The future of smartphones is simple: Massive leaps will come through software implementation rather than only hardware improvements. Samsung has stolen the game from its rivals by infusing its latest flagship phone series — Galaxy S24 — with AI goodness. There is AI across the board, that is, all three new phones — Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The final item on the list is in for review.
Going all-in with software magic means Samsung can easily push out updates to make its software stronger whenever there is new AI magic to be shared. Of course, AI needs a powerful processor to fall back on, which Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 allows and the software experience makes the Galaxy S24 Ultra one of the best phones to work with.
All the frills and thrills Samsung is known for remain on the phone — bright display, the S Pen, fast charging, top-of-the-line camera setup and gaming prowess — but the additions are nothing like we have seen on phones so far.
You might say that AI has been on the phone for a few years. Yes, we see it when the iPhone pulls up photographs from the gallery and sets it to music. Or when you use the Journal app on the iPhone, you notice a lot of pertinent questions being thrown at you while journaling.
Samsung brings it all together differently. The phone is on you 24x7, which means you would appreciate it if certain tasks were easily executed, like translation, transcription, writing style and so on. This is where the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip comes in. Qualcomm has baked in some AI processing features into the chip. It is up to the phone manufacturer to use these features.
AI is seen in the messages app
I will divide the article into my experience with the AI on the phone and then the hardware changes, which are small but meaningful.
Visual wizardry
If you have been a long-term Samsung user, you will know your way around the phone. But here’s something new — hold down the home button on the phone and then use the Circle to Search feature. No matter what screen you are on, you can circle an object on the screen and find corresponding results. It could be a pair of shoes, a shirt, a cat or a landmark, the phone will deliver relevant information about what you are looking at. The image/object you refer to can be anything on your phone.
It’s like Google’s Reverse Search or Google Lens but everything comes together seamlessly on the Samsung phone. It makes the function appear natural. And that is the biggest advantage of the phone — it speeds up work and makes an expensive phone worth every buck.
The Circle to Search feature may become one of the biggest hits of 2024. Sure, you can always type descriptions into the Google search bar to get results but this is very natural.
You can turn any video into a slow-motion one using AI on the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Press the AI icon to make life easy
What gives the new Galaxy S24 series wings is its use of Google Gemini Pro and Imagen 2. Galaxy S24 users can now access Google’s most capable AI model, Gemini, through apps and services built by Samsung.
Though we have been seeing the AI logo with all things Google in the past year, it will be Samsung that makes it a part of everyday life. Given its placement — at the heart of almost every other function — the message is: Just press it to make life easy.
For example, take the Voice Recorder app. You can now transcribe and summarise recordings. And the transcription quality is far higher than on most apps I have seen; it’s almost like using Otter.AI and if I am using any of S24 series phones, I doubt I would need to subscribe to a separate transcription app.
The most helpful feature I find in the Voice Recorder app is summarise, which easily collates the important points to give you an overview. All this takes place in a matter of seconds.
Even the Notes app is packed with AI. You can do things like straighten handwriting or, more importantly, turn notes into AI-generated points, which you can easily share. AI is there even in messages. You can tailor messages to mimic a certain tone — professional or chatty.
What I don’t understand is the improvements that have been made to the S Pen to take advantage of all the AI features. Perhaps, over time, Samsung will find new uses for the stylus.
Call me to get AI-ed
Even the phone app has AI goodness. It’s something I am most kicked about once I go on my annual vacation in a few months. Suppose you want to book a table at a restaurant and the person taking your call doesn’t know the language you speak. AI can do live transcription as well as translation between two parties.
It takes a few seconds but the translations are quite good. When I speak Hindi, it has the freshness of a caveman learning his first words. But the app can help me and ensure that I get a table for four and not 14 and that I order the correct dishes.
The transcription takes place offline, so you don’t need to have an Internet connection but before you use the feature, you will need to download the language pack that you require. Each of the packs is heavy, so use Wi-Fi.
Samsung has got the visual representation of the conversation spot on. So you won’t be confused while reading the messages. It’s the most accurate live translation feature I have used in quite a long time.
Wow photos
There are two things I want to talk about. First, the new lens setup. When you take photos, you can start with 0.6 ultra-wide 12MP photos. There is a nice depth to ultra-wide photos and it’s unlike on any other Android device. Then comes the 1x shot, which is about 23mm full-frame equivalent, f/1.7, 200MP sensor. Next, 3x shots (10MP) and when you use this you will get f/2.4 aperture. The next lens is the big change — 5x (50MP). This is a classic lens and I have been using this randomly. It’s fantastic. You can also shoot at 10x but it crops the centre of a frame but retains all the clarity you demand from a Samsung phone.
On-device AI offers suggestions to clean up photographs
But all eyes are on the AI features. There is both an editing feature and an information button. The information button now has more to offer than just EXIF data. AI analyses the picture and makes suggestions, like detecting and removing reflections. Or taking care of unwanted shadows.
Next, there is the editing button. AI helps to straighten photos and fill out the edges. So far we have seen something like this happening on a few websites offering generative AI tech. Here, you have it on your phone. Hold down on any object or subject, you’ll notice it being cut out from the background. You can either completely erase it from your image or drag it elsewhere. Click Generate and boom, magic happens. Samsung AI analyses the photo and then fills in blank areas.
Even videos have enough wow. For example, you can turn regular videos into slow-motion videos while AI generates new frames.
Hardware updates
Of course, the biggest hardware update on the Ultra is the titanium rails all around. Plus, the display is completely flat, which also means thinner bezels all around. The phone is running Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and we’re looking at a massive jump in peak performance. Geekbench scores are kind in both single-core performance as well as multi-core scores. It’s a phone that one can hold on to for years.
I will not get into the gorgeous 6.8-inch QHD+ display and how the 5,000mAh battery can tick over enough to give you power for the entire day.
Should you buy it?
AI comes with a certain degree of fear, so Samsung has added some nice guardrails, like having a watermark on photos and AI-related information baked into file details. On top of this, Samsung is offering seven years of major OS and security updates, which is akin to promising that the phone will be good for everyday use for years to come.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra gives you the feeling that work will get easier when you use this phone. So far it’s helping me but I will have an AI piece in the coming weeks to show you how far you can use the technology. Samsung has broken the monotony and clutter of smartphones with a fresh, AI-focused approach. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is truly one of the smartest smartphones you can own.
At a glance
Device: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Price: Upwards of Rs 129,999 (you can also avail special offers)
High notes
Meaningful AI integration
Fastest Android phone in the market
Excellent camera improvements, especially 5x telephoto
Titanium rails protects the device
Seven years of upgrades
