Samsung looks to beat Apple with AI phones

With the Galaxy S24, Samsung Electronics Co.'s new flagship smartphone series, searching for real-time information and translation on the phone will be hassle-free thanks to on-device artificial intelligence technology.

The Circle-to-Search function in the Galaxy S24 series enables users to find real-time information about a product or a person appearing on a phone screen by drawing a circle around an image.

This means there is no need to type in a long question or do a web search for the brand name and price of a product seen in a TV show or movie. This function is expected to significantly save time on internet searches and improve convenience.

The Galaxy S24 is also fitted with the Note Assist function that summarizes a long document and translates foreign text into up to 20 different languages. The embedded Live Translate app enables real-time translation during phone calls.

All these features are powered by on-device AI, which also enables a 100x zoom function in Samsung’s new flagship smartphone’s camera.

ON-DEVICE AI BY ULTRA-INTELLIGENT SNAPDRAGON

The Galaxy S24’s strong AI features are powered by Qualcomm’s ultra-intelligent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone processor, an upgrade from that of its predecessor, the S23.

The processor is considered the fastest AI processing chip for Android smartphones. But in some countries, the Galaxy S24’s non-Ultra models will be fitted with Samsung’s Exynos 2400 AP.

On-device AI enables customized and personalized AI functions on smart gadgets like smartphones without internet connectivity. Analysts expect it will be the next game changer in the information technology sector.

Even without an internet connection, its information processing speed is faster and more secure than on conventional generative AI tools such as ChatGPT.

In November, the Korean tech giant said the upcoming Galaxy S24 smartphone would be supported by its generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, which is expected to compete with the likes of ChatGPT, Google Bard, Bing AI chatbot and other generative AI tools.

Thanks to the powerful AI features in the new Galaxy S24, Samsung’s reliance on Google for software functions is expected to drop significantly, market analysts said.

TO NARROW THE GAP WITH APPLE IN THE PREMIUM MARKET

With the world’s first AI phone Galaxy S24, Samsung hopes to take on its archrival Apple in the global premium phone market, especially in the US where the sales gap between the two is further widening.

Samsung shipped 33 million smartphones in North America in 2023, falling short of No. 1 seller Apple's shipments of 55 million iPhones. In 2022, the two rivals’ shipment difference was 20.4 million units.

Samsung’s runner-up place in the premium market is also threatened by the rapid ascent of Chinese players such as Oppo and Vivo.

But owing to its strong AI features, market analysts forecast Samsung will deliver 13 million units of the Galaxy S24 series in the first quarter of this year, nearly double the Galaxy S23’s shipments of 7.2 million a year ago.

According to market researcher IDC, the global on-device AI market is expected to burgeon to $150 billion by 2027.

Samsung Electronics will unveil the Galaxy S24 to the world for the first time at a Galaxy Unpacked event in Silicon Valley on Wednesday.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim and Jeong-Soo Hwang at why29@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.