AI Phones Are Here - Whether They Add Any Value Or Not

Of course smartphone manufacturers are pumping AI features into their newest models. You thought, perhaps, they would take a thoughtful, prudent, reserved approach? ARE YOU KIDDING? 

The problem is that there just isnt all that much they can do with early generative AI to make phones that much more interesting, useful or fun. But of course they are going to try - and charge a premium for the experience. Just don't expect to notice much of a difference until more powerful models come out a few years from now. JL

Jiyoung Sohn and Miless Kruppa report in the Wall Street Journal:

Samsung, increase; grthe world’s No. 2 smartphone maker after 

Apple

, unveiled its latest Galaxy S24 devices. The company focused on delivering features it thought generative AI could help solve right now: overcoming language barriers, speeding search and helping obtain better photos. The new phones provide real-time translation of calls and texts, improve imperfect photos and trigger searches on Google by encircling images and text on one’s phone.  The new features, powered by Samsung’s own gen AI and Google. “These capabilities are going to make smartphones more useful and more fun,” but aren’t compelling enough to move the market.

Lots of industries are buzzing about generative artificial intelligence. Now it is the smartphone industry’s turn.

Samsung Electronics 005930 0.99%increase; green up pointing triangle

, the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker after 

Apple

, unveiled its latest Galaxy S24 flagship devices on Wednesday, marking the industry’s largest-scale embrace of the new technology. The South Korean tech firm sells tens of millions of its Galaxy S flagship phones globally every year. 

Choi Won-Joon, who heads research and development for 

Samsung’s 005930 0.99%increase; green up pointing triangle

 mobile business, said the company focused on delivering features it thought generative AI could help solve right now: overcoming language barriers, speeding up search and helping people obtain better photos. The new Galaxy S24 phones provide real-time translation of calls and text messages, improve imperfect photos and trigger searches on Google by encircling images and text on one’s phone. 

The Galaxy S24’s new features, powered by both Samsung’s own generative AI engine and by long-running partner Google, aren’t the industry’s first. In recent months, Google’s own Pixel 8 smartphones, plus devices from several Chinese brands, have been rolled out with generative-AI abilities. 

The ‘circle to search’ function on Galaxy S24 smartphones is powered by Google’s AI technology. PHOTO: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS

“What’s important is less about being first but more about the ability to create features that bring meaningful benefits to people,” said Choi.

Apple hasn’t released any concrete plans in the space for the iPhone. But Chief Executive Tim Cook, on the company’s November earnings call, acknowledged ongoing efforts in generative AI.

The release of the Galaxy S24 devices comes at a critical time for Samsung, which lost the top spot for annual shipments in 2023 after a 12-year run, according to some recent estimates. The South Korean firm has ceded ground to Apple in the high-end smartphone market where the most of the industry’s profits are made. Younger buyers, drawn to the iPhone’s brand appeal, have gradually shifted away from Samsung.

Samsung also announced on Wednesday a new fitness tracking device called the Galaxy Ring, without providing details on its expected availability.

The smartphone world’s initial forays into generative AI will be explorative and scaled down in capabilities versus large-scale models like Open AI’s ChatGPT, industry executives and analysts say. An early selling point will be having some generative AI features enabled on-device, without the need for a network connection to a cloud—a distinction that boosts user privacy and data security. 

But consumers may struggle to feel a huge leap in technology at first, because older versions of AI have existed on mobile devices for years, from digital voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Samsung’s Bixby, to functions like smart replies to emails. Those legacy features rely on preset algorithms rather than generating original responses based on commands.

The Galaxy S24’s new features are powered by Samsung’s own generative AI engine and by Google. PHOTO: JOHN LOCHER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The generative AI features coming to smartphones now likely aren’t yet compelling enough to move the market, placing pressures on smartphone makers to deliver a killer app for generative AI in the coming years, said Bryan Ma of International Data Corp., a market researcher.

“We’re still in such early days,” said Ma, vice president of devices research at IDC.

Worldwide smartphone shipments are forecast to have hit a decade low in 2023, with the industry having declined in size for two years straight, according to Counterpoint Research. But in recent months, sales have begun to rebound as the economy improves, with projections for 3.3% growth in 2024, Counterpoint said.

The recent smartphone sector downturn came amid a stall in meaningful leaps in technology that wowed users, such as a front-facing camera, larger displays or faster networks that let people stream content on their mobile devices. Generative AI offers a shot to bring back some novelty and compel consumers to upgrade their devices, said Tom Kang, a Seoul-based research director at Counterpoint. 

 

“Generative AI has the potential to be the next big thing for smartphones,” Kang said.

Few smartphones command the global demand—and top dollar—of Samsung’s Galaxy S24 devices. Samsung is expected to account for half of the roughly 100 million smartphones equipped with generative AI capabilities to be shipped this year, with Google’s Pixel and major Chinese brands including Xiaomi and Vivo also contributing, according to Counterpoint. The forecast assumes, for now, that iPhones won’t have generative AI functions this year.

But unlike Samsung, Chinese smartphone brands mainly serve their domestic market, with virtually no presence in the U.S. and some sales in Western Europe and India for their high-end models, Counterpoint said. 

The Samsung Galaxy S24 phones come in three variants, with the base model retailing at $800, the larger-screen S24+ at $1,000 and the top-of-the-line S24 Ultra at $1,300 in the U.S. They will hit the shelves in major markets including the U.S. on Jan. 31 before rollouts elsewhere.

The phones are priced similarly to last year’s models and boast better components, including new chips made by 

Qualcomm

 and Samsung that enable on-device generative AI. 

One new feature of the Galaxy S24 phones is a “circle to search” function.

Google’s Pixel 8 smartphones have been rolled out with generative-AI abilities. PHOTO: ED JONES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Powered by Google’s AI technology, users can long-press the home button to circle anything they see on their screen, be it a photo or a slang word encountered on the web, to generate a search on Google. Follow-up questions can be asked to supplement the search results. 

Google said Samsung would use Gemini Pro, the U.S. tech giant’s newest AI system, to power summarization and translation features in the phone maker’s notes, voice recorder and keyboard apps. 

“These capabilities are going to make your smartphone more useful and more fun,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, a senior vice president overseeing Google’s Android mobile software, of the various new Google-powered features available on the S24 phones. Tasks like photo-editing that many people perform on desktop computers will increasingly be done on smartphones, he added.

Samsung has developed its own generative AI model, called Gauss, named after the German mathematician known for his contributions to number theory and geometry. Samsung drew from Gauss to develop its on-device generative AI technology for phones.

 

The South Korean firm plans to continue cultivating Gauss for its own purposes. At the same time it will keep working with Google—or any other AI partner—to enable generative AI on Samsung’s phones, said Choi, the Samsung executive. 

“Right now it’s Google. But it could be 

Microsoft

 or 

Meta

 in the future. The goal is to provide the best solution,” Choi said.