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The global smartphone sector is going through rough times. Component shortages, supply chain distributions, global economic uncertainties, and the common industry practice of releasing new smartphone models every year — even though they do not represent a dramatic technological improvement — are all factors affecting worldwide mobile sales.
Fortunately, for big smartphone brands, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to save the day, inevitably spreading from the online world to the smartphone device in everyone’s pocket. Make no mistake: The new era of AI smartphones is a wild race, infusing heavy competition among smartphone makers.
Key Takeaways
- Samsung claims to be the first in the industry to release an AI smartphone as it unveils the Galaxy S24 series.
- Global market smartphone declining sales and AI are expected to shape the industry moving forward.
- Top smartphone brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola, and others may share common ground but also have different business strategies to compete and win in the new AI race.
Last week, Samsung took the lead, unveiling the new Galaxy S24 series and becoming the first brand to hit the market with an AI smartphone. To get there first, Samsung took a shortcut. Instead of developing its own generative AI models in-house, it partnered up with Google and integrated Google’s Gemini AI.
But how much of this is buzzwords, and how much of this will really change how we use our smartphones? How will other smartphone manufacturers react to Samsung taking a big step into AI?
Let’s dive into the tech and what this means for the industry.
The AI Tech Behind the New Samsung Phones
As Techopedia reported back in December, Google’s powerful Gemini AI comes in three versions:
- Ultra — the most powerful model targeting mostly developers
- Gemini Pro — currently integrated with the famous Bard Google chatbot
- Gemini Nano — a lightweight version developed for mobile devices
Samsung said it is using all three of these Gemini models, as well as Google’s Imagen 2, an upgraded text-to-image tool.
Samsung proudly claimed that they are one of the first customers to test Gemini Ultra. Additionally, the company explained that the new S24 series also runs on-device Gemini Nano integrated into the Android 14 OS. Samsung also claims to be the first Google Cloud partner to deploy Gemini Pro on Google’s Vertex AI to drive security, safety, privacy, and data compliance.
Samsung Galaxy S24 users can access AI-powered Samsung native applications such as the new Notes, Voice Recorder, and Keyboard. For enhanced photo-editing capabilities available through the new Generative Edit2, the company uses Imagen 2.?
Are the New Samsung AI Features “New”?
The new Samsung AI features give us a glimpse of the near future of AI in smartphone devices. As expected, AI is not being used to develop “never-seen-before” smartphone applications but rather to enhance and augment known features and their capacities.
For example, Samsung’s new Live Translate uses AI to provide users with two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls. While the feature is built into the Samsung phone and requires no third-party apps, live translation apps have been around for some time.
Another new AI Samsung feature is Interpreter, which can instantly translate live conversations. When engaged, this feature splits the screen of the phone, allowing multiple users to read the transcriptions of the conversation in real time. Because the feature is integrated into the phone’s software, Interpreter does not need mobile data or Wi-Fi.
Similarly, the Samsung Keyboard has been updated with AI to translate real-time messages in 13 languages.
Samsung has announced its new Android Auto can now use AI to summarize incoming messages and suggest replies or actions to help drivers focus on the road. As cool as this may sound, shortcuts and suggestions in live communications have also existed in the industry for years.
Other AI-powered Samsung new features include Note Assist of Samsung Notes, transcript assist, Google search AI overviews, ProVisual Engine — AI tools for image capturing and social media sharing — Galaxy AI Edit and Edit suggestions, and others.
One transcription feature does sound fantastic as a native tool — recording a meeting or lecture and letting AI bring you a complete summary and key takeaways.
Is the Galaxy S24 Worth the Price?
On average, the new Samsung smartphones cost a couple of hundred dollars more than an iPhone 15. Given the fact that the new AI Samsung features are merely an AI spin on old features, it is worth asking if the extra cost is worth it.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra starts selling at $1,300 and is offered with storage capacity options of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, while the Galaxy S24 starts at $1,000 with 256GB and 512GB storage options, and the Galaxy S24 will start at $800 with 128GB and 256GB storage options.
Under the hood, the new Samsung S24 Ultra is driven by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy and has an optimal thermal control system to ensure the device does not overheat when performing at its maximum potential.
The 2023 Smartphone Global Market Tumble and Shift
2023 ended with a set of unique events for the smartphone industry. The International Data Corporation (IDC) describes the 3.2% year-over-year decline in global smartphone shipments as “the lowest full-year volume in a decade.”
As 2023 closes on a downtrend for smartphone sales, the new Samsung AI products are expected to ripple across the industry. Taking on a rapid release-to-market strategy, Samsung has managed to make waves among the corridors of top brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Motorola, Huawei, and other top global mobile makers, especially as they look to 2024 to boost sales.
Apple Dethrones Samsung’s 12-Year Lead
The one company that knew how to capitalize on this 2023 slowdown was Apple. Apple overtook Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller, ending its 12-year run as global leader. IDC explained why this is big news for the industry.
“The last time a company not named Samsung was at the top of the smartphone market was 2010, and for 2023 it is now Apple. A sort of shifting of power at the top of the largest consumer electronics market was driven by an all-time high market share for Apple and a first time at the top.”
The news of the iPhone maker gaining the top ranking spread like wildfire on international media, but in reality, Apple did not beat Samsung by much.
IDC data reveals that Apple shipped 234.6 million iPhone units in 2023, and Samsung drew in close with 226.6 million units sold. This small difference in numbers might have been the catalyst and triggered the rapid release of the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series.
While some ask, “Has Apple fallen behind on AI?” others reflect on whether Samsung is pressing too hard to recover the lead lost in 2023.
What Samsung’s AI Move Means for Apple and the Competition
AI and the downward trend in global smartphone sales are expected to pressure and mold the industry in the coming months. To understand how different mobile brands will integrate AI into their phones, we need to look at the different strategies they use.
Business Strategies and Innovation
Apple’s business strategy has always been to release top-performing models every year (betting on quality and not quantity). In contrast, brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei take a different road to success. They release numerous smartphone models every year, each designed for different users, different budgets, and different needs — casting a wide net on the market.
Learning from the competition, in the past years, we have witnessed Apple imitate this business strategy and release more affordable entry-level base products in an effort to attract new customers. Despite this, Apple’s strategy has not dramatically changed. The company from Cupertino, California, continues to bet big on innovation. as the new Apple Vision Pro reveals.
Apple is also known for developing tech in complete secrecy and is not afraid to invest years in product development before it believes the tech is ready for the market. This is also unlikely to change.
Apple’s Strange AI Silence
While the CEOs and top executives of all smartphone companies, including Motorola, Huawei, Google with its Pixel phone, and Xiaomi openly announce their commitment to AI and their plans to invest in the tech to lead the new 2024 race, Apple and Tim Cook have been nothing but mysteriously silent on AI.
This strange silence is causing some to think that the company is out of sync with the new trend taking over the tech world. But there are suggestions that Apple is already working on a new confidential generative AI project with plans to unleash it without warning — and probably take the world by storm if it follows the usual Apple way of working.
Based on this and on historical smartphone manufacturers’ business models, we expect most mobile companies to release at least one AI smartphone product in the market in 2024 and believe that brands known for releasing numerous models at once will continue doing so, just as those that are selective will continue down their own path.
Mobile AI: In-House or Outsource?
Another question to answer is whether companies will choose to take the Samsung shortcut road and partner with companies like Google to get rapid access to functional AI technology or whether they will choose to develop it in-house.
Most top smartphone brands will likely choose to partner up. But once again, companies like Apple will likely aim in-house.
The Bottom Line
The power of generative AI is coming soon to everyone’s hands. Will the tech be a game-changer for users? Yes and no.
Facing a 2024 filled with smartphone releases and tech events, AI will take center stage — probably because marketing departments will insist it looks good on a billboard. But it’s worth remembering that recent history has taught us that being first to the finish line does not necessarily mean taking the win.
AI will improve known features like text, phone calls, videos, security, privacy, image, web browsing, navigation, video and photographic captures, and much more.
And like with any new technology, AI in smartphones will get better with time.
We do hope to see AI power new applications and dramatically change the way we use mobile devices for the good, but doubt that is coming anytime soon.
