Samsung bets on AI-smart phones
In a partnership with Google’s generative AI unit and chip maker Snapdragon, Samsung has made artificial intelligence the centrepiece of its new Galaxy S24 smartphones.
A raft of “Galaxy AI” features include Circle to Search — which, after a long press on the home button — lets you use your finger (or an S-Pen, in the case of the S24 Ultra) to circle a word or image on a website, or in any app.
Related results from Google’s search engine then pop up, along with the option to refine your search through typing or voice commands.
Phone calls can be translated from Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Spanish and several other languages in real time (or at least, with only a modest lag), among other live translation and transcription options.
Random notes you’ve taken on your phone can be summarised and otherwise whipped into shape by the AI. That’s already something offered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard et al, but it’s handy to do it without leaving your Galaxy’s Notes app.
A photo can be edited by the AI if, say, you need to remove reflections or shadows or erase an object or person from a pic, then use generative fill to replace them with the background.
With a couple of quick out-ofthe-box snaps (one of a glass on a desk, the other of a colleague), the circle-and-erase tool worked okay but was not about to put any Photoshop professionals out of a job.
The AI can be used to suggest text in any app, including options for more formal or more casual options. Again, that’s something ChatGPT or Bard can do, but it’s just faster and easier to do it directly from your phone’s virtual keyboard.
And in a convenient touch, regular video you’ve taken on your S24 can be converted to slow motion after the fact. It couldn’t be simpler. You just hold your finger on a video as it plays to trigger the slow-mo. If you like what you see, you can keep the effect or save a slo-mo copy. In my initial play, capturing a couple of hapless coworkers, it worked well. A clever and useful feature.
A number of these AI smarts are battle-hardened. Google’s generative AI technology has already been deployed in its own Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones (not available in New Zealand).
It’s also interesting to note that for the first time, all of the AI features are on-device rather than via the Cloud, offering privacy and performance advantages.
In preview sessions, US reviews
All of the AI features are on-device rather than via the Cloud, offering privacy and performance advantages.
gave the Galaxy’s AI features generally positive reviews.
An S24 Ultra landed at the Herald this week. Straight out of the box, Circle to Search worked well. It’s simple and intuitive to circle something on screen you want to know more about — and results are no better or worse than you’d get if you dragged and dropped an image into Google’s image search, or typed a search into its search bar.
I used it to find more on e-scooter accidents after circling text in the story about Simon Bridges’ spill. That worked fine. Circling his face, however, yielded not news stories or profiles of the ex-National leader but ads for pyjamas, possibly because I’d also caught some of his hospital gown with my fat-fingered effort.
AI is the core focus of the S24 series which, at first glance, is similar to the S23. But there are several changes.
The case gets an upgrade from aluminium to more durable titanium. The S24 Ultra has the same 6.8-inch display as its predecessor but sports a flat screen as opposed to the S24’s curves at the edges — making swipes from the edge easier and making a better surface for the S-Pen. The bezel (the border around the display) is 42 per cent slimmer and the camera is 11 per cent slimmer.
The cameras are broadly the same hardware, which allows for five times digital zoom or up to 100 times digital zoom — which means you can focus in on an object about half a kilometre away, but, by that point, the image gets pretty grainy and jumps around quite aggressively.
And in a nice departure from tech’s high turnover culture, Samsung and Google have both pledged to support the S24 series with at least seven years of Android OS and security upgrades.
The 6.2-inch display Galaxy S24 is priced from $1649. The 6.7-inch S24 starts at $2049. And the 6.8-inch S24 Ultra costs $2449.
Spark, One NZ and 2degrees are offering various deals including trade-ins, and no-interest instalments for those who sign up for plans. Pre-orders are open now, with shipping from February 7.