Samsung’s mobile AI journey ‘just getting started’: TM Roh

For Samsung Electronics Co., the Galaxy S24 series is not just an upgrade to its previous flagship models. It’s an evolution that opens a new era of mobile artificial intelligence, according to the South Korean tech giant’s mobile business chief.

While unveiling the Galaxy S24 last month, TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile eXperience (MX) division, called it “the world’s first AI phone,” packed with a variety of on-device AI functions.

In retrospect, he said the development process of the latest flagship was laborious and yet rewarding.

“As an engineer, I have witnessed many examples of incredible innovations, but AI is the most transformative technology of the century,” he said in an in-house contributing article on Wednesday. “Developing the Galaxy S24 series has been the most rewarding period of my career.”

He said mobile devices will become the primary access point for AI and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone series has a leading role to play in broadening the horizon for new possibilities in consumer experiences.

The Galaxy S24 is replete with AI enhancements, from Samsung and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, including Live Translate, a built-in live translation of calls, and a new search tool, Circle to Search, which lets users circle an image on the phone to get related information.

Samsung pins high hopes on the new smartphone series as the launch comes days after it lost the crown as the world’s biggest smartphone maker to Apple and its iPhone.

Since its launch, Roh said the company has received plenty of feedback about how people use Galaxy AI features.

“One of the most welcomed AI features is Circle to Search, with Google, an incredible new tool for intuitive discovery,” he said. “Our communication tools for removing language barriers, such as Live Translate, Chat Assist and Interpreter, have captured the imagination of many.”

JUST GETTING STARTED

“While developing the Galaxy S24 series, we had many ideas and concepts that we wanted to bring to life. Galaxy users will be able to enjoy more AI features that build on these ideas and concepts over time. Again, we’re only getting started,” he said.

The mobile chief said Samsung aims to have at least 100 million units of its flagship Galaxy line of smartphones equipped with a variety of AI features by the end of this year.

To do so, the company plans to roll out AI features to some of its earlier models in the Galaxy S series, let alone its latest handsets, through software updates in the first half.

Samsung said its AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Galaxy devices, although different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties.

Roh said he expects Samsung to post double-digit smartphone sales growth this year, aided by the new Galaxy S24 series.

GALAXY WEARABLES TO USE AI TECH

He said Samsung is working on the next steps for Galaxy AI beyond smartphones, optimizing it for various categories of devices across various services.

“In the near future, select Galaxy wearables will use AI to enhance digital health and unlock a whole new era of expanded intelligent health experiences. Samsung will keep enriching and expanding Galaxy AI experiences across categories through collaborations with more industry-leading AI partners,” he said.

Samsung, also the world’s largest maker of memory chips and TVs, said it has taken a hybrid approach that combines on-device and cloud-based AI tech to address security and privacy issues when using AI features.

“AI models in training are still susceptible to hallucinations, and the debate on intellectual property rights continues. It is crucial that companies openly collaborate to carefully define AI experiences, so users can confidently and reliably enjoy their new abilities,” he said.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s AI features are powered by Qualcomm’s ultra-intelligent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor chipset.

The smartphone’s non-Ultra models are fitted with Samsung’s Exynos 2400 application processor.

Write to Eui-Myung Park at uimyung@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.