Mobile giants bank on AI to spur sales
SMARTPHONE makers are packing their latest devices with flashy new artificial intelligence tools such as real-time voice translation and advanced photo editing in efforts to reignite consumer demand.
The trend was on display at the telecom industry’s biggest annual show, the four-day Mobile World Congress which got under way yesterday in Barcelona, Spain, where handset makers focused on the unique AI-powered features of their new flagship devices.
“Phones have just got boring, they are not as exciting as they used to be. The changes from one model to the next are not that great,” Ben Wood, chief of researcher at CCS Insight, said.
While cameras, battery life and screens are “a little better” than before, companies need to add more “exciting” capabilities to their products to encourage people to upgrade their phones, Wood added. “AI is a way to do that.”
China’s Honor launched its new AI-infused flagship Magic 6 Pro smartphone in Barcelona which features a camera with motion-sensing capabilities that can detect and automatically photograph fast actions such as sports at the best moment.
The device anticipates users’ needs to help them navigate apps more efficiently. For example it can recognize an address in a text message to direct you to a map app.
“AI changes everything,”
Honor CEO George Zhao said, adding it “can make fantastic things happen.”
South Korean giant Samsung’s stand at the MWC plugged its new premium AIpowered Galaxy S24 range, which allows users to make or receive a call in a language they don’t speak and then receive a live translation of the call both audibly and on the screen. The feature can handle 13 languages, including French, Japanese and Hindi.
(AFP)