To better understand the new capabilities of the Galaxy S24, just make a call. From Samsung's Madrid offices, this newspaper makes a call to a Korean employee of the company. Before starting to speak, we activate simultaneous translation on the device. And when the interlocutor answers in Korean, a synthetic voice says “hello” while the word appears written on the screen. He speaks in Korean and the phone translates it to Spanish for us in real time. On the other side of the waves, our Spanish reaches the interlocutor in Korean.
The objective of the test is for the user to be able to understand another person with whom they do not share a language, for example in a call abroad to an establishment or a local service. It is one of the features enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) in the new high-end Galaxy S24 series launched today by Samsung. Coinciding with the avalanche of generative artificial intelligence, the company has proposed to introduce this type of technology in its new series in a comprehensive way. It adds simultaneous translation functions, but also automatic photo editing, image generation (in the style of Dall-E, the OpenAI tool) or text synthesis to send by email.
In line with previous generations, the company launches three devices: Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra. This latest version, the one with the highest performance, has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, has 12 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of storage. Its 6.8-inch screen is QHD+ and the camera consists of five sensors, the main one being 200 megapixels. The Galaxy S24 goes on sale in a price range that goes from 909 euros for the most basic version, the S24 with 128 GB of storage, to 1,819 euros for the S24 Ultra with 1TB of capacity.
The screens of the two younger brothers in the series increase in size. The S24 is 6.2 inches and the S24 Plus is 6.7 inches, both with a refresh rate that matches the 120 Hz of the Ultra model. The basic version of the series has 8GB of RAM, while the middle brother has 12 GB. Although the two share the camera, whose main sensor has 50 megapixels. In case there was any doubt, all models come with the latest version of Google's operating system, Android 14, and 5G connectivity.
Samsung, which had already used recycled plastics, aluminum and glass in the Galaxy S23, now incorporates new materials with a second life. In the guts of the S24 there are recycled steel and polyurethane, as well as neodymium and cobalt, the latter in the battery and speakers.
But hardware is only half the story, especially when for years manufacturers have been trying to introduce improvements to their devices without achieving the qualitative leaps they achieved previously.
With the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung has opted for AI to differentiate it from the competition. If we take each feature separately, there is nothing new that the most coffee-savvy techies haven't seen in the last year. But the company integrates generative artificial intelligence into its devices as a backbone factor, making it work natively in different applications. It is a novelty destined to become a trend, given the usual transfer of functionalities that takes place from the high-end to the mid-range over time.
Galaxy AI, as the backbone of the S24
Samsung has called the artificial intelligence of the S24 Galaxy AI. It is a technology made up of the firm's own developments and others that have been carried out with partners such as Google or Microsoft. One of the most striking is 'Circle to Search', which is precisely part of a collaboration with Google.
Thanks to this function, the user can select an object on the screen with their finger, wrapping it with a circular stroke. They can be sneakers from an image or an animal that appears in a video. At any time you can pause the screen and use this option. The AI isolates the object, searches for it on Google, and provides information to the user. They will be able to tell you what model and brand of shoes they are or what species the animal belongs to. Galaxy AI also performs simultaneous translation functions on WhatsApp. Two people will be able to chat in their respective languages and each will receive a translation, accompanied by the original message. Something that can also be activated in Gmail and other email services. This fulfills the objective of facilitating communication, although AI translations may contain inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
The Samsung Galaxy S24's AI also offers productivity shortcuts. It can summarize an article that the user visits on the Internet, transcribe an audio recording or convert handwritten notes to digital text, as well as take that information and organize it for later sending by email.
Samsung has also injected the corresponding dose of AI in the photography section. The user can find suggestions for editing a photo by swiping up. The device will offer you the best options, whether erasing reflections, if the image was taken through glass, or adding a “portrait effect”, if the system detects that a person appears.
In addition, the terminal's generative AI is capable of filling a background, if necessary, or cutting out an object from the image and pasting it somewhere else. In that case, it will also fill in the blank space.
The company assures that it has implemented safeguards against the use of AI. Images modified on the devices will be given a watermark to identify them. And the device's artificial intelligence will not learn from users' calls or information on their phone. Samsung claims that it trains its algorithms with other types of data.
This launch by Samsung coincides with the news, known yesterday, that Apple has surpassed the Korean company as the leading mobile brand for the first time in 13 years. The company trusts that flagships like this will encourage your sales this year.
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