Mea culpa, I tried to offer Galaxy S24 some tough love I thought I was being logical, even correct. No, I was wrong when I said that any iPhone is a better buy than Samsung’s flagship S24.
In fact, after testing the AI and cognition features Apple Intelligence plans, I’m particularly impressed with what Samsung offers on the Galaxy S24 that Apple won’t iPhone 15 owners.
why was i so bad on Galaxy S24? I don’t want to dwell on his faults; that’s not the point here. The point is to say I was wrong.
However, I felt very down about the Samsung software and have a more than professional interest in it. I personally own Samsung phones and recommend them. My dad carries a Galaxy S22. He is i’m afraid to upgrade to an AI phonebut I’m slowly changing his mind.
Then Apple iOS 17 was launched and it is really great. It’s useful, social and innovative. It has features that Apple finally stole from Android and features that I wish Android would steal.
Between the new Safety Check In, contact cards, proximity sharing features, standby mode and everything else, it really looks like Apple has come out with a completely modern mobile operating system and left Android behind.
Sure, StandBy is cool, but have you seen AI Moon?!
Then comes AI. I was initially skeptical of smartphone AI. In my reviews of the first phones with artificial intelligence Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 UltraI called these traits silly or creepy, but then I dug deep.
While writing TechRadar’s list of the best AI phones, I thoroughly tested the latest AI features. Skipping the weird and redundant features and focusing on the useful stuff, it turns out that smartphone AI is actually useful.
No need to wait for Apple Intelligence, more Snapdragon chips or new big language models. AI makes today’s phones better, and for the AI tools I actually use, the Galaxy S24 is one of the best phones you can buy.
There are five or six very useful AI tools on smartphones right now – including camera AI enhancements, generative AI photo editing, AI generative typing, AI voice assistants, AI language translation, and general AI interface improvements and designs.
The first feature we considered AI on a smartphone was the “Magic” photo editing in Google Photos. Photo editing tools are the most common AI feature for smartphones, and even phone makers that shy away from AI like OnePlus have some type of AI photo editing.
There are also AI tools to help the camera, and Samsung has been using AI for scene optimization in its Camera app for some time. These stunning AI moon photos you can take with the Galaxy S24 Ultra are thanks to the perfect AI exposure and color settings that identify your subject and adjust accordingly.
While the cheaper Galaxy S24 doesn’t have the same zoom lens as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it still has AI to help the camera, and smart shooting modes make Samsung’s cameras more fun. Photos tend to look better when I use my Galaxy phone, especially food photos and long distance shots.
Generative writing is much newer than AI photography tools, but AI can take your writing and rewrite it into a new style. You can ask the Samsung Galaxy AI to transcribe an email, and it will give you options in a formal tone, a casual way, or loaded with emoticons.
The Google Pixel 8 can do the same, but Samsung’s Galaxy S24 is much better at transcribing messages. The Pixel often produced messages that I found awkward, but Samsung’s AI was useful enough that I used its suggestions in my personal messages to avoid sounding cheesy or when messing with my teenager.
Samsung is becoming a leader in smartphone artificial intelligence
Samsung’s lead so far is considerable. AI tools, especially large language models, seem to be evolving exponentially. If Samsung has a head start now, it may be able to push that lead even further as its AI models evolve with Galaxy AI.
One feature you probably think needs more AI is Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant. Except when I was testing Bixby vs Google’s Siri and Gemini, Bixby was already by far the most effective voice assistant. Samsung calls Bixby “AI,” but it was invented before today’s advances in large language models. Even so, it is far ahead of the competition and there is plenty of technological room for improvement.
So Samsung has the best voice assistant, the best AI typing tools, and the best AI camera enhancements. We’re still testing different AI language translations for smartphones to determine the best ones, but Samsung representatives tell us that the Galaxy AI can translate between 16 different languages. Google’s Pixel Live Translate can only handle about a dozen.
Apple has handed over AI leadership to Samsung for the time being…
Samsung Galaxy AI features are not only available in the latest Galaxy S24 family. You can use live translation even if you have a Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S22. You can use most of the new AI features with the 2023 and 2022 Galaxy Z foldable phones and the Galaxy Tab S8 and Galaxy Tab S9 tablets from the last two years.
That’s an incredible amount of support, especially compared to the competition.
This is where Samsung really changed my mind. Rather, I would say that Apple changed my mind when it announced Apple Intelligence and stated that the new features will only come to iPhone 15 Pro and better.
As far as we know, if you buy a brand new iPhone 15 today – Apple’s latest iPhone model – it will never work with the new Apple Intelligence features.
Are the tables finally turning? Samsung already offers seven years of major OS updates for its latest phones. Apple only offers five years, and unless you’ve spent at least $999 / £949 / AU$1,849 on the iPhone 15 Pro, you’re not getting the REALLY cool stuff.
The things everyone is talking about. The stuff that dominated news from Apple’s WWDC 2024, Google I/O 2024, and whatever party Samsung is throwing for developers in 2024.
If you’re buying a new phone today and are interested in AI features, I wouldn’t recommend buying the iPhone 15 or any of the older iPhone models that Apple still sells. Buy a Galaxy S24 instead.