In the first Unpacked of 2024, we saw the Galaxy S24 family, highlighted by the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung’s flagships in this first half of the year. For the first time, not only hardware was important, software was also the protagonist of this presentation. Galaxy AI.

We know that there will be no free service in the future, that it has managed to do its part to Android Auto, and that it will reach other phones in the most well-known galaxy of the mobile world with One UI 6.1. Of course, the bad news is that there aren’t as many as initially thought. This is confirmed by Samsung itself.

Galaxy AI only on mobile phones that can run it

Artificial Intelligence has grabbed all the covers in 2023 and is on track to do the same this year. In part, both Samsung and Google combined efforts It planned to bring certain features to Android, and the Korean manufacturer boasted about them at the presentation of its latest flagships.

These are the functions included in the Galaxy AI suite of the Galaxy S24.

Perhaps the same person was a little hasty in providing this. Galaxy AI will reach more phones in its portfolioand the final list of devices eligible to receive this improvement package is smaller than initially thought. Moreover, with some very important shortcomings.

Among the models stated to be compatible with Galaxy AI were the Galaxy S23, S23 FE, Z Flip5, Z Fold5 and even the Galaxy Tab S9 tablet. These will all get functions like ‘Circle for call’, Live Translation (real-time call translations), ‘Note Assist’ or ‘Photo Assist’ all in one place The update is planned for the first half of 2024.

In principle, this would be only the beginning, as we see, focusing mainly on the most technically capable (and therefore more expensive) devices. Later, according to the manufacturer’s statement, it would be included in more smartphones in the catalog, but After all, it won’t be like that..

As we read on Android Police, which echoes information from TechRadar, Samsung’s Head of Customer Experience explained: None of the devices released in 2022 made the cut to get the new artificial intelligence experience.

Limit AI features to older models and charge for them

Patrick Chomet, an employee of the Korean firm, notes that Samsung “is trying to ensure the quality and performance of what we distribute.” “Then we’ll learn how people use (Galaxy AI functions) and fine-tune the performance.” These statements leave no room for doubt: the first list was the beginning and also the end.

This will lead to some discouragement among users who hope to benefit from these developments in terminals such as the Galaxy S22, which has been on the market for less than two years and also uses the same chip as the latest S23 FE. Even so, the spokesman justified himself by saying “for now”, but everything seems to indicate that it will remain so.

But let’s remember that some AI functions are also available on the Samsung Galaxy S24. They will only be free until the end of 2025so they may lose something of general interest. Others, such as Google’s ‘Circle to search’, are expected to remain free for longer, but the American company’s latest moves are not very promising: Magic Editor requires a Google One subscription.

Perhaps these decisions will become a trend in the future, with brands restricting access to additional features on certain models. Let’s hope for our own sake that the first players on the roster realize this, though. We continue to carefully monitor any breaking changes regarding Galaxy AI, as well as any information regarding the next update to Galaxy from the Korean manufacturer.

via | Android Police

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