Photo: Samsung
Samsung recently unveiled its highly-anticipated Galaxy S24 series, showcasing a range of cutting-edge AI-powered features. The new devices promise an immersive and advanced user experience, but what about existing Samsung users, especially those wielding the Galaxy S22 series?
During a conversation with TechRadar after the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event, Patrick Chomet, Samsung's head of Customer Experience, shed light on the future of Galaxy AI compatibility for older devices. While the Galaxy S23, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are slated to receive Galaxy AI upgrades within the first half of the year, the fate of the Galaxy S22 line remains uncertain.
Chomet revealed that bringing Galaxy AI to the S24 series was a significant undertaking, expressing exhaustion at the effort involved. He explained, "TM Roh [President of Samsung's mobile division] wanted to announce [at Unpacked] that we can support Galaxy S23 devices with Galaxy AI, which we will [now be doing] within the first half of the year."
The decision to exclude the Galaxy S22 series from immediate AI upgrades was justified by Chomet, who emphasized the company's focus on securing the quality and performance of the deployed features. He explained that Samsung is taking a cautious, step-by-step approach to ensure optimal AI experiences on its devices.
Chomet elaborated, stating, “We want to ensure that, over time, our AI experiences can be supported by [mobile] performance, which leads to CPU and GPU capability. So for now, we are learning; we are going step-by-step. We know that Galaxy AI works well on the Galaxy S24 series and we know it will work well on [the Galaxy S23 series]. But we don't know what the intensity of AI usage will be for the average customer, and [therefore how that] intensity will impact on-device resources and cloud resources."
The decision to limit Galaxy AI to last-gen devices, such as the Galaxy S23 FE, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5, was made to gauge the performance and user interaction with the advanced features. Chomet acknowledged the chipset uniformity between the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and Samsung Galaxy S22, both equipped with the Exynos 2200 chipset, but clarified that, for now, Galaxy AI would be exclusive to last-gen devices.
While Chomet carefully used phrases like "for now" and "step-by-step" when discussing future Galaxy AI compatibility, speculations arise about whether the Galaxy S22 and older models will eventually receive the coveted upgrades. With the One UI 6.1 update expected to bring Galaxy AI features to the S23, S23 FE, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5, the omission of the Galaxy S22 from immediate plans raises questions about its inclusion in Samsung's flagship experience moving forward.
As Samsung gears up for more product announcements in 2024, the Galaxy S22 users remain in anticipation, hoping that the acclaimed Galaxy AI features will find their way to their devices sooner rather than later.