- Samsung has launched Galaxy AI on the new S24 series.
- The company has debuted its first on-device AI suite for the three new models of S24 alone, but it will be backwards compatible on some of its flagship handsets too.
- Samsung Mobile South Africa has confirmed which devices Galaxy AI will be made available on down the line.
Galaxy AI is here as Samsung’s first on-device AI system. The South Korean outfit is using its debut so early in 2024 as a signal of intent to other phone makers, many of whom will likely be looking to emulate the features that Galaxy AI brings to the fore.
Right now, only the three models within the S24 series support the new AI feature set, but speaking to Samsung Mobile SA executives at a local briefing earlier this week, backwards compatibility is on the cards.
While no precise date has been mentioned as to when Galaxy AI support will rollout to previous generation of flagship phones, we do know at least which models are expected to get it at some stage.
To that end, Samsung SA’s MX lead for Product and Commercial Management, Zahir Cajee, confirmed the devices that are expected to get Galaxy AI support.
“For the interim, it [Galaxy AI] will be backward compatible on at least the S22 range, and that will be coming through within 2024,” he told Hypertext.
In terms of the reasoning behind it, Cajee explained that, “It is a hardware requirement for AI to operate on-device, and that’s the biggest reason as to why it cannot go to A series.”
One of the other lineups it will be coming to, however, is Samsung’s recent Galaxy Z foldables. Here the Samsung MX lead said that,”Up to Flip4″ is expected to support Galaxy AI too.
As a recap then, at the moment, the following devices are expected to receive support for Galaxy AI during 2024:
- Galaxy S23,
- Galaxy S23+,
- Galaxy S23 Ultra,
- Galaxy S22,
- Galaxy S22+,
- Galaxy S22 Ultra,
- Galaxy Z Fold5,
- Galaxy Z Flip5,
- Galaxy Z Fold4,
- Galaxy Z Flip4.
With hardware being a key consideration here, it will be interesting to see whether this year’s intended Galaxy A models will support the newly revealed AI tools, as it adds a wholly different experience for Samsung in what is a competitive mid-range space. We’ll have to wait to see if that will be the case, but for now the above devices are slated to gain access to Galaxy AI.
