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Samsung and Google Cloud have announced a multi-year partnership that will bring the latest generative AI (GenAI) features to the new Galaxy S24 smartphones. The devices and the AI capabilities were unveiled at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event.
GenAI on Galaxy S24
The Galaxy S24 phones will be the first to use Gemini Pro, a large language model (LLM) from Google’s Gemini AI family, on Vertex AI, a machine learning platform that enables faster and easier development of new use cases. Gemini Pro will allow users to perform summarization and classification tasks across various Samsung apps, such as Notes, Voice Recorder, and Keyboard. Gemini Pro can handle different types of information, such as text, code, images, and video, and combine them in meaningful ways.
Another GenAI feature that will be available on the S24 devices is Imagen 2, a text-to-image diffusion technology developed by Google DeepMind. Imagen 2 will enable users to edit photos in the Gallery app using functions such as inpainting, outpainting, and composite editing. Both Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 will be delivered to smartphones through the cloud.
Samsung will also test Gemini Ultra, the largest and most complex model from Google’s Gemini AI family, on the Galaxy S24 phones. Gemini Ultra can perform tasks that require deep understanding and reasoning, such as natural language understanding, natural language generation, and computer vision.
The S24 series will also leverage Gemini Nano, an on-device LLM that is part of the Android 14 OS. Gemini Nano powers functions such as Google’s Chat Assist, which can rewrite messages into different tones, and Google’s Circle to Search, which allows users to search for anything on their Android phone without switching apps. Users can simply press the home button or navigation screen and select the items they want to search by circling, scribbling, highlighting, or tapping on them.
Other AI-powered features on the S24 phones include Live Translate, which can translate phone calls from one language to another in real time, Transcript Assist, which can record conversations and automatically detect different speakers, and Interpreter, which can provide two-way, real-time voice and text translations within the native app.
Samsung noted that the AI features will be coming to the Galaxy S23 series in the future.
S24 Series devices
The S24 devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and come in three models: the $799 Galaxy S24, the $999 Galaxy S24+, and the $1,299 Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a titanium frame, while the other two models have aluminum frames. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 6.8-inch flat display, the Galaxy S24+ has a 6.7-inch display and the Galaxy S24 has a 6.2-inch display.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is the latest flagship mobile processor from Qualcomm, the company that makes chips for many Android smartphones. It was announced on October 24, 2023, and is manufactured using a 4-nanometer process technology.
The S24 phones are set to go on sale on 31 January. During the live Unpacked event, TM Roh, president and head of the mobile experience business at Samsung Electronics, announced that the company would offer seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates for the devices.
Google CEO Thomas Kurian said that the partnership with Samsung also allows Samsung’s developers to use Google’s infrastructure to develop and deliver GenAI-powered applications for its smartphones.
Paolo Pescatore, the founder of analyst company PP Foresight, commented that the S24 launch had “certainly thrown the gauntlet to rivals and raises the benchmark for the next generation of smartphones”. He added that “this potentially could be the start of a new era for smartphones, representing a key super cycle for Samsung and all”.
