Mea culpa, I tried the Galaxy S24 a little tough love. I thought I was logical, even right. No, I was wrong when I said that any iPhone was a better buy than Samsung’s flagship S24.
In fact, after testing AI features and getting to know them Apple’s intelligence plans, I’m especially impressed with what Samsung has to offer on the Galaxy S24 that Apple won’t iPhone 15 owners.
Why was I so mean to the Galaxy S24? I don’t want to dwell on its faults; That’s not the point. This is about saying I was wrong.
However, I felt very down about the Samsung software, and I have more than just a professional interest in it. I personally own Samsung phones and have recommended them. My dad wears one Galaxy S22. He is afraid to upgrade to a phone with AIbut i’m slowly changing my mind.
Then Apple’s iOS 17 was launched, and it’s really cool. It is useful, social and innovative. It has features that Apple ultimately 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 feels like Apple has come up with a cutting-edge mobile operating system and left Android behind.
Sure, StandBy is cool, but have you seen an AI moon?!
Then comes AI. I was initially skeptical about smartphone AI. In my reviews of the first AI phones, the Pixel 8 Pro And Galaxy S24UltraI called these features stupid or creepy, but then I dug deep.
While writing Ny Breaking’s list of the best AI phones, I thoroughly tested the latest AI features. I skipped the weird and unnecessary features and focused on the useful stuff, and it turns out that smartphone AI is actually useful.
There’s no need to wait for Apple Intelligence, the next Snapdragon chips or new major 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.
Right now there are five or six very useful AI tools on smartphones – including AI camera improvements, generative AI photo editing, generative AI writing, AI voice assistants, AI language translation, and general AI interface improvements and suggestions.
The first feature we considered on a smartphone was the ‘Magic’ photo editing in Google Photos. Photo editing tools are the most common AI feature of smartphones, and even phone makers that eschew AI, like OnePlus, have some form of AI photo editing.
There are also AI tools that support the camera, and Samsung has been using AI for scene optimization in its Camera app for a while. The amazing AI moon photos you can take with the Galaxy S24 Ultra owe their perfect exposure and color settings to AI, which identifies your subject and adjusts accordingly.
Even if the cheaper Galaxy S24 doesn’t have the same zoom lens as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it still has AI helping the camera, and intelligent shooting modes make Samsung cameras more fun. Photos usually look better when I use a Galaxy phone, especially photos of food and photos from long distances.
Generative writing is much newer than photo AI tools, but AI can rewrite your writing in a new style. You can ask Samsung’s Galaxy AI to rewrite an email, and you’ll be given options in a formal tone, in an informal manner, or packed with emojis.
The Google Pixel 8 can do the same, but Samsung’s Galaxy S24 is much better at rewriting messages. The Pixel often created messages that I would find embarrassing, but Samsung’s AI was so helpful that I used its suggestions in my own personal messages to avoid sounding curt or messing with my teen.
Samsung is becoming a leader in smartphone AI
Samsung’s lead so far is significant. AI tools, especially large language models, seem to be developing exponentially. If Samsung has a lead now, it may be able to widen 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 tested Bixby against Siri and Google’s GeminiBixby was already by far the most effective voice assistant. Samsung calls Bixby “AI,” but it was invented before current advances in major language models. Still, it has a big lead over the competition and there is plenty of technological room for improvement.
So Samsung has the best voice assistant, the best AI writing tools, and the best AI camera improvements. We’re still testing different AI language translations for smartphones to determine the best, but Samsung representatives tell us that Galaxy AI can translate between 16 different languages. Google’s Pixel Live Translate can only handle about ten.
Apple has ceded the lead in AI to Samsung for the time being…
Samsung’s Galaxy AI features aren’t just available on the latest Galaxy S24 family. You can use Live Translate even if you have a Galaxy S23 or a Galaxy S22. Most of the new AI features can be used with Galaxy Z foldable phones from 2023 and 2022 and the Galaxy Tab S8 and Galaxy Tab S9 tablets from the past two years.
That’s an incredible level of support, especially compared to the competition.
That’s where Samsung really changed its mind. Instead, I’d say Apple changed its mind when it announced Apple Intelligence and stated that the new features would only be coming to market 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 reels finally turning? Samsung has been offering major OS updates for its latest phones for seven years. Apple is only offering five years, and if you haven’t spent at least $999 / £949 / AU$1,849 on an iPhone 15 Pro, you’re not getting the REALLY cool stuff.
The things everyone is talking about. The things that dominated the news at Apple’s WWDC 2024, Google I/O 2024, and whatever party Samsung throws for developers in 2024.
If you’re buying a new phone today and are interested in AI features, I wouldn’t recommend buying an iPhone 15 or any older iPhone model that Apple still sells. Buy a Galaxy S24 instead.