Lately, it hasn’t been easy to get excited about smartphones as one black slab hasn’t done much to differentiate itself from another slab in another pocket. That appears to be changing with the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series, thanks to its AI prowess. Many fundamental aspects of the smartphone are different here as most reviews point out, showering the three new phones in the series — Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra — with praise. There is AI left, right and centre.

The fact is not lost during a conversation with TM Roh, president and head of MX business, Samsung Electronics, during his visit to Delhi on Monday. The wide smile intact, over a long media interaction he offered a general overview of what AI means to the smartphone industry.

“With AI technology on the S24 series, we can enable barrier-free communication, perform tasks with greater ease and efficiency and unleash the inner creativity within us. Our R&D centres in Noida and Bangalore made important contributions in the course of developing Galaxy AI. India will remain instrumental in developing Galaxy AI technology as the leading base of state-of-the-art smartphone technology,” he said.

Of course, it’s difficult — if not impossible — to point out AI features exclusively developed in India as Samsung has R&D centres spread out globally, all of them working together. “Samsung will keep doing its best to maintain our leadership in mobile AI, which is poised for almost boundless growth,” said TM.

The new series has come at a very interesting moment when several new AI-focused devices are appearing on the scene. A few months ago, Humane introduced its AI Pin, which wants to present a screen-less future by taking advantage of AI while Rabbit R1 is an AI-powered gadget that can use your apps for you. None of these devices claim to kill the smartphone; it’s about synergy between devices.

“I am firmly convinced that AI technology will be the new driving force for the whole IT industry. When we look back at the history of the IT industry on the whole, the first major growth momentum came from the Internet in the 1980s and ’90s. Then, in the 2010s, it was the smartphone that continued the growth momentum. It is now AI technology that will further drive growth in the IT industry, and what’s important about AI is that it is only in its nascent stage, meaning, it is set to grow,” said TM.

He believes the technology should be used to accommodate consumer needs and help in everyday activities. He said: “The AI phone is important today and will be even more important down the road because it is the device that people use all the time; it is the easiest to use and do whatever you want and whenever you want. I believe that the mobile device will be at the core of AI and AI capabilities, and the AI companion devices that you have mentioned, I believe, will further enrich the mobile AI (experience) and by doing so, they will have a synergy effect with smartphones.”

AI and consumer needs

Many have zeroed in on the fine print on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 promotional page that notes that “Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices”, which sort of says that AI features will be provided free of cost for a certain period after which Samsung will take a call.

TM Roh has made it clear that the company has not decided on its course of action post-2025. “Mobile AI or AI... it only keeps developing and along the way, it will open up new possibilities and enable new experiences and new ecosystems. To customers and consumers who have long been perhaps content with the usability and the features provided by smartphones, we intend to provide even better usability and better experience with the AI capabilities on the S24 series.

“What we are foreseeing is that consumers who increasingly use Galaxy AI will come up with new needs and demands. A lot of resources and costs have been put into developing Galaxy AI and we will continue to do so, so there will be more resources and more costs involved in maintaining and advancing the Galaxy AI system. Despite the enormous resources invested as well as the cost involved in developing and providing these capabilities, we feel that it is more important for customers to be able to enjoy the experience and the new possibilities that are brought by Galaxy AI. What happens after 2025? No decision has been made and it is still under discussion. According to our analysis, there are various needs for mobile AI, so there would be consumers who will be satisfied with using the AI capabilities for free, and then there could also be consumers who wish for even more powerful AI capabilities. In the future, we will take all these factors into consideration.”

Hardware and software need to work together

Another interesting aspect of the AI game will be the selection of people running the show. Some believe there will be a greater need for scientists specializing in AI but TM Roh thinks the future is about maintaining a balance between hardware and software specialists.

“One thing about mobile AI is the importance of hardware. It will always be there because hardware has to be optimised so that it can support on-device AI. There is also the aspect of thinking of hardware in terms of network capabilities. They also have to be supported by hardware for Cloud-based AI to work. For mobile AI, software as well as hardware are equally important. The best direction for us is to make the right balance between hardware and software and to make sure that they are optimized for each other. And that is the direction Samsung mobile intends to take, moving forward.”

In fact, the role of hardware will be crucial when it comes to on-device AI. Server-based AI has unlimited capabilities but for on-device AI, the mobile has limited capacity. “We have to ensure that we have optimal operations to support the efficient functioning of AI. For new technologies and innovations, components that go into a device need to be specialized to enable AI capabilities. What is important is to make sure that we get synergy out of these two worlds,” said TM.

Samsung Galaxy S24 series — seen on display at San Jose — is packed with AI goodness

Samsung intends to bring the “Galaxy AI to around 100 million units within the year” to provide more experiences and usability to consumers and to popularise AI. He said: “We will continue to popularise new technologies as soon as possible, just like we did with, for example, LTE and 5G technology and foldables phones,” Roh said.

All eyes are on the next iteration of Samsung’s folding phones because those form factors will facilitate more meaningful AI. And, of course, there is the Galaxy Ring, which will appear in the coming months.

One of the AI features that you can try on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is adding slow-motion to any existing video

Beyond AI, Samsung intends to produce laptops in India starting this year. “The setup and preparation are currently underway, and we will be able to make supplies from this year.”

Mathures Paul