If you updated to last year’s Samsung phones and wanted a taste of this year’s AI-based features, you’re somewhat in luck.
New devices almost always get a shiny new feature last year’s model missed out on, and owners of those old devices mightn’t see them in their models. One year can bring about a lot of change, and manufacturers may not always pass every feature on.
But sometimes they do, and owners of older devices can get lucky in what they receive.
With both software and firmware updates allowing manufacturers to provide new features outside of anything hardware-based, we’re beginning to see some features unlocked and opened up across various devices found about town.
It’s like when a headphone maker adds a new wind cancellation feature that the headphones didn’t initially come with, or a phone suddenly supports something new.
In fact, that last one is actually is set to become a reality in April, as owners of several of last year’s Samsung Galaxy devices look set to get some of the features found in this year’s Galaxy S24 range, including the S24 Ultra.
They won’t get a chip with AI on-board — that’s hardware and can’t be recreated in software — but aspects of Samsung’s AI processing will be rolled out to owners of last year’s devices, including the
- Galaxy S23
- Galaxy S23+
- Galaxy S23 Ultra,
- Galaxy S23 FE
- Galaxy Z Flip 5
- Galaxy Z Fold 5, and
- Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 range including the Tab S9 Ultra.
The features are all AI-based, and include Samsung’s live translation and chat assist, both of which process languages for device owners.
Samsung will also be bringing the “Circle to Search” feature Google has begun rolling out to Pixel devices, while note assist features will summarise text in the Samsung Notes app, provided you’re not going over 1500 words.
You can also expect the generative AI image editing features to be a part of the feature update, though these may require online access, and could cost money for use of the AI features at the end of next year.
“Our goal with Galaxy AI is not only to pioneer a new era of mobile AI, but also to empower users by making AI more accessible,” said TM Roh, President and the Head of Mobile Experience Business for the company.
“This is only the beginning of Galaxy AI, as we plan to bring the experience to over 100 million Galaxy users within 2024 and continue to innovate ways to harness the unlimited possibilities of mobile AI.”
Samsung’s AI features will roll out via the One UI 6.1 update in April 2024.
