The era of AI has reached a new level of excitement, with Samsung’s AI smarts showing the way many in the industry will move to make AI and creativity effortless for end-users, be it live translation in calls and text messages, “circle to search”, insanely good cameras with nightography, improved optical image stabilisation, the brightest screens outdoors, full privacy and so much more – please read on!
Samsung has finally unveiled its new Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24, unleashing new mobile experiences with what Samsung is calling “Galaxy AI” – but that’s not all. With 7 years of security and OS updates, the strongest screen ever on Samsung phones, the brightest screens, the best cameras, a flat screen for enhanced writing, new Samsung Health capabilities, and tons of AI enhancements – Samsung is staking its claim to be THE best Android phone in 2024 and beyond.
I had a chance to play with the Samsung S24 range at CES, under embargo – and the result is impressive! Samsung has pulled out ALL the stops, releasing a phone that is MORE powerful than the Google Pixel 8 Pro, more powerful and capable than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and better than any of its Android competitors – and the AI enhancements, detailed in full below, truly are impressive – and just the beginning of what’s possible.
I have more videos of what the S24 can do that I captured at CES, but because I’ve been lain a bit low by COVID, I haven’t finished editing them all yet, but I’ll publish them in a separate article later today.
So, for those needing a refresher, the “Galaxy S” is Samsung’s flagship smartphone range, and the company is promising this heralds “a new era that will forever change how mobile devices empower users.”
Given the importance of AI in being able to genuinely help end users in so many ways, which we’ll look at below, it’s no surprise to see AI amplifying nearly every experience on the Galaxy S24 series, from enabling barrier-free communication with intelligent text and call translations, to maximising creative freedom with Galaxy’s ProVisual Engine, to setting a new standard for search that will change how Galaxy users discover the world around them.
TM Roh, the President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics said: “The Galaxy S24 series transforms our connection with the world and ignites the next decade of mobile innovation.
“Galaxy AI is built on our innovation heritage and deep understanding of how people use their phones. We’re excited to see how our users around the world empower their everyday lives with Galaxy AI to open up new possibilities.”
Now, as regular readers and listeners to my radio shows and TV know, I am a HUGE advocate for watching the keynote – in full. Not the cut down versions that people and news organisations edit into smaller chunks, but the full thing. These keynotes are like a sci-fi movie, but instead of what’s being shown to come true in 50 or 100 years, or longer, it’s all coming true in a couple of weeks when these new devices launch onto the market – and of course, Samsung and its partners have a range of really generous pre-order and trade-in offers for end-users so they can take advantage of the latest tech, faster.
So – here’s the keynote, and it will start just as the keynote is starting – plenty more after this video:
So, what are the meaningful AI experiences that Samsung is now offering? Let’s start with communication, the no.1 use for your smartphone.
AI in Communication scenarios
When you need to communicate with people who speak different languages that you do, Galaxy S24 makes it easier than ever, and without any additional third party apps, all three Galaxy S24 devices can translate voice or text from any of the following languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Samsung explains you can chat with a student or colleague from abroad. Book a reservation while on vacation in another country, using the “Live Translate” capability, offering two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls within the native Phone app. If you had to do this with something like the Google Translate app, it would be a very messy experience.
Then there’s the Interpreter mode, where Samsung explains “live conversations can be instantly translated on a split-screen view so people standing opposite each other can read a text transcription of what the other person has said. It even works without cellular data or Wi-Fi.”
Now this is something you can do with the Google Translate app, and in more languages besides, but this is still impressive – and Samsung will increase the number of languages available to translate to and from, too.
For messages and other compatible apps, Samsung notes its “Chat Assist” capability can help perfect conversational tones to ensure communication sounds as it was intended: like a polite message to a coworker or a short and catchy phrase for a social media caption. AI built into Samsung Keyboard can also translate messages, emails and more in real-time into the 13 languages listed above, and again, more languages are coming.
Then there’s the new Note Assist feature inside of the Samsung Notes app, featuring AI generated summaries of the notes you’ve taken, template creation that streamlines notes with pre-made formats, and cover creation to make notes easy to spot with a brief preview.
For voice recordings, even when there are multiple speakers, Transcript Assist uses AI and Speech-to-Text technology to help transcribe, summarise and even translate recordings into select languages – no more need to pay Otter.ai $20 per month for the same features.
Circle to Search
Communication isn’t the only way Galaxy S24 takes the fundamental benefits of the phone into the future. Online search has transformed nearly every aspect of life. Galaxy S24 marks a milestone as the first Galaxy phone to debut intuitive, gesture-driven Circle to Search with Google.
This is a cool feature! On any page you’re on, any photo, any video, just long press on the white line “home button” at the bottom of the screen. Then you can circle, highlight, scribble on, or tap virtually anything on Galaxy S24’s screen to see helpful, high-quality search results – in conjunction with Google, with both Google and Samsung having worked on this feature.
As Samsung explains, if you see a beautiful landmark in the background of your friend’s social media post, or a surprising fun fact on YouTube Shorts, you can quickly learn more – without having to leave the app that you’re in. It’s that easy. And that epic.
S24 Ultra’s big camera improvements
The Galaxy S24 Ultra model features a new “ProVisual Engine“, which is “a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools that transform image capturing abilities and maximise creative freedom every step of the way, from setting up a shot all the way to sharing it on social.”
Gone are shaky, pixelated images taken from far away. Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Quad Tele System, with a new 5x optical zoom lens, works with the 50MP sensor to enable optical-quality performance at zoom levels from 2x, 3x, 5x to 10x magnification thanks to Adaptive Pixel Sensor. Capture clear images from far away by zooming in up to 100x with enhanced digital zoom.
Samsung showed multiple demonstrations of how you can be far away from dancers on a stage, or an item in the distance, and when you zoom in – whether in bright sun, low light or even at night – the results are sharp and clear, and based on what I’ve seen thus far, look fantastic.
Night photos with Nightograhy
Samsung explains its upgraded Nightography capabilities ensure photos and videos shot on Galaxy S24 Space Zoom are brilliant in any conditions, even when zoomed in.
Capture more light in dim conditions with Galaxy S24 Ultra’s larger pixel size, now 1.4 μm, which is 60% bigger compared to the previous model.
Blur is reduced on Galaxy S24 Ultra with wider optical image stabiliser (OIS) angles and enhanced hand-shake compensation. When recording videos, both front and rear cameras are equipped with Dedicated ISP Block for noise reduction, and Galaxy S24 analyses gyro information to distinguish between the filmer’s movement and the subjects. This allows more effective noise removal and clear videos in the dark, even from far away.
Editing your photos with AI on every S24 model
After great shots are captured, innovative Galaxy AI editing tools enable users to make simple edits like object, reflection, and shadow eraser, re-compose, and remaster photos. For easier and more efficient optimisations, Edit Suggestion uses AI to suggest tweaks for each photo.
To give users even more creative control and freedom, Generative Edit can fill in parts of an image background with generative AI.
When a picture is crooked, AI can help fill in the borders. When an object needs to be slightly moved to be in the perfect position, AI can help users adjust the position of the subject and generates a perfectly blended background in its original spot.
Anytime Galaxy S24 deploys generative AI to amplify an image, a watermark will appear on the image and in metadata. And if an action-packed video needs to be slowed down, new Instant Slow-mo can generate additional frames based on movements to smoothly slow down action-packed moments for a more detailed look.
To ensure every image stun at every stage, Super HDR reveals lifelike previews before the shutter is ever pressed. While capturing memories is an essential phone feature, sharing memories with the world is just as meaningful. Now, select third-party social apps make the most of Galaxy’s AI-powered camera system.
Premium Galaxy S series camera features now integrate directly with mobile apps, like Instagram, in HDR to level up social sharing. When it’s time to find an image in Gallery or on your go-to social app, photos are also shown in Super HDR for a more lifelike range of brightness, colour, and contrast, by analysing highlighted section of the images.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy – the enhanced brains of each S24
As AI becomes a more prominent part of everyday life, Samsung notes “performance power must excel to meet the demands: Gaming. Heavy-duty video recording and editing. Jumping between five apps as you plan a trip.”
Whatever the task, Galaxy S24 provides an incredible experience thanks to enhancements in its chipset, display and more. Every Galaxy S24 Ultra is equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. Optimised especially for Galaxy users, this chipset delivers remarkable NPU improvement for incredibly efficient processing. In all three Galaxy S24 models, 1-120 Hz adaptive refresh rates also improve performance efficiency.
Smarter cooling for longer sustained performance
Galaxy gaming is more powerful thanks to hardware and software improvements. Galaxy S24 Ultra boast an optimal thermal control system with a 1.9 times larger vapour chamber, improving device surface temperature while also maximising sustained performance power. Ray tracing enables life-like visuals with superior shadow and reflection effects. And through collaboration with industry-leading gaming partners, Galaxy S24 let users enjoy more optimised popular global mobile games.
Visuals are more vibrant and captivating on the brightest Galaxy display ever. Galaxy S24 reaches up to 2,600nit peak brightness and delivers improved outdoor visibility with Vision Booster.
On the display, Corning Gorilla Armor on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is optically enhanced and demonstrates superior durability against damage caused by everyday scratches.
Across the Galaxy S24 series, design enhancements with slimmer and even bezels make it easier to immerse in any viewing experience and enable larger screen sizes on Galaxy S24+’s 6.7-inch and Galaxy S24’s 6.2-inch displays within the same size specifications. Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 6.8-inch flatter display, optimised not just for viewing but also for productivity. Plus, Galaxy S24+ now supports the same level of QHD+ found on Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung Knox Matrix – an advanced multilayer and privacy platform for user choice and trust
Secured by Samsung Knox, Galaxy’s multi-layer security platform, Galaxy S24 can help safeguard critical information and protects against vulnerabilities with end-to-end secure hardware, real-time threat detection and collaborative protection.
The Knox Matrixxx vision of a secure, connected and password-less future is also advanced with passkeys. Passkeys enable convenient and secure access to a user’s registered websites and apps across all their trusted devices through digital credentials, helping to protect against phishing attacks.
Enhanced Data Protection offers end-to-end encryption when users backup, sync or restore their data with Samsung Cloud, allowing Galaxy S24 users to connect to other devices while staying synchronised and secure. This ensures the data can only be encrypted or decrypted on a user’s devices.
And if access to a trusted device is lost, a recovery code can help prevent loss of data. Galaxy S24 is also protected with Samsung’s expansive list of innovative security and privacy features including Knox Vault, Security & Privacy Dashboard, Auto Blocker, Secure Wi-Fi, Private Share, Maintenance Mode and more.
Titanium frame for the S24 Ultra, Aluminium for the S24 and S24+
Galaxy S24 Ultra is the first-ever Galaxy phone to feature a titanium frame. Galaxy S24 Ultra’s thinner body enables better on-the-go experience with more comfortable grip.
On Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24, a streamlined One-mass design satisfies a more aesthetic standard with seamless connection between the device’s rear cover and side frame. The Galaxy S24 series comes in Earth mineral-inspired colour tones. All three models will come with additional colours available online only on Samsung.com.
On Galaxy S24 Ultra, colours include: Titanium Grey, Titanium Black, Titanium Violet, and Titanium Yellow. Online exclusive colours include Titanium Blue, Titanium Green and Titanium Orange.
On Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 colours include: Onyx Black, Marble Grey, Cobalt Violet, and Amber Yellow. Online exclusive colours include Sapphire Blue, Jade Green and Sandstone Orange.
Australian prices and pre-order offers:
For the second year running, Samsung has been awarded the 2024 Most Satisfied Customers in the Smartphone Category by Australia’s leading consumer comparison site, Canstar Blue. Demonstrating its continued commitment to user experience, the brand received top marks of 5 stars for overall satisfaction and the supporting criteria of user friendliness, durability, design, and camera quality.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy S24 series start from 18th January 2024, with general on-sale availability from 7th February 2024.
The Galaxy S24 Series smartphones will be available from the Samsung.com/au and Samsung Experience Stores, as well as retail and telco partners. Further pricing and on sale information below:
Australian Samsung executive commentary:
Eric Chou, the Director of Mobile eXperience at Samsung Electronics Australia said: “The Galaxy S24 series transforms our connection with the world and ignites the next decade of mobile innovation. We are excited to bring these latest innovations to Australia and see how our users around the world empower their everyday lives with Galaxy AI to open up new possibilities.
“Samsung has always been a leader in the mobile category. We have redefined the expectations of what mobile devices can do and how people use their smartphones. From innovating how Australians use a smartphone camera, to developing new ways of communication, the Galaxy S24 Series will continue to push the boundary of what is possible from a mobile device.
“We are seeing a shift in the mobile tech market. While there has been a red uction in discretionary spending, there is a clear demand for premium devices. We know that Australians are seeking out premium, personalised experiences, and want mobile devices that will complement their busy lifestyles, offering the latest in camera technology, productivity, connectivity.
“The Galaxy S24 series directly addresses our customers’ need for premium devices that are powered by Samsung’s cutting- edge technology and provide features that make productivity and everyday tasks easier. We can’t wait to get these devices in the hands of Australians for a connected experience that inspires them to be creative and express themselves.”
