Samsung S24 talks big about AI

Samsung announces its new phones with AI features taking centre stage. The AI features are powered by Google’s Gemini models. A few are on-device, others via cloud. Hands-on with these features has some nice things, whereas others are still meh.

What's going on here?

Samsung’s new event was less about cameras and more about AI.

What does this mean?

Circle to Search stands out for speed and accuracy identifying objects. This visual search could be very convenient by eliminating steps. But it may get limited use if unavailable in private apps.

Chat Assist needs more work to sound natural rewriting messages. Its formal tone sounds robotic. Tone changes could prevent miscommunication, if done naturally.

Live Translate has potential to ease language barriers in calls. But it adds confusion from lag, disrupting conversations. Faster performance is critical.

Note formatting aids quickly structure text visually. But text summarization lacks nuance currently, with disjointed bullet points. More coherence and insight would make this tool more powerful.

Why should I care?

These AI features address common needs, like easier communication or formatting assistance. But competition is fierce, and users expect polished, intuitive experiences. The success depends on two things a) how good is the AI and b) how easy are these features to use. Tech Youtuber MrWhoseTheBoss thinks that adding these features in common-use apps like Phone, Camera, Browser and Notes is the right move, compared to creating new specialized apps.