Samsung’s AI-embedded smartphones set new rules
South Korean electronics giant Samsung unveiled three models in the new Galaxy S24 smartphone series this week with capabilities that will redefine the future of the industry.
In the past, the company would have focused on hardware breakthroughs and upgrades that represented either a revolution or evolution in smartphone specifications. This time round, the specs were almost an afterthought. That meant the stars of the show were not the handsets, but their capabilities. Samsung announced a new overarching brand, Galaxy AI, which symbolised the company’s shift in focus from hardware specs to software capabilities.
The flagship of the range, the S24 Ultra, contains a processor optimised for artificial intelligence (AI), the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. The versions of the other devices that will be available in South Africa will run on less advanced Samsung Exynos chips. In principle, this means the Ultra can run AI processes on the phone itself, rather than depending on generative AI in the cloud.
However, a test of the devices during the launch showed that even the more basic phones are AI-capable. The features expected to be most widely used are camera capabilities, such as AI-generated slow-motion. The phone uses AI to generate additional frames from those captured by the camera to create the slow-mo effect.
A feature called Photo Assist will improve or correct pictures by analysing an image and identifying, for example, reflections resulting from taking a photo through a window. When an AI option is selected, the software offers suggestions on how to enhance the picture.
In one test, it erased the reflection and, in another, erased a shadow on a face. These are all possible with existing software and apps, but until now have required photo editing skill and downloading software.
For business people, a range of AI live translation features will be revolutionary. In one test we phoned a Spanish restaurant and spoke in English, then listened as the phone translated the words. The restaurateur responded in Spanish, and the phone translated his words into English. While that capability does exist in software, this is the first time the function can be accessed on a phone without downloading or accessing additional tools.
A function called Interpreter allows for a face-to-face conversation between, for example, an English and Korean speaker, translated live on a split screen, with each speaker seeing the words in their language on one screen. The feature doesn’t use generative AI in the cloud, as is usually the case with such functionality, but can be used in airplane mode — literally in flight.
A pack shipped with the phone includes 13 languages, and more will be added.
“The Galaxy S24 Series transforms our connection with the world and ignites the next decade of mobile innovation,” said TM Roh, president and head of mobile experience business at Samsung Electronics.
Kgomotso Mosiane, mobile experience head of marketing for Samsung in South Africa, told Business Times on the sidelines of the event that it was not so much the end of the hardware wars as the dawn of new capabilities.
“More than anything, it defines the beginning of an era,” she said. “Expectation now is going to be around what capabilities make your life easier from an AI perspective.”
Equally significantly, Samsung has pulled the rug from under the marketing feet of other flagship manufacturers by, in effect, declaring vaunted hardware specs irrelevant. That is, of course, a dangerous strategy — it could backfire when Samsung itself announces major new hardware innovations.
An example was a revolutionary cooling system called a Vapour Chamber, built into the S24 Ultra to prevent the phone from overheating during extended use of AI or gaming.
South African hip-hop artist Nasty C, who incorporates gaming into his shows, attended the event and told Business Times: “The experience overall will be much, much, much better. The cooling system has had a huge upgrade. So when you’re playing for two, three hours, four hours, you won’t overheat and start glitching and lagging. The cooling seems to be the big one for gamers.”
For now, though, it is the AI that gives the brand a major competitive edge.
“From a positioning point of view, the key thing is that AI has finally arrived in South Africa for any user, on one device, and you no longer have to download third-party apps to be able to access AI capabilities,” said Mosiane.
“While it’s a big shift, it’s a shift for good. Your phone now is no longer just a phone and camera, it’s an assistant.”
Galaxy’s latest smartphones will be released in South Africa on February 14.