Samsung unpacks Galaxy AI’s personal data engine

The 165 minutes of slick videos and presentations at Wednesday night’s Galaxy Unpacked event has set out how the tech giant wants everyone to interact with artificial intelligence (AI). The mobile phone manufacturer used the event to unveil its latest S25 family of smartphone devices powered by Galaxy AI.

Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor, Samsung said it has worked with Qualcomm to develop unique customisations, which it claims delivers a performance boost of 40% in NPU (for AI processing), 37% in CPU (for improved application performance) and 30% in GPU (graphics processing) compared with the previous generation.

From a data security perspective, the Galaxy S25 introduces post-quantum cryptography, which the company said safeguards personal data against emerging threats that could increase as quantum computing evolves.  

Its One UI 7 software has been updated with what Samsung describes as an extra, fortified layer of device safety designed for the age of AI and hyperconnectivity. There are also Maximum Restrictions settings, enhanced Theft Protection, and a new Knox Matrix dashboard to monitor the security status across a connected device ecosystem.

While presenters at the Unpacked event spoke about keeping personal data safe, the main focus was on Galaxy AI and how it makes the S25 more useful as a personal digital assistant. During his presentation, Drew Blackard, vice-president of product management said that Galaxy AI has redefined how people interact with technology by providing convenient experiences.

“Millions more have used Galaxy AI to experience deeper, more meaningful connections. This includes breaking down language barriers in real time, making conversations simpler and more efficient,” he said.

DeepMind CEO and co-founder Demis Hassabis took to the stage, proclaiming: “AI will be agentic systems that are able to accomplish tasks and do useful things for you.” He said Google has partnered with Samsung to bring some of its groundbreaking capabilities to the Gemini app.

Samsung’s head of customer experience, Jay Kim, discussed the personalised AI that Samsung has developed. “Our goal is to enable personalised AI experiences by integrating AI agents and multimodal capabilities on all our devices,” he said, adding that this requires open collaboration, which leads to better user experiences and helps grow the AI ecosystem with developers and partners.

On-device AI processes data locally, using what Samsung calls its Personal Data Engine, which is protected by Samsung’s dedicated security hardware, Knox Vault.

Kim said: “The cloud AI will access your data only when it’s necessary and your data is deleted shortly after your request is completed. This means you don’t have to worry about your information being used to train AI models or for advertising. Our secure hybrid AI approach keeps your data private and secure while delivering a cutting-edge, personalised AI.”

Ian Horrocks, a professor of computer science at Oriel College, Oxford University, said: “At Oxford Semantic Technologies, we have been developing the technology behind the Personal Data Engine, known as knowledge graph technology.  Using knowledge graphs allows computers to better understand information and thereby draw more accurate conclusions and deliver more accurate insights.”

According to Horrocks, this improves the usefulness of smartphones and other devices: “Until recently, smartphone services and applications have operated independently of one another, limiting their ability to provide insightful responses. The Personal Data Engine allows us to overcome this limitation by understanding a user’s experience along with the surrounding context and storing it in the user’s personal knowledge graph.”

The company has also chosen to implement the C2PA standard with the Galaxy S25 series. This adds a digital watermark to AI-generated work and its origins are captured in metadata.

Discussing the Unpacked event, Ben Woods, principal analyst at CCS Insight, said: “At a time when improvements to hardware capabilities and product design are largely incremental, Samsung is doubling down on its AI story. AI is a boon for someone who needs an upgrade, but not enough to move the needle for consumers who already have a relatively up-to-date phone.”