Samsung Electronics introduced new AI features, such as real-time interpretation, based on on-device AI and cloud AI in the 'Galaxy S24 series.'

Samsung Electronics held the 'Galaxy Unpacked 2024' event at the SAP Center in San Jose, USA on the 17th (local time), and held a 'Galaxy S24 Series' press conference at the Samsung Electronics press room in Jung-gu on the 18th.

■ Thin and light S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra with a similar design to their predecessors

▲Samsung Electronics Galaxy S24 series

The Galaxy S24 series' design appears similar, but has changed. First, the S24 is the lightest at 167g, and the S24 and S24+ feature a one-mess design with thin bezels. The S24 and S24+ offer a refined feel, unlike their predecessors, but the Ultra is a bit disappointing in that it's not a full-size phone. The S24 and S24+ feature upgraded aluminum sides, resulting in the smallest bezels ever.

The S24 Ultra weighs 232g, similar in size and weight to its predecessor, but its flat display has made it slightly thinner. The front display features a new Corning® Gorilla® Armor titanium material. Samsung Electronics explains that it reduces light reflection by up to 75% compared to standard glass, enhancing the luxurious blackness and improving scratch resistance by four times.

The colors are a mix of muted pastel tones, making for a versatile choice. Samsung Electronics also unveiled a dedicated case today.

■ How useful are on-device AI interpreters?

▲Demonstration of on-device AI-based real-time interpretation function

Samsung Electronics is the first Google Cloud partner to be equipped with Gemini Pro, a multimodal AI platform based on Vertex AI. Additionally, Google DeepMind's text-to-image conversion and AI image creation tool 'Imagen2' is installed.

At the event, Samsung Electronics personally handled models from the Galaxy S24 series and demonstrated AI features such as real-time interpretation during calls, real-time message translation, Circle to Search, Note Assist, voice recording and translation, and camera and gallery editing. While most of these features utilize on-device AI and work offline, search utilizes cloud AI.

The Galaxy S24 series is the first to feature on-device AI-based "Live Translate" functionality. This on-device AI can be used without going through the cloud (server) and eliminates the need to download a separate app.

On this day, the demonstrator demonstrated making a reservation at an American restaurant in English. When the real-time interpretation button was pressed on the call screen, a notification appeared indicating that call translation would begin. The translation would be translated into English, and the other person's English sentences would be instantly translated into Korean. While the delay between translation languages was around three seconds, the accuracy was high. A total of 13 languages are supported, and the interpretation function can be used offline with the interpretation app.

Samsung Electronics has also enabled real-time message translation by integrating on-device AI into the keyboard itself. Texts exchanged in Spanish were automatically recognized and translated, and even Korean texts were converted to Spanish when sent. This feature is available for both sent and received messages. The generative AI recommends five tones, transforming messages from a friend-like tone to a more polite one, and even inserting hashtags for social media. All typos and spellings are automatically corrected and translated, and both functions are possible at the same time.

Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy S24 series will be able to access AI document features previously introduced by Naver through the Clova Note app, even without an internet connection. First, pressing the text conversion button on a recorded meeting minutes file in the recording app will identify the speaker and provide translation and dictation (script). It will also summarize the meeting content. A translation function is also included for added convenience. Samsung Notes summarizes and presents notes in various formats, including titles and bullets. Foreign language texts on the internet can also be instantly translated by pressing the AI button and selecting "Translate."

These features aren't entirely new. However, their significance lies in the fact that they optimize and integrate useful functions, improving work productivity without the need for the internet or separate apps.

■ Circle to Search, Search Anything

▲Demonstration of the Circle to Search feature

The 'Circle to Search' feature, developed in collaboration with Google, is based on cloud AI. When searching while surfing the web, using social media, or using YouTube, users can simply draw a circle on any screen to summon the browser and provide the optimal answer, rather than a list. Users can conduct searches as if they were having a conversation with a generative AI. Since the entire conversation is remembered, users can continue asking questions like a chatbot.

While viewing any image on the website, long-press the home button at the bottom to launch the search function and open the browser. Simply circle or square a part of the image you're interested in, and the generative AI will perform the search.

Ultimately, it supports all on-screen searches. If you're wondering something while walking, you can simply press the home button with the camera turned on to search without having to take a picture of it.

■ Enhanced camera experience, feel vivid

The Galaxy S24 series' camera also features improved generative AI. The Quad Tele System delivers the same image quality up to 10x in plain zoom. The S24 Ultra features a rear quad camera with a 200-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens (3.5x zoom), while the front camera boasts a 12-megapixel lens. Even pinch-zooming into the camera app revealed minimal image distortion. The 100x zoom range is similar to its predecessor. Nightography has also been extended to 5x zoom.

The demonstration showcased editing capabilities powered by generative AI. First, photos could be tilted without the usual cropping of edges. Similar to Photoshop's lasso tool, people could be circled and moved. The gaps left by missing images are filled in by generative AI, rather than by vertical alignment, resulting in a more natural image. Editing is now possible with simple Photoshop features. Edited images can be compared to the original and saved. The AI logo watermark is displayed in the lower left corner.

The "Instant Slow-mo" feature, also introduced, adds slow-motion functionality to videos. While playing a saved video, long-pressing on a specific section of the screen will apply a slow-motion effect and play it back. This feature works not only with recorded videos but also with shared videos.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus are currently equipped with Samsung Electronics' Exynos 2400, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra is equipped with Qualcomm's 'Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy' AP. A Samsung Electronics official said, "Despite the difference in AP, AI performance will work the same across all models," but there was no clear answer as to how much of an improvement it will provide over the Exynos 2200 AP, which showed lower performance than the Snapdragon 8 2nd generation in Geekbench.

Samsung Electronics also explained that it optimized the heat dissipation system with a 'Vapor Chamber' that is up to 1.9 times larger than the Ultra standard to address the overheating issue in the Exynos 2200.

As such, it remains to be seen how accurate the AI in the Galaxy S24 series will be in its search function, while also providing useful translation and camera features. On this day, an official stated that it was difficult to comment on AI recognition rates. Furthermore, the AI embedded in the Galaxy S24 series has completed training and no additional training is being performed. To upgrade AI performance, an update via Samsung's One UI would be required, the official stated.

The S24 currently runs One UI 6.1, which includes AI features. A Samsung representative stated, "These AI features may be expanded to previous models as well," but did not reveal specific plans. However, since AI features are hardware-based, previous generations may not offer them.