I’ve never considered Samsung to be a software company, let alone a prominent player in the AI race. However, with the debut of the Galaxy S24 series today, the company is striving to position itself at the forefront of this year’s most significant tech trend. While the new flagship phones bear a striking resemblance to last year’s models externally, significant changes have taken place internally. During a hands-on session at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week, my attention was captivated by the new software features on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus.
Equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor tailored specifically “for Galaxy” in the US, the S24 series introduces a range of new AI-driven capabilities that may seem familiar to users of Microsoft’s CoPilot, Google’s Bard AI, or ChatGPT. What sets these features apart is their integration into the S24s, predominantly processed on-device by Samsung’s Gauss generative AI model, a project the company has been discreetly developing.
Samsung’s Galaxy AI Innovations on the S24
Generative AI is revolutionizing five key areas within the Galaxy S24 lineup: search, translations, note creation, message composition, and photo editing and processing. With the exception of the notes and composition functionalities, most of these updates resemble enhanced versions of existing Google products. Notably, the new Circle to Search feature, a Google service, makes its debut on the S24 series alongside the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
Circle to Search
Circle to Search introduces a convenient way to initiate an image search directly on your screen. By pressing the center of the bottom edge, a Google search bar emerges, allowing you to encircle any visible content. However, certain restricted content like DRMed material or secure app interfaces cannot be selected. Following your selection, a panel displays the chosen item alongside results from Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE).
This feature enables users to explore image matches, shopping options, text excerpts, websites, and more based on the selected content. While testing this functionality, I found the results to be accurate and swift, even correctly identifying objects from off-angle images. Although intriguing, the practicality of Circle to Search in everyday use remains uncertain. The long-press gesture to activate this feature accommodates both gesture-based and three-button navigation systems, albeit the latter may require slight adjustment due to the home button interaction.
Circle to Search is set to launch on January 31st, exclusive to the Galaxy S24s and Pixel 8s initially, with future availability for older devices remaining uncertain.
Chat Assist for Message Tone Adjustments
Distinct from Google, Samsung’s AI capabilities power the Chat Assist feature, offering users the ability to refine the tone of their messages. By leveraging generative AI, the S24 can rephrase your messages to convey different tones, such as casual, polite, professional, or social. This feature aims to enhance communication nuances, catering to various contexts and recipient preferences.
During a demonstration, I observed the AI’s rewording of a message, showcasing different styles ranging from formal to casual. While the professional version bordered on comical with its elaborate phrasing, the casual and polite options provided more practical alternatives. The social option, albeit adorned with hashtags like #Foodie and #BBQLover, may appeal to specific social media enthusiasts.
Samsung Translate
Samsung’s AI facilitates real-time message translation into 13 languages, akin to Google’s offering on the Pixel 6 in 2021. The interface mirrors the Pixel’s layout, featuring dual text input fields and language selection options. Additionally, Samsung’s Live Translate feature acts as an interpreter during phone calls, though lags in translation may impact real-time conversations.
Moreover, Samsung’s AI capabilities extend to organizing notes efficiently, offering formatting options, themes, and summarization features. While the AI-assisted note restructuring appears promising, some automated summaries may lack coherence. The integration of speech-to-text functionality enhances transcription, summarization, and translation tasks, albeit with room for improvement in accuracy and context recognition.
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For further insights into the photo editing enhancements and hardware updates on the Galaxy S24 series, refer to my colleague Sam Rutherford’s detailed review of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, featuring advanced camera functionalities. Noteworthy hardware upgrades on the standard S24 and S24 Plus models include improved camera sensors, adaptive refresh rates, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors, expanded RAM and storage capacities, and enhanced battery capacities compared to their predecessors.
While the S24 series retains a familiar design reminiscent of previous models, the absence of support for newer wireless charging standards raises concerns. Samsung’s emphasis on software advancements and AI integration underscores a strategic shift towards innovation, albeit with potential implications for long-term software sustainability and user adoption.
Conclusion
Despite Samsung’s concerted efforts to align with current trends and introduce compelling AI features on the Galaxy S24 series, the sustainability and practicality of these innovations remain subject to scrutiny. While certain functionalities like message translation and note organization exhibit promise, the company’s historical trend-following approach raises questions about the longevity and user adoption of these features. As Samsung navigates the evolving tech landscape, balancing trend-driven initiatives with substantive, user-centric developments will be crucial to maintaining consumer trust and engagement in the long run.
