It’s not because it was expected that Samsung has stopped surprising. We knew for weeks that in January we would have the new Samsung Galaxy S24 (we already have the first impressions of all the Galaxy S24s) and that both the system and the SoC would be very focused on AI functions.
However, what we didn’t expect was for Samsung to be such strong competition not only to Apple and its iPhone 15, but also to Google itself and its Pixel 8. Yes, Samsung and Google are allies , but With the Galaxy S24’s new AI features…why would we want a Pixel?
Samsung and Google, a symbiotic relationship
Obviously there are many reasons to choose a Google mobile (that special customized version of Android), but Samsung just launched a missile at Google. And that makes a lot of sense. But hey, let’s start at the beginning, and here we have to talk about the relationship between the two companies.
First of all: Samsung is one of the companies that sells the most mobile phones, which positions them as one of the flagship products of Android (and Google by extension). Galaxy’s reach the top with their own apps that replace Google’sbut Google spends a lot of money on contracts to get its apps front and center on the Galaxy.
This information was leaked a few months ago due to Epic’s antitrust lawsuits against Apple and Google and it is extremely sensitive information, but hey, the reality is that Google wants to get along with Samsung. And vice versa of course since it is a symbiotic relationship.
Now though, This is not limited to the relationship between Samsung hardware and Google software, but goes beyond. Samsung is one of the biggest companies when it comes to chip manufacturing. The Exynos are an example, but when Google decided to put aside the Qualcomm Snapdragon to create the processors for its Pixel 6, it did not turn to TSMC, but to Samsung.
This is why it has always been said that Tensors are a species of Exynos and, with the presentation of the Exynos 2400 a few months ago, the industry made it clear that they would be like the Tensor G3 of the Pixel 8 Pro, perhaps a little more powerful, but with the idea that they would be very effective in terms of artificial intelligence. calculations.
And, after seeing the presentation of the new Galaxy S24, it seems that this idea was not wrong. Absolutely.
The Galaxy S24, AI and the payment functions controversy
Dejando ado lado las capacidades de la cámara de los Pixel y el propio operativo sistema, en lo que más hacer han centrado Google estos últimos años es en como sus procesadores Tensor poenciaban los cálculos de la AI para hacer que sus móviles fueran mejores en el day after day.
Many of these functions run invisibly in the systembut there are other more obvious ones like the Magic Eraser of the photo editor or the most recent function to change faces in the Pixel 8. There are other similar functions, like the different portrait modes or the possibilities Gemini, but the main thing to keep in mind The fact is that Google has not focused as much on power as on demonstrating the capabilities of its AI processors.
This is precisely what Samsung highlighted during the presentation of its Galaxy S24. Yes, they said the GPU in their new phones is very powerful, but What they spent the most time on were the functions that rely on AI. And that’s what we talk about the most.
The reason? The Pixel’s Magic Eraser has a replica in the Galaxy: it’s called Object Eraser and it works very similar to what we’ve seen on Google’s mobile phones. The Pixel wallpaper creator is also present in the Galaxy S24, along with a copied Magic Compose feature shown at Google I/O last year for Google Photos.
And we’re not just talking about photography.but from the simultaneous translation system that Samsung now also has or the subtitles of the content broadcast on the mobile, among other functions borrowed from the Pixel.
It’s clear that if Google was boasting about these features and Samsung was the company making the chips, the South Koreans were going to score something and we saw everything together during the presentation a few days ago. In fact, features like Circle to Search are coming to Android soon, but they’re already available on the Galaxy S24.
Now, as good as all this may sound, there is something that tainted Samsung’s presentation: the intention to charge for these functions, or only for some, from 2025. In other words, while Google offers seven years of Android updates and has not communicated anything on the billing of AI functions (beyond limiting them depending on the Pixel we have), Samsung’s strategy is to leave a year test and later start charging.
This is a very controversial move because some of these functions are performed on the mobile thanks to the capabilities of the SoC, and not via online computing, which would represent an artificial barrier to payment. We will see what happens, because there is still time until 2025 and Samsung could move backwards, but what is clear is that Samsung does not want anyone to take away the banner of being the bastion of Android. Not even Google.
Pictures | Ricardo Aguilar
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