Galaxy S24: Samsung packs AI in new smartphones

The latest Samsung smartphones pack a punch, full of AI features that could change the way we use our phones for good.

Samsung’s newest phone now doubles as a translation device for phone calls, can transcribe and summarise recordings and search almost anything in Google at the click of a button – all thanks to artificial intelligence.

The Korean technology giant is putting AI into the pockets of smartphone users world over with the launch of its Galaxy S24 range, its premium line-up of devices which leverage Samsung’s own language model to get “AI built into the keyboard”.

The new line-up, announced at Unpacked in the US on Wednesday morning local time, is an attempt from the company to change the way the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers compete with each other.

No longer a battle of which device has the best camera, the battle has moved on to whose device can leverage AI the best, with one of the main focuses being use of the technology when taking photos, when processing them and just with its camera open – without the need to take image

Like most years, the S24 range has entered the market at a premium compared to the 2023 range, with the Ultra starting at $2199 for a device with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of memory – that’s a $250 difference to last year. The S24+ with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of memory is $50 more at $1699 and the S24 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of memory is also $50 more at $1399.

Samsung launches the S24 Ultra, its newest smartphone which leverages the company's in-house AI.

The devices arrive in three sizes, 6.8-inch (232g) for the Ultra, 6.7-inch (196g) for the S24+ and 6.2-inch (167g) for the S24.

The S24 Ultra is 40 per cent brighter than its 2023 counterpart, now reaching 2600 nits, which allows for better visibility in direct sunlight.

It also leverages in-built AI in almost all of its preloaded Samsung apps, including notes, where users can now paste a document and have it summarised or have their own work formatted to suit presentations or emails.

It can change the way a user interacts with the world as the press of a button, transforming texts messages, emails and captions into the styles of “Shakespeare” or something a little more “chill”. A quick test of the device saw “Hey, how are you?” converted to “greetings, fair companion! How fares thy day?” after selecting Shakespeare mode.

For photos, it can help a person jump higher, with the user able to select a person and shift them within an image and fill any gaps by using AI to imagine what was there previously and fill that space – that function does not perform with on-device AI, instead using Samsung’s hybrid cloud AI services.

Videos can also be turned into slow motion, using AI to generate more frames to fill gaps, turning a regular speed video into slow motion while holding down on the video.

The S24 Ultra’s new design is lighter, about 1mm wider and 1mm shorter than the S23 Ultra, with a redesigned smart pen that is smaller than the S23 Ultra, which leaves the S24 Ultra pen interchangeable with both devices but not the other way around. Cases from the S23 Ultra won’t work with the newer model as tested.

The new Galaxy S24 range with the S24, S24+ and Ultra S24.

The big feature this year includes a partnership with Google that brings instantaneous search capabilities across every app. Samsung calls it a “circle to search” and it works across photos, social media and even texts. To search, a user simply needs to hold the home button and then select the item they wish to search by using the pen.

The new series is likely to cause a stir at competitors Google and Apple, with the Galaxy S24 line-up including some similarities from both companies’ smartphone range.

The 24 and S24+ this year look near identical to Apple’s iPhone range, now incorporating a rounded edge, made with aluminium. The S24 Ultra is also now built with titanium – just as the iPhone 15 Pro Max is.

Google’s live transcription feature for recording audio will now face off with Samsung’s new transcription abilities, with Samsung potentially taking an edge with a summarisation feature.

As for the camera, the S24 Ultra packs a 12MP ultra-wide camera, a 200MP wide camera, 50M telephoto camera and 10MP telephoto camera as well 12MP on the front. The 24 and 24+ arrive with all but the 200MP camera.

Battery wise, the Ultra packs a 5000mAh, the S24+ packs a 4900 mAh and the S24 has a 4000mAh.

It’s getting harder to avoid the Samsung ecosystem, that’s one that has a device or appliance in 72 per cent of Australian homes.

The S24 Ultra has a 200MP camera.

The S24 Ultra arrives in four colours, titanium grey, black, violet and yellow and the S24 and S24+ arrive in onyx black, marble grey, cobalt violet and amber yellow. All models include blue, green and orange options if ordered online.

Samsung also used Unpacked to introduce a new product into its line-up, showcasing a wearable it calls Galaxy Ring.

While little information was shared, the company introduced Galaxy Ring as a “powerful wellness device” and it’s understood that Samsung wants to sell a product that users will wear for longer than its current wearable range to capture more data.

This product arrives as many tech companies have attempted to capture sleep data, but few have had success convincing consumers to wear smartwatches to bed.

Pre-orders for the new S24 range begin on January 18 and are set to arrive in store on February 7.

Joseph Lam was a guest of Samsung in San Jose.