With the New Galaxy S24, Samsung Is Betting on Artificial Intelligence
Samsung officially announced the new Galaxy S24 , Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra today, January 17, at Unpacked 2024. New phone announcements are always intriguing, and these devices add some new features to the Galaxy lineup.
Galaxy AI
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Samsung is completely focused on artificial intelligence with the S24 series. Specifically, Samsung calls its technology “Galaxy AI.”
Live Translate was one of Samsung’s efforts in Galaxy AI: this feature works during phone calls and translates both text and voice using artificial intelligence on the device. If you’re communicating in person, Samsung wants you to use Interpreter, which splits your Galaxy’s screen in half, with one half translating your side of the conversation and the other translating your friend’s.
Chat Assist is a new feature that, like ChatGPT and other chat assistants before it, can attempt to change the tone of your messages to suit your target audience. Android Auto will use Galaxy AI to summarize incoming messages and suggest responses. Note Assist in Samsung Notes summarizes notes and creates templates, while Transcript Assist allows you to transcribe, summarize and translate voice notes.
I’m most interested in trying Circle to Find. Press and hold the Home button on your Galaxy, then write anywhere on the screen to search for that item using Google. While many AI features have varying utility, I see this one becoming more popular.
Part of this AI-powered text and image processing is powered by a new partnership between Samsung and Google. The S24 lineup will be the first smartphones to feature Google’s new Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 processors powered by Vertex AI, powered by Google Cloud, as well as in-device Gemini Nano processing, which is no doubt at the heart of many of the features we’re talking about Samsung announces today.
Characteristics of Galaxy S24
Samsung phones are always powerful, and this year is no exception. The entire S24 lineup uses the Galaxy’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Samsung is especially touting an improved NPU (neural processing unit) for AI processing.
All new phones feature displays with an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz and a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits. The Ultra’s display is made with Corning Gorilla Armor, which Samsung says reduces reflections and is more scratch-resistant.
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Galaxy S24: 6.2-inch display
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Galaxy S24+: 6.7-inch display
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Galaxy S24 Ultra: 6.8-inch ‘flatter’ display
The Ultra has a vapor chamber 1.9 times larger than before, which should help maintain cooler temperatures during more demanding tasks like gaming. The Ultra also uses a titanium body, like the iPhone 15 Pro.
While some of Samsung’s new AI processes run only on the device, others require Internet access. You can use Advanced Intelligence settings to block this information leak if you want to make your Galaxy S24 experience more private.
Galaxy S24 Cameras
Again, this year will be all about artificial intelligence, and photography is no exception. All new Galaxy S24 phones are equipped with the “ProVisual Engine”, which is an all-in-one for Samsung’s AI-powered photography tools.
Not surprisingly, there are also AI editing tools similar to the AI features seen on Google Pixel phones. S24 will prompt you to make changes to your photos, such as removing unwanted objects, recomposing the frame, and updating the image. If you do decide to change your image, you can fill in the gaps using generative AI and even artificially add slow motion to the video, generating new frames. We’ll have to see how well Samsung’s AI works here: it’s certainly a hit-or-miss feature.
A good step is that Samsung will create a watermark whenever you edit a photo using AI, so it won’t be misinterpreted as the original image.
But it’s not just about Samsung software. The company has added a new 5x optical zoom lens to the Galaxy S24 Ultra as part of its ‘Quad Tele System’ that uses a 50MP sensor to provide 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x zoom. There’s also a new and improved digital zoom that allows you to get up to 100x magnification with “crystal clear results,” according to Samsung.
Nightography tools for Space Zoom have been updated on all S24 devices. The Ultra has a larger pixel size (1.4 microns) and improved optical stabilization, which should help eliminate judder.
S24 colors
Like other companies, Samsung offers different color options for different levels of the S24.
The S24 and S24+ are available in Onyx, Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet and Amber Yellow, as well as Samsung.com exclusive colors including Jade Green, Sapphire Blue and Sandstone Orange.
On the other hand, the S24 Ultra comes in Titanium Grey, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet and Titanium Yellow colours. If you make a purchase on Samsung.com, you’ll have the option of Titanium Green, Titanium Blue, and Titanium Orange.
Environment and sustainable development
Like all tech companies these days, Samsung places a strong emphasis on sustainability and the environment in its statements. These phones are made from recycled cobalt and rare earth elements. The S24 Ultra’s battery is made from at least 50% recycled cobalt, and the speakers are made from 100% recycled rare earth elements and at least 40% recycled steel.
The entire line is the first in the S Series to use recycled steel and TPU, and every box supplied is made from 100% recycled paper material.
S24 support
Samsung is following Google by offering much longer software support than previous phones. While the S23 has four years of OneUI support and five years of security updates , the S24 line gets seven years of support in both categories.
When will the Galaxy S24 be available?
The Galaxy S24 series will be available from January 31, 2024, with pre-orders starting today, from January 17 to January 30 . If you pre-order through Samsung , you can get a free storage upgrade, which will take the storage from 512GB to 1TB. Ultra for the same base price. You’ll also receive $100 in Samsung credit.
How much does Galaxy S24 cost?
Samsung keeps prices largely in line with other OEMs, although it may lean toward the pricier side. The Galaxy S24 starts at $799.99 with 128GB and 256GB variants. The Galaxy S24+ starts at $999.99 in 256GB and 512GB storage variants. Finally, the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options.
Samsung is currently offering Samsung Care+ with Theft & Lost feature with a 20% discount on the purchase of a Galaxy S24 device.
Pre-order the new S24 device through Samsung: