Samsung Unpacks Galaxy S24 packed with Google AI

Samsung and Google Cloud forged a multi-year partnership that included equipping the new Galaxy S24 smartphone devices with the latest generative AI (GenAI) capabilities from the hyperscaler.

The AI features and Galaxy S24 devices were announced at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event. The South Korean smartphone giant had teased the infusion of AI across its devices earlier this year.

Samsung will be the first Google Cloud partner to deploy Gemini Pro on Vertex AI when the Galaxy S24 phones become available in the coming weeks.

Vertex AI is a machine learning platform designed to build new use cases at a faster rate by using custom tools and Google unveiled its Gemini AI family of large language models (LLMs) in late 2023.

Gemini Pro will allow Galaxy S24 users to take advantage of summarisation and classification features across Samsung apps such as Notes, Voice Recorder and Keyboard.

The companies stated Gemini can generalise, understand, operate and combine various types of information, including text, code, images and video.

Google’s Imagen 2 GenAI image technology will provide photo-editing functions such as inpainting, outpainting and composite editing in the device’s Gallery app.

The search giant stated Imagen 2 is its most advanced text-to-image diffusion technology. It was developed by Google DeepMind.

Both Gemini and Imagen 2 will be delivered to the smartphones through the cloud.

Samsung will also test Gemini Ultra, Google’s largest model for complex tasks.

The Galaxy S24 series will also use Gemini Nano, an on-device LLM that is part of the Android 14 OS.

Gemini Nano powers tasks including Google’s Chat Assist function, which can rewrite messages into conversational or more formal tones.

Google’s self-explanatory Circle to Search function allows users to search anything on “your Android phone without switching apps” by pressing the home button or navigation screen, it stated.

Users can then decide which items to search by circling, scribbling, highlighting or tapping on them. It works across all three Galaxy S24 devices.

AI also powers Live Translate, which allows users to instantly render phone calls from one language to another, and Transcript Assist to record conversations and automatically detect when different people are talking.

The phones also feature Interpreter, which enables two-way, real-time voice and text translations within the native app. 

Samsung noted the AI features will be coming to the Galaxy S23 series at some point.

Google CEO Thomas Kurian explained the partnership also enables Samsung’s developers to use its infrastructure to develop and deliver GenAI-powered applications for its smartphones.

This potentially could be the start of a new era for smartphones, representing a key super cycle for Samsung and all.

Paolo Pescatore – founder PP Foresight

Galaxy 24 devicesThe $799 Galaxy S24, $999 Galaxy S24+ and $1,299 Galaxy S24 Ultra are set to go on sale on 31 January. The line-up is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.

Samsung borrowed a page from Apple’s playbook by adding a titanium frame to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, while the standard and plus models use aluminium.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 6.8-inch flat display, the Galaxy S24+ 6.7-inch and the standard device 6.2-inch.

During the live Unpacked event, TM Roh, president and head of mobile eXperience business at Samsung Electronics, announced the company would offer seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates.

Paolo Pescatore, founder of analyst company PP Foresight, stated the Galaxy S24 launch had “certainly thrown the gauntlet to rivals and raises the benchmark for the next generation of smartphones”.

“This potentially could be the start of a new era for smartphones, representing a key super cycle for Samsung and all.”