AI-Powered Smartphones Drive Sales Surge in Early 2024

Smartphone Sales Get Big AI Boost In Early 2024: Sign Of Things Come?

The smartphone segment is finally in the green as the demand for new AI-powered phones seem to have catapulted in the stagnant industry. Samsung has been one of the first movers in the AI arena with the Galaxy S24 series powered by the Galaxy AI features. And its definite roll out has aided in its rise to the top of the global smartphone charts as highlighted by multiple industry analyst reports. The overall growth of 6 percent might not sound like a lot but smartphone brands can now push with a renewed impetus as the demand for new models has got the market excited once again. Industry analysts are quietly optimistic of how the market is going to grow in the next few quarters. The focus on AI for smartphones does seem premature as we are yet to see full-thronged assault in the segment. "There is lots of excitement in the smartphone market today thanks to higher average selling prices (ASPs) and the buzz created by Gen AI smartphones, which are expected to grow faster than any mobile innovation we have seen to date," as IDC mentions in its latest industry report. Apple has given us a teaser of how AI is going to function in its ecosystem and the market is excited to see how that shapes the demand and sales of the upcoming iPhone 16 series this year. IDC expects the AI-powered phone segment to capture 19 percent of the market with 234 million shipments this year which is an ambitious estimate but largely banking on the big-ticket launches from Apple, Google and Samsung. Most of the AI features focus on tools like summarising articles/stories, helping people transcribe their recorded audio files or create AI-generated images among others. The fact that Samsung has led the market for up to Q2 2024 clearly shows the need for other brands to launch their AI offerings, to tempt more people to make the upgrade. Brands like Realme, Oppo and OnePlus to some extent have shown their cards but Xiaomi's absence ought to be rectified in the coming months. Apple's case will be strengthened when the iPhone 16 series launches but others will need to make a stronger case for buyers to consider their products, especially if they are not packing AI goodies in their upcoming devices. "We expect revenues to grow faster than sales driven by the premiumization across regions, especially with the rise of newer form factors and capabilities, like foldables and GenAI," Counterpoint Research shares this point in its report. The other interesting factor around AI phones is that most of them feature in the premium category. This means brands have a greater incentive to push the technology into their devices as it enables them to attain higher revenues even if the sales aren't that promising, something that Apple has done over the last few years.

Samsung expects Gen AI to reach over 200 mln phones by end of 2024: TM Roh

Samsung expects generative AI to reach over 200 million smartphones by the end of the year with the launch of its latest foldables and wearable devices, the Korean major's head of mobile business, TM Roh said. The smartphone maker already has a headstart over competitors including Apple in bringing generative AI to its ecosystem of devices with the launch of Galaxy AI, a bouquet of generative AI-based features spanning across productivity and creative use cases. Roh said Samsung is taking a hybrid approach - with a combination of cloud computing and on-device processing in diffusing the cutting-edge technology to the masses, and is working to bring some of the AI-based features in its budget A-series smartphones. The executive said deploying on-device AI needs high-end hardware requirements that befit the workloads. However, Samsung is also working to develop algorithms and optimisations that make AI models both sophisticated and lightweight, an area which is becoming a differentiator and where it already is far ahead of the competition, Roh said, addressing reporters after its Unpacked event in Paris. "We are advancing this (on-device AI optimisations) capabilities relentlessly and it is absolutely necessary to optimise as much as possible all the hardware requirements in making things lightweight. On this front, Samsung Electronics is a clear differentiator and we are putting in a lot of R&D efforts so that more people can enjoy the power of Galaxy AI," Roh said. He added that Samsung is working to bring some of the cloud-based AI features to work on-device to save AI-related cloud costs. "It is true, be it on-device AI or cloud-based AI, it requires sizable costs and development resources at the same time, but to expand usability, enhance experience, productivity, communication for all Galaxy users and to present discerning competitiveness of Galaxy products, although AI takes costs, but we believe in these fundamental core capabilities, so we are making continuing investments," Roh said. The top executive also lauded Samsung's R&D teams based in Bengaluru and Noida in developing some of the AI-based features in Galaxy devices. "Noida and Bengaluru R&D centers have become one of the biggest R&D centers in Samsung's MX (mobile experience) business," he said. Roh also said the India market is very important for Samsung. "We have operated the manufacturing facility since 1996...these collaborations and efforts will continue in the future. We are also working closely with component partners in the Indian market to strengthen infrastructure and supply chain," Roh said. "We have done some and we will continue to do so," Roh said. Commenting on monetising its AI capabilities, Roh said mobile AI technology are changing and progressing at a fast speed with usage patterns changing rapidly as new services and applications emerge. "It will be too premature to definitively mention how AI services will be monetised," Roh said, adding that monetisation-related decisions will be made based on comprehensive review of customer voices and needs, market trends and needs, and technological trends and changes. Roh also addressed challenges in bringing the full scale of generative AI technology to its budget smartphones pinning it on hardware limitations presently. "Nonetheless, part of Galaxy AI features and capabilities that can be supported by A-series hardware are being implemented and we will continue to do so," he said, adding that it will be done in a case-by-case and app-by-app approach. The executive said Samsung has high expectations from Indian consumers. He said in the coming days, Samsung will be coming closer to consumers through diverse initiatives such as first-time experience programs, and Olympics sponsorships related activities. The Korean major is a major sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics games starting June 23. (The journalist is in Paris to cover Samsung Unpacked at the invitation of the company)

Samsung expects Gen AI to reach over 200 mln phones by end of 2024: TM Roh - ET Telecom

Devices 3 min read Samsung expects Gen AI to reach over 200 mln phones by end of 2024: TM Roh Roh said Samsung is taking a hybrid approach - with a combination of cloud computing and on-device processing in diffusing the cutting-edge technology to the masses, and is working to bring some of the AI-based features in its budget A-series smartphones. Samsung expects generative AI to reach over 200 million smartphones by the end of the year with the launch of its latest foldables and wearable devices, the Korean major's head of mobile business, TM Roh said. The smartphone maker already has a headstart over competitors including Apple in bringing generative AI to its ecosystem of devices with the launch of Galaxy AI, a bouquet of generative AI-based features spanning across productivity and creative use cases. Roh said Samsung is taking a hybrid approach - with a combination of cloud computing and on-device processing in diffusing the cutting-edge technology to the masses, and is working to bring some of the AI-based features in its budget A-series smartphones. The executive said deploying on-device AI needs high-end hardware requirements that befit the workloads. However, Samsung is also working to develop algorithms and optimisations that make AI models both sophisticated and lightweight, an area which is becoming a differentiator and where it already is far ahead of the competition, Roh said, addressing reporters after its Unpacked event in Paris. "We are advancing this (on-device AI optimisations) capabilities relentlessly and it is absolutely necessary to optimise as much as possible all the hardware requirements in making things lightweight. On this front, Samsung Electronics is a clear differentiator and we are putting in a lot of R&D efforts so that more people can enjoy the power of Galaxy AI," Roh said. He added that Samsung is working to bring some of the cloud-based AI features to work on-device to save AI-related cloud costs. "It is true, be it on-device AI or cloud-based AI, it requires sizable costs and development resources at the same time, but to expand usability, enhance experience, productivity, communication for all Galaxy users and to present discerning competitiveness of Galaxy products, although AI takes costs, but we believe in these fundamental core capabilities, so we are making continuing investments," Roh said. The top executive also lauded Samsung's R&D teams based in Bengaluru and Noida in developing some of the AI-based features in Galaxy devices. "Noida and Bengaluru R&D centers have become one of the biggest R&D centers in Samsung's MX (mobile experience) business," he said. Roh also said the India market is very important for Samsung. "We have operated the manufacturing facility since 1996...these collaborations and efforts will continue in the future. We are also working closely with component partners in the Indian market to strengthen infrastructure and supply chain," Roh said. "We have done some and we will continue to do so," Roh said. Commenting on monetising its AI capabilities, Roh said mobile AI technology are changing and progressing at a fast speed with usage patterns changing rapidly as new services and applications emerge. "It will be too premature to definitively mention how AI services will be monetised," Roh said, adding that monetisation-related decisions will be made based on comprehensive review of customer voices and needs, market trends and needs, and technological trends and changes. Roh also addressed challenges in bringing the full scale of generative AI technology to its budget smartphones pinning it on hardware limitations presently. "Nonetheless, part of Galaxy AI features and capabilities that can be supported by A-series hardware are being implemented and we will continue to do so," he said, adding that it will be done in a case-by-case and app-by-app approach. The executive said Samsung has high expectations from Indian consumers. He said in the coming days, Samsung will be coming closer to consumers through diverse initiatives such as first-time experience programs, and Olympics sponsorships related activities. The Korean major is a major sponsor of the 2024 Paris Olympics games starting June 23. (The journalist is in Paris to cover Samsung Unpacked at the invitation of the company)

Too premature to monetise Galaxy AI: Samsung mobile chief TM ROH

Spending over ₹1 lakh on a flagship smartphone has been normalised but Samsung may soon set a new normal in India. It is now the first brand in India to breach the ₹2-lakh price point with the top-end Galaxy Z Fold6 (12GB, 1TB variant). Samsung justifies the new pricing by offering new hardware specifications, slight design changes and of course, there's Galaxy AI. For buyers, there's an important question- how much is too much to spend on a new flagship smartphone in India? Now, this same question can be rephrased for Samsung- For how long prices of premium smartphones can keep on increasing? With the sudden push towards "AI in smartphones", thanks to the ChatGPT hype, Samsung has somewhat hinted at possibilities. The launch of Galaxy AI along with the Samsung Galaxy 24 series, earlier this year, wooed smartphone enthusiasts with unique generative AI camera features. However, soon people realised that there's a tiny asterisk which informs Samsung Galaxy S24 series users that the Galaxy AI features "free until the end of 2025" and "different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties". This footnote leads to the question- Can AI in smartphones become the next big revenue driver while brands intentionally keep premium smartphones relatively affordable in future? This is similar to the ad-revenue driver strategy of selling subsidised smartphones by the likes of Xiaomi and other Chinese brands, a decade back. At the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris, HT Tech had the chance to ask TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. Here are excerpts from the interview: TM ROH: The unique characteristic of mobile devices is that it is what customers carry with them all the time, whenever, wherever. They get information, share and communicate the information, utilise the information when they want to. That is a very important and unique role of mobile devices. When this unique attribute of mobile devices meets with the capability of AI, new features and functionality of mobile AI comes to life so it becomes an absolutely necessary feature in core platform for mobile devices and internally we say it is no longer a smartphone, but an AI phone. So, AI features are now inseparable from mobile devices, so much so it has become a core technology and core platform for mobile devices. Mobile AI is only beginning, and as it further advances and becomes sophisticated, it will lead to new requirements for hardware specifications and there will be certain expansion in services and applications based on mobile AI. I strongly believe that mobile AI will be a new driving force for mobile devices. TM ROH: As far as monetisation of AI services are concerned, mobile AI technologies are changing and progressing at such a fast speed and the usage scenario and use patterns are changing fast. And new services and applications tapping into AI technologies are emerging, so it will be too premature to mention how the AI services will be monetised. I believe monetisation-related decisions should be and will be made based on comprehensive review of the customer voice and customer needs, market demands, market needs, and technological trends and changes. TM ROH: Galaxy AI is basically a hybrid model AI that leverages on-device AI and cloud-based AI and combines them both based on the specific use cases and leverages relevant platforms. Like you have mentioned, for on-device AI to work properly, of course it requires hardware that is adequately built to execute AI workloads. So hardware requirements will be considered and the relevant on-device engine and models will be decided. Only then, the optimal level of performance and execution of AI workloads can happen. At Samsung Mobile with Galaxy devices, even before the advent of Generative AI, which became very popular, we always leveraged AI for the advancement of native app performance including camera performance and game performance. To do that, we also progressed and advanced NPU performance. Thanks to these strengths, we were able to disseminate and expand the Galaxy AI at a faster clip, expanding its availability on Galaxy devices that were launched after 2022 including Galaxy S22 and other foldable products. That's the strength of Samsung democratising Galaxy AI very swiftly. To answer your question, would the expansion of Galaxy AI reach the A-series smartphones? Because of the hardware limitation, it will be quite difficult to enable full experience of Galaxy AI on A-series. Nonetheless, part of Galaxy AI features and capabilities that can be supported by A-series hardware are being implemented and we will continue to do so. It will be done by case-by-case approach and native app-by-app approach. We have done that and we will continue to do that going forward. We are also reviewing and taking into consideration expanding cloud-based Galaxy AI features to A-series in a case-by-case manner. Samsung mobile chief TM Roh stressed that the company plans to make Galaxy AI available to as wide consumers as possible. "We will make continuous efforts for that. To do that, we are continuously engaging in R&D efforts to make on-device models more optimised, more lightweight, and we are advancing the engine and models further and further so that we can apply Galaxy AI to as many models as possible," added Roh. While the first step appears to be hooking as many users as possible to Galaxy AI on Samsung smartphones, the company has time till the end of 2025 to figure out monetisation.