example, can mean a better digital zoom and advanced image editing features like removing objects or people in the background. Language translation is particularly helpful when reading texts/emails/articles/etc. in a foreign language, and business calls are much more convenient when you can view the transcription later along with summary notes.
Best AI Phones of 2025:
From Apple to Samsung, the smartest phones are leading the way with AI integrations.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra AI features are some of the most impressive to date. The most prominent being:
- Cross App Action — A versatile feature that incorporates AI action across apps. The user can, for example, ask Galaxy AI to summarize a YouTube video into a note app, gather specific information from past texts to forward on to others, and find event dates and add them to a calendar.
- Audio Eraser & Auto Trim — With Audio Eraser, the user can isolate background noise in a video and adjust or remove it. Auto Trim, on the other hand, allows the user to isolate and remove desired scenes instantly, without having to do it manually.
- Circle to Search with Google — Users can circle images or text to perform an internet search or simply ask Galaxy AI about an image or text.
Samsung’s newest AI-powered phone is at the top of its class with plenty of new AI features and updates to come.
Google Pixel 9 Pro:
Google’s Pixel 9 Pro AI features include many camera-related advancements along with ease-of-use improvements. Some of the most notable are:
- Add Me — A combination of AR (augmented reality) and AI that allows a user to add themselves or someone else to a picture. In other words, if your friends take a picture on the beach and you want in, you can take a picture in the same spot and “merge” the two into one.
- Magic Editor — Always being updated, Magic Editor allows the user to make complex and quick edits like adjusting or removing objects and people.
- Pixel Screenshots — With Pixel Screenshots, the user can save and organize screenshots as well as recall information from them. For example, if you were to screenshot online tickets for an upcoming event but later forgot the date, time, or location related to the event, then you can ask Google Gemini to recall that information for you.
Google’s Gemini-powered phone is packed with useful photo-editing and daily-use features that will grow with time.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max:
Apple’s iPhone 16 AI features include a number of generative elements and smarter photo editing. These include:
- ChatGPT Integration — ChatGPT is readily available to iPhone users which is especially useful for search queries and writing help.
- Image Playground — Also for images to be generated simply by giving the AI a prompt/description like “A pink bear with a top hat.”
- Improved Safari — Users can ask for page summaries when searching through Safari, and unwanted ads are automatically removed.
Apple Intelligence is supposed to be regularly updated with one of the most anticipated updates being a significantly smarter Siri that may come out in 2026.
Final Thoughts: Thinking of Upgrading? Sell Your Old Phone First
AI is the future; don’t let your old phone hold you back. It can sometimes be hard to justify buying a new phone, especially when your old one still works. However, mobile AI and its future improvements are worth it. When it comes to upgrading, the most affordable and smartest way to go about it is by trading in your phone or selling it and using that capital as “seed money” for your new AI-powered phone. If interested, SellMyCellPhone is a fast and reliable trade-in site that provides instant quotes and quick payments. 