CAN SAMSUNG S24 BE UAE’S FIRST SMARTPHONE HIT OF 2024?
PRE-BOOKING STARTS IN UAE FOR AI-PACKED GALAXY S24 RANGE, WITH PRICES FROM DH3,199
ASamsung is trying to take a lead... with AI features — these do give a new meaning to the ‘smart’ aspect of smartphones.”
Rajat Asthana | Chief Operating Officer at Eros Group
Pre-bookings for the Galaxy S24 are heavy, the markets and consumers are clearly excited about the AI twist.”
Saleem Javed | Founder of Dubai-based TouchTel
I services available in real-time — that’s the promise Samsung is delivering with the premium Galaxy S24 smartphone. Priced between Dh3,199 and Dh6,599, the handsets are going on sale in the UAE.
The first buyers should get their new smartphones from January 31.
If 5G-enabled handsets was the selling point for smartphone vendors in the last two years, the industry believes consumers are ready for a bit of AI. And Samsung believes they are providing just that with ‘Galaxy AI’.
Real-time benefits
The standout AI-backed feature in S24 includes live translation of voice and text in 13 languages, facilitated by the AI embedded in Samsung Keyboard. Additionally, the Android Auto feature in the car automatically summarises incoming messages and suggests replies.
“Samsung is trying to take a lead in the premium end of smartphones with AI features — these do give a new meaning to the ‘smart’ aspect of smartphones,” said Rajat Asthana, chief operating officer at Dubai-based tech distributor and retailer Eros Group. “The best part is that Samsung has kept prices steady for all the S24 models except the top-end choice.
In the camera department, Samsung’s legacy is evident in the new range, which incorporates AI with the ‘ProVisual Engine’. This set of AI-powered tools assists in setting up and sharing shots on social media. “Gone are shaky, pixelated images taken from far away,” is how Samsung puts it.
A bit of Generative AI too
“To give users even more creative control and freedom, Generative Edit can fill in parts of an image background with Generative AI,” the tech company added.
It means that “when an object needs to be slightly moved to be in the perfect position, AI lets users adjust the position of the subject and generates a perfectly blended background in its original spot’.
“Pre-bookings for the Galaxy S24 are heavy, the markets and consumers are clearly excited about the AI twist,” said Saleem
Javed, founder of the Dubaibased smartphone wholesaler TouchTel. “This looks like a major hit for Samsung. The AI features will immediately be felt in the camera capability and user experience.”
“The advanced health features will be in a ‘smart ring’, the launch date of which is not yet announced.”
Trigger for a sales boost?
Smartphone sales in the UAE had been having a relatively quiet few weeks, including in December, even though that period coincided with some of the heaviest promotions on offer.
“Many consumers probably are waiting for the 2024 launches, and the S24 might have given them a reason,” said the CEO of a tech-focused online marketplace.