AI in smartphones is nothing new, but now we have a better picture of what all this all-pervasive technology can actually do in smartphones, especially with the power of Generative AI unleashed in the past couple of years. Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 series devices are a testament to this newfound prowess can be put to use without overwhelming the users or making the smartphone itself feel out of place. Here are our first impressions from having spent an hour or so with the new devices. Design and display On the design front, Samsung has retained the look of the S24 and S24+ while the Ultra now has a satin finish that makes it feel more luxurious and plush, even as it offers a better grip than before. The size remains the same too though the Ultra has just a slit at the bottom for the speaker where there was an extra speaker grill earlier — hardly a design change. While the phone now comes with vapor cooling, this has not made the phone heavier. But Samsung has now rolled out a titanium frame for the Ultra, even as it kept in aluminum for the other two models. But somewhere the S24 and S24+ have started resembling the iPhones, especially with the darker colours. The 6.8-inch Ultra has the brightest display ever in the Galaxy series with 2600 nits and the QHD+ AMOLED screen is visibly much brighter than last year’s model. It also has a Corning Gorilla Armor glass which comes with less reflection and better scratch resistance. The adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate is now available in even the 6.2-inch S24 and 6.7-inch S24+ too. The former is however a full HD display. The AI features The S24 series phones bring in AI features primarily around language, productivity and camera. The use cases are developed around what Google has been showcasing for a few years now, though Samsung is doing most of it on the device without the need for access to the Internet. The most impressive feature is the phone’s ability to allow multilingual conversations via the native call app. I tried to book a taxi using Hindi with someone who was speaking in Korean and the translation worked well enough to get the job done. There is a few seconds of delay at the start as the user on the other end — who could be using any phone — is informed that AI is being used to translate the conversation. You can see a live text version of the conversation too if needed, but it won’t be visible if you have the phone to your ears. This level of translation skills is available also in messaging where the Samsung keyboards let you respond in any of the 13 languages even as the incoming text is also translated into the language of your choice. This too works really well, on device. Any note you have on the phone also also be translated similarly using the phone's AI skills, pretty much killing the need for third-party translator apps for this set of users. When it comes to productivity, the S24 series phones can format any notes you would have taken. In fact, it can give you multiple options to choose from, based on just random awkward notes you would have jotted down. Then while it can transcribe any conversation or meeting, it also has the ability to summarise the same into bullet points. And this will reduce user dependence on third-party apps like Otter which are often paid. Another interesting use case is Circle to Search where Samsung has worked on the Google Lens feature but taken it to a whole new level. When you are browsing a website or stumble upon a photo while on a social media platform, you can long-press the home button to activate this feature and select any part of the picture to find out what or where it is. The same can also be used with a phone you have just clicked to get more details, say about a shoe or maybe a company logo. You can use the S-Pen on the Ultra to circle the subject or just use your finger for the same. This AI layer also makes a significant impact on the camera app, especially with suggesting possible editing changes. I loved how the app can now remove reflections, which is very common when you are shooting a night scene from an indoor setting. It can also remove shadow from a subject, say in a portrait, but do it intelligently enough to erase the shadow from across the frame and not just the subject. At the moment it can also erase elements like with Google Pixel phones. It can also create new slow-motion video by adding additional frames where needed. Taking AI use on the camera to the next level is the generative AI options, which needs the phone to be online. Using this you can select an object in the photo and move it around with the AI filling up the remaining space. It can also straighten frames and change angles, as the AI patches the gaps. The demos were impressive, but we will need to use this ourselves to really see how good the entire frame is in all types of scenarios. Camera When it comes to the camera, most of the focus in the new Ultra was on the 5X optical lens. Basically, the 10x optical zoom 10MP sensor combo on the S23 Ultra has been replaced by a 5x, 50MP combo in the new version. There is still 10x, but it will be a crop of what the combo captures. Apparently, Samsung has listed to customer feedback that 3x and 5x were more used than 10x and optimized the camera system for that. As an S23 Ultra user, I tend to agree with this approach. Now you can stop anywhere between 1x to 10x and get a very detailed image. The clarity of the images has also improved in the digital zoom of up to 100x, again thanks to AI. It is now good enough to scan a QR code at full zoom. Impressive. The S24 Ultra’s quad camera system now looks like this: 12MP Ultra-Wide Camera, 200MP Wide Camera, 50MP Telephoto Camera with 5x Optical Zoom, 10MP Telephoto Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 12MP Front Camera. With the phone switching to a larger 1.4 μm pixel size, the results are expected to be better in low light, especially when using the space zoom feature. The S24 and S24+ pretty much have the same camera setup as last time with a 12MP Ultra-Wide Camera, 50MP Wide Camera and 10MP Telephoto Camera with 3X optical zoom along with a 12MP Front Camera. Processor and battery The S24 Ultra will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform which has been optimised especially for Samsung and enables a lot of the AI functionalities on the device. Tapping the gamers, the top-end model sports a 1.9x larger vapour chamber this time to keep it cool even when you are into high-end gaming with ray-tracing. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 5000 mAh battery while the S24+ has a 4900 mAh battery and the smaller S24 has 4000 mAh. Conclusion While Samsung has not made major hardware changes in the S24 series, it has taken the software to a whole new level with usable AI features that add real value for users. The features are no gimmick and will come in handy for the users, whichever device they are on in the series. These AI features also give us a sneak peek into how smartphones will develop in the coming years, pausing the hardware push in favour of a major AI-driven push. Wait for our full review in the coming weeks. The author is in California on the invite of Samsung.
