On Wednesday, the South Korean company Samsung unveiled the latest lineup of its “S24” smartphone, which equipped it with multiple artificial intelligence functions such as instant translation of phone calls, in the company’s latest endeavors to challenge its American competitor, Apple.
Apple surpassed Samsung in smartphone exports for the year 2023, according to the data company International Data Corporation, demoting the South Korean company from a throne it had occupied since 2010.
What’s special about the new version?
- Samsung is offering several AI functions in its premium models of the Galaxy S24 phone as part of its strategy to attract buyers.
- The new phones will feature real-time two-way voice translation of a live phone call made in two different languages, which the company said the S24 is the first smartphone to ever offer.
- This feature is available on the device in thirteen different languages through Samsung’s generative AI training.
- Provides a “Circle to Search” feature, where circling any part of the image on the screen will search for it on Google.
- Other features include AI translation and changing the tone of messages to casual, formal, business or social media.
- There is also AI-enabled summarization and translation of audio recordings, “generative editing” of images that fill in non-existent backgrounds, and a feature that turns real-time video clips into slow motion by filling in non-existent frames using AI.
- The Galaxy S24 series will be sold starting January 31.
- In the United States, the price of the “Galaxy S24” phone in its basic version will start at $799, and two versions with higher specifications, the “S24 Plus” from 999 and the “S24 Ultra” from 1299.
- Samsung maintained the prices of the basic and “Plus” models at the same level as last year, while raising the price of the “Ultra” by $100.