Samsung to offer AI features in Galaxy Z6 foldable series

Samsung Electronics Co. will power its Galaxy Z6 series due to be unveiled next month with mobile AI technology, including a live translation feature available in third-party messenger apps, to boost sales of its new foldable phones.

“Samsung is extending the power of Galaxy AI beyond Samsung’s own native calling app by expanding Live Translate to third-party message apps to support voice calls,” Choi Won-joon, executive vice president and head of Mobile R&D Office at Samsung Electronics’ Mobile eXperience Business, said in a company editorial on Friday. 

Choi did not specify the names of the third-party messenger apps but the industry expect that KakaoTalk, Korea’s dominant messenger app operated by Kakao Corp., to be one of those apps.

He hinted that such an enhanced Live Translation feature and other AI services will be added to Samsung Electronics’ new foldable phones – the Galaxy Z6 series to be showcased at its unpack event in France in July.

“To deliver a completely new and unique AI experience, we will further optimize the Galaxy AI experience for the upcoming foldable devices,” said Choi.

With the new AI features in the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6 series, Samsung Electronics is expected to regain ground in the global foldable phone market, from which Chinese rival Huawei snatched its crown in the first quarter.

GALAXY AI AS ON-DEVICE AI

Galaxy AI is a suite of built-in and cloud-based AI features operated by mobile AI technology, which is also called on-device AI. Galaxy AI features include live translation, interpretation, circle to search and photo edit assistance.

They were first embedded in the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, which hit the market in January, and are now available across nearly all Galaxy devices, including smartphones and tablet PCs.

Choi expected demand for mobile AI will further increase and the technology will be more actively incorporated in mobile devices, citing the fast advancement in AI chips’ intelligent computing power and other related technologies.

On-device AI enables customized and personalized AI functions on smart gadgets such as smartphones, laptops and even in autonomous driving cars without internet connectivity.

With the on-device AI technology, user data such as photos, text input and other activity patterns remains on the phone and is analyzed by AI algorithms embedded in the device’s chips and memory, reducing privacy concerns as well as hacking and data breach risks.

HYBRID AI APPROACH

Market research firm Counterpoint Research expected in January that Samsung Electronics will become the leader in the “AI phone” market with its market share close to 50% over the next two years.

The on-device AI smartphone market is forecast to grow to 522 million units accounting for 40% of the entire smartphone market by 2027, it said.

Galaxy AI is based on Samsung Electronics’ generative AI model, dubbed Samsung Gauss, was unveiled late last year to compete with the likes of ChatGPT, Google Card, Bing AI chatbot and other generative AI tools.

Galaxy AI now supports 16 languages and various dialects, including Arabic, Indonesian, Russian, Australian English, Cantonese and Canadian French, for Live Translation and Chat Assistance services.

Choi expects Samsung will further improve day-to-day life experiences of Galaxy smartphone users with its “hybrid AI” model enhanced by the combined benefits of both on-device AI and cloud AI, like ChatGPT.

“We believe our hybrid approach is the most practical and reliable solution to meet all these needs and puts Samsung ahead of the curve,” said Choi.

“We are providing users with a balance between the instant responsiveness and extra privacy assurance of on-device AI and the versatility of cloud-based AI.”

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.