Samsung unveils AI-powered Galaxy S24, starting new era in smartphone race

PALO ALTO, U.S.– Samsung Electronics unveiled its first AI-powered phone series on Wednesday, kick-starting a race to leverage generative artificial intelligence to reenergize the smartphone market.

Galaxy AI, which is embedded in every model in the S24 series, will be “opening a new era of mobile AI,” Samsung said. Galaxy AI will enable live translation during phone calls, note taking and summary capabilities, as well as other generative AI-powered functions in S24 phones.

“Artificial intelligence will bring about great change in the mobile industry and in the way we live,” TM Roh, president and head of mobile experience (MX) business at Samsung Electronics, said at a launch event.

“As mobile devices become the primary access point for AI, Samsung Galaxy will be the open gateway for secure and meaningful AI experiences on a global scale,” he added.

Samsung’s first AI phone will be powered by Google’s Gemini large language model and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, which features improved neural processing units that run AI models more efficiently with less power consumption. The S24 series will also be the first Galaxy phone to have titanium frames, making them more durable.

Users will be able to decide if they want their data to be processed online or completely on-device, which will not be able to access all AI functions.

While the AI-powered functions are only available in the S24 series, Samsung said it is also planning to bring Galaxy AI to other devices such as tablets and smartwatches.

The new S24 series — the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra — range in price from $799 to $1,299. The phones can be pre-ordered as of Wednesday and will hit shelves on Jan. 31.

Market researcher Counterpoint estimates that generative AI-capable smartphones accounted for about 4% of all handset shipments for 2023 and will double to about 8% in 2024. Samsung is seen capturing half this market followed by major Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi, Vivo, Honor and OPPO. It projects that the AI smartphone penetration rate could reach 40% by 2027.

Driven by an overall recovery of the smartphone market in 2024 and new demand for AI phones, Samsung has told suppliers that it aims to churn out more than 240 million smartphones in 2024, which is about 9% higher than the order forecast the company gave earlier in 2023.