During the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event held a few hours ago, Samsung unveiled its latest high-end smartphones. The Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra are the company's first phones with Galaxy AI, a suite of AI-powered features and apps, and they are available with the One UI 6.1 software. Some of those amazingly useful features will come to existing Galaxy smartphones before the end of the first half of this year.
The company plans to bring Galaxy AI features to millions of smartphones this year.
Galaxy AI features to come to 100 million Galaxy phones in 2024
The South Korean firm is planning to expand the availability of Galaxy AI to over 100 million Galaxy smartphones this year. TM Roh, President and Head of Samsung MX (Samsung's Mobile Division), said, “Galaxy AI in the Galaxy S24 series is a hybrid AI using both on-device and cloud-based AI. This year, we will introduce Galaxy AI to about 100 million Galaxy smartphones for the global expansion of mobile AI,” during the Galaxy Unpacked event that was held in San Jose, California, USA. Those numbers suggest that some existing phones could get some of those Galaxy AI features, or the company will bring them to future mid-range phones.
He also expects to see double-digit growth in sales of the Galaxy S24 series compared to the Galaxy S23. While the smartphone market is slow right now, TM Roh said demand for high-end phones is continuously growing. He said, “We are taking the (decrease) in shipment volume seriously, and are working consistently to make improvements in all sectors of sales, marketing and product competitiveness.” For the first time in 13 years, Apple sold more smartphones than Samsung in 2023. Hopefully, the South Korean firm will be able to get its crown back this year if Galaxy S24 series sales reach Samsung's expectations.
The Galaxy S24 series offers Circle to Search with Google, where you can long-press the home screen icon (or the gesture area) or circle the part of the screen, and you can get additional information from the internet through Google. It could be a product that you like, a plant that you want to know more about or a book that you would like to read. AI is also used for real-time language translation during voice calls, voice-to-text and vice versa, AI-based image and video editing, turning normal videos into slow-motion videos, and a lot more. Some people are concerned about battery life due to all these AI features, but TM Roh said that it doesn't affect battery life at all, as most AI processing happens on the device itself.
Watch all the AI features that One UI 6.1 brings in our in-depth video below.
Samsung has no plans to charge consumers for Galaxy AI features anytime soon
Samsung's own terms and conditions mention that AI features on the Galaxy S24 are free until at least 2025, and some speculated that the company will start charging users for those features in 2026. However, TM Rohs said that the company hasn't thought about charging consumers for AI features, at least until more advanced AI features are added, which need a lot more investment than what is required now.
Galaxy Ring was teased at Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event
The South Korean firm also teased the Galaxy Ring for the first time at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event. TM Roh said that the company ran surveys and learned that customers want a more compact device to track their sleep and fitness, and the ring form factor could fit into more people's lives as it is more comfortable and compact. The features, pricing, or availability of the Galaxy Ring haven't been revealed yet, but we expect it to launch later this year alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
