AI features are the selling point for the latest smartphones
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A new transcription and summarization feature on Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold 6 smartphone. Image: Samsung
When Samsung showed off its latest smartphones in Paris on Wednesday, a big part of its focus was on the AI software inside rather than the foldable displays on the outside.
The big picture: The focus on AI is likely to continue when Google unveils its latest Pixel devices at an event next month and when Apple debuts new iPhones this fall.
Driving the news: Samsung used a media event Wednesday to unveil two foldable phones — the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 — along with new watches, earbuds and the Galaxy Ring, a competitor to Oura.
- But the big push, both on stage in Paris and in marketing materials, was on AI software.
- That includes an expansion of Samsung's homegrown translation app and new transcription capabilities, as well as features that tap Google services, such as circle-to-search and the Gemini chatbot.
Stunning stat: Samsung mentioned AI two dozen times in its press release announcing the new phones.
Zoom out: Google and Apple are next.
Google has scheduled an Aug. 13 "Made by Google" press event and is putting AI front and center.
- The company is expected to announce updated Pixel phones and devices and new Android operating-system features.
- At its I/O developer conference in May, Google highlighted a wide range of AI work, though it's not clear what will be ready in time for launch alongside the new Pixel devices.
Apple is likely to put its AI features, dubbed Apple Intelligence, at the forefront when it debuts the iPhone 16, likely some time in September based on past years.
- At WWDC, Apple laid out a broad strategy that includes modest features such as custom emoji and an AI image playground, along with a significant improvement to Siri and the eventual ability to use AI to find information stored across mail, messages and other apps.
- In addition to the Apple-designed features that run either on-device or in a secure private cloud session, the next version of iOS will also allow people to directly query ChatGPT from within Siri.
- Apple is expecting AI-driven demand to fuel a 10% bump in iPhone sales in the second half of this year — from 81 million in 2023's second half to 90 million, per supplier sources cited by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the Apple rumor mill is expecting only minor hardware updates to the new iPhones this fall.
- Normally that might dampen interest in upgrades. But Apple has said that, of its existing models, only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will be able to run Apple Intelligence.
- That means most people who want to try out Apple's approach to AI will need a new phone.
Yes, but: The onus will be on each of the companies to prove that its AI features are more than party tricks.
- Apple will have the added challenge that not all of the features it has announced are coming with the launch of Apple Intelligence — some of the more significant ones are unlikely to arrive until 2025.
