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Samsung took the wraps off its trio of smartphones in San Jose, California.
The South Korean smartphone maker’s next-generation Galaxy S24 range will focus on the software, while the exterior remains mostly the same. The S24 Ultra has a new titanium finish, while the S24 and S24+ have a more streamlined, balanced design with slimmer bezels.
READ: The top 5 gadgets of 2023 and what to expect in 2024
New features, powered by AI, include Circle to Search on Google, Live Translate for phone calls, Chat Assist with real-time AI text translations, Transcript Assist and Note Assist to summarise, hands-free communications for Android Auto and upgrades to the camera software.
In December 2023, CounterPoint Research said its preliminary data projected that GenAI smartphone shipments would reach over 100 million in 2024 and would go up to 522 million by 2027.
It added that “Samsung and Qualcomm are immediate leaders as their current product offerings and capabilities position them as first movers”.
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According to Samsung SA, its premium S24 Ultra will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, whereas the S24 and S24+ will carry Exynos 2400 chipsets. All three models will offer AI-powered features natively.
Introducing Circle to Search
Circle to Search is a new Android feature but the first to arrive on the S24 series. It lets users long press the home button, circle anything on their screen and instantly search on Google.
This can be used for travel videos, products or items of clothing or shoes you see in person after snapping a photo, eliminating the need to screenshot an image and upload it for a reverse Google Image search.
Zahir Cajee, mobile lead for products at Samsung South Africa, says they’re always trying to find the quickest and best way to search, and Circle to Search makes it much simpler.
READ: Watch: Meet Samsung's new range of foldables, watches, and tablets
Cajee says:
Live translate for voice calls
Another feature being introduced on the S24 range is live translate for phone calls to any other device, where a conversation can be had in real-time with on-device translations. There will be 13 language packs at launch for users to download once-off before initiating a call; however, none of them are any African languages.
At an in-person demonstration of the feature by Samsung, a call was made to a colleague who spoke Spanish. Once connected, the receiver heard a message that the call would be translated in real-time and after each sentence was spoken, there was a slight delay until it was translated. It worked mostly well, ending off with a random “good friend”.
This feature could be useful for travellers or business conducted across multiple regions and continents. The audio and text of the call can be viewed on the S24, including a summary version, powered by AI, which can be copied and pasted elsewhere.
Regarding privacy, Samsung South Africa stressed that this was an on-device feature made through a native voice call – and not data or WiFi, which won’t work on WhatsAapp – thus there would be no storage of the data.
Chat, Transcript and Note Assist
Other AI features on the device include the translation of text messages, allowing users to have conversations in multiple languages, plus the ability to suggest different tonalities to make it more relevant to the type of conversation being had. While this sounds great in theory, a proper review will determine how well it works.
Transcript Assist can summarise meetings and recordings into bullet points like minutes from a meeting, which can be shared. The same works with the Notes app, where text can be selected to be summarised.
It works with the native Samsung browser – and not Google Chrome – and while it could always translate from different languages, what’s new is the ability to summarise articles into bullet points. All the bullet point summaries can be copied and shared.
What can consumers expect?
Justin Hume, VP of mobile experiences at Samsung South Africa, tells the City Press that existing customers can now look forward to leveraging the full capability of AI directly on their mobile devices.
“Currently, if you want to experience AI in its true sense, like generative AI, it's computer-based or through third-party applications. With the S24, we’re integrating it into all parts of an experience you are already familiar with and bringing that full power to you,” says Hume.
From offering photo edits that remove reflections on images to Circle to Search, Hume says the capabilities of AI is that it’s not asking you to do the technical work.
Hume says:
All three devices are available for pre-order through Samsung South Africa’s website and mobile networks. It will be available on 9 February.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in titanium is priced at R32 499 for the 12/256GB capacity and the aluminium matte versions of the S24 start at R22 499 for the 8/256GB model. The S24+ starts at R25 499 for the 12/256GB model.
*Akabor is a guest of Samsung South Africa in San Jose, California.
