Technologies

Samsung Galaxy AI: Everything We Know So Far

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series will likely be the first devices with Galaxy AI. Here’s what to expect.

Samsung’s new Galaxy phones usually have high-resolution cameras, bright screens and sharp designs. But the rumored Galaxy S24 series, which will likely debut at Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 17, may stand out from its predecessors in a big way. New software features rather than fresh hardware could be the S24’s biggest attraction.

That’s because Samsung is expected to bring more generative AI-powered features to its next major phones. The company recently announced its own AI model, as well as Galaxy AI, a new AI «experience» for mobile devices, and it seems likely these technologies will play a big role in the Galaxy S24.

Generative AI, or AI that can churn out conversational (but not always accurate) answers to prompts based on training data, was everywhere in the tech world in 2023. That applies to smartphones too, especially toward the end of the year, as Google unveiled the Pixel 8 series and Qualcomm and MediaTek introduced new phone chips optimized for AI.

Read more: Best Phone of 2023

Here’s a look at what we know so far about Samsung’s potential AI plans for its next major smartphone release.

What is Galaxy AI?

Samsung's promotional artwork for its AI Live Call Translation feature

We don’t know much about Galaxy AI yet. But Samsung describes it as a «comprehensive mobile AI experience» and «universal intelligence on your phone.» Samsung mentions communication, productivity and creativity as areas where Galaxy AI will show up on its phones, meaning it’s possible we’ll see Galaxy AI features in Samsung apps like phone, messages, S Note and the camera.

But that’s just speculation, we won’t know for sure until Samsung reveals more details. Samsung says Galaxy AI will arrive early next year, which means there’s a good chance it’ll debut with the Galaxy S24 series.

Samsung provided one example of how Galaxy AI will appear in future phones. AI Live Translate Call, which the company says will be available on «the latest Galaxy AI phone,» will provide audio and text translations in real time during phone calls made through Samsung’s native phone app. It sounds similar to the Pixel Live Caption feature currently available on Pixel phones.

Based on Samsung’s press release, it sounds like certain Galaxy AI features would be processed on the device to preserve privacy, while others could be executed in the cloud. AI Live Translate Call is one such example of a feature that would work locally.

AI isn’t new to Samsung phones

A screenshot of the Bixby text call button on an incoming call

Generative AI may be having a moment, but AI has powered many smartphone features for years, particularly voice assistants, language translation apps and photography tools like portrait mode. Samsung has already been ramping up the use of AI in its phones, and its existing efforts could provide a hint at what’s to come with Galaxy AI.

In early 2023, Samsung upgraded its Bixby voice-enabled helper with a few new tricks, such as the ability to have it blend traditional phone calls with texting through Bixby Text Call. As the name implies, it allows you to answer a call and carry out a conversation via texting while the caller speaks verbally, with Bixby acting as the intermediary.

You can even clone your voice to make Bixby sound like you when it reads your texts to the caller. Samsung also expanded Bixby’s offline functionality with support for certain commands without an internet connection, such as setting a timer or activating the flashlight.

Read more: Best Samsung Phone of 2023

Samsung’s description of Galaxy AI sounds a bit like a supercharged, updated version of Bixby. And Bixby’s recent direction feels aligned with where Galaxy AI could be going, especially with features like Bixby Text Call. But given that Samsung has broadened Bixby’s role in its smart home platform, it seems unlikely that Galaxy AI would wholly replace the company’s 6-year-old voice assistant.

Instead, I could see Galaxy AI serving as an umbrella term for various AI-powered phone features, including those that work through Bixby. Or maybe it’ll be a rebrand of Bixby’s phone-centric features. We’ll know for sure when Samsung has more to say.

An AI-centric processor for the Galaxy S24

The Galaxy S24 will likely have a new chip to fuel Galaxy AI and other similar features. Samsung typically puts the latest Qualcomm chip in the version of its Galaxy S phones sold in certain markets, like the US, while its Exynos processors power other international models.

If the Galaxy S24 is indeed powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, it should be well equipped to handle plenty of AI tasks. When Qualcomm announced the chip in October, it emphasized its ability to run AI models and perform AI actions both locally on the device and in the cloud.

Qualcomm showed off various use cases for AI on smartphones during its Snapdragon Summit in October, including a virtual assistant that can summarize phone calls and provide notes and suggestions afterward. The chip can also «zoom out» on photos that have already been captured, by analyzing the photo to fill the frame. But of course, it’s up to phone-makers like Samsung to put the technology to use in their own devices.

Samsung’s new Exynos 2400 mobile chip was also designed with AI in mind, with the company claiming it offers a nearly 15-times improvement in AI performance over the older Exynos 2200 processor. Samsung also demonstrated how the new chip can enable text-to-image generation, during its LSI Tech Day event in October, according to the company’s press release.

Read more: I Could’ve Used Qualcomm’s ChatGPT-Like Phone AI on My Trip to Hawaii

Based on these new chips, it sounds like both the Qualcomm and Exynos versions of Samsung’s next phones could share the same AI features. Since these processors are optimized for AI tasks, there’s also a chance Galaxy AI could be exclusive to the Galaxy S24 lineup — similar to how certain Pixel features work only on the Pixel 8 Pro or other devices running on Google’s Tensor chips. However, Samsung regularly releases new software features through its One UI updates, so it’s possible certain AI features that don’t require on-device processing could trickle down to older devices.

There’s a lot of hype around generative AI, and Samsung is known for integrating new technologies into its products early — sometimes while it’s still figuring out whether they’re truly valuable to the overall experience. Remember the Galaxy S4’s eye tracking features? What about the Galaxy Note Edge’s curved sidebar?

The good news is that gimmicky features like these no longer define Samsung’s approach to smartphones, as evidenced by its simpler approach to the Galaxy S series in recent years and the success of its foldable phones. But 2024 will still be the year in which AI has to prove its purpose on smartphones, and it looks like that will start with Samsung.

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Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.

Technologies

Will Tim Cook Step Down? Apple CEO’s Impending 65th Birthday Sparks Succession Talk

Apple is likely in the process of choosing someone to fill the chief executive role once Tim Cook decides to retire. Here are a few potential candidates that reports say are being considered.

Tim Cook‘s 65th birthday is next week, on Nov. 1. And with the Apple CEO’s special day almost here, talks have been growing as to who could be his successor should he choose to retire. Cook has made no official public mention of stepping down yet, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless transition when the time comes.

Cook replaced Steve Jobs in 2011, and after a period of uncertainty, Cook ushered Apple into its most profitable era. Stock-watching website Stocktwits reports that the company’s stock has increased by around 1,800% since Cook took over leading the company.

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Jobs may have introduced devices like the iPhone into everyday use that changed how we interact with technology, but Cook expanded on the Apple experience. Under his guidance, the company built upon Apple’s smartphone by introducing subscription services and more mobile products, including earbuds and wearables.

He introduced Apple Pay, Beats headphones became part of the company’s ecosystem, the Apple Watch launched 10 years ago, and Apple even entered the entertainment business, producing original Oscar-winning movies and Emmy-winning TV shows through Apple TV Plus.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2025: Here’s Which Apple Phone You Should Buy

We should reiterate that the notion of Cook stepping down is pure speculation at this point. We don’t know what Apple’s CEO is currently planning or what his thoughts about retirement may be. That said, there are a handful of contenders who have reportedly been part of the succession conversation.

Potential Apple CEO contenders

Apple likely has «a solid bench of successors» that the company’s board has been developing, says Bryan Ma, VP of Devices Research at IDC.

«But the anxiety gets amplified when there isn’t clear visibility for such a valuable and iconic company,» Ma says. «Compounding the challenge is the fact that the bar has been set by big rock stars like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. The next generation of leaders have very big shoes to fill.»

John Ternus, Apple’s current vice president of Hardware Engineering, was top of Gurman’s list. Ternus has been with the tech giant for more than two decades, so he has the knowledge and experience for a chief executive upgrade. There would be value in having an engineer behind the wheel.

Ternus appeared during the September Apple event to introduce the iPhone Air. At 50, he’s the same age Cook was when he took over as Apple CEO.

Other potential contenders are also being considered, including Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering; Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing; and Jeff Williams, the company’s former chief operating officer, according to a report by Apple Insider. On Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported that Federighi also will soon be overseeing the Apple Watch operating system watchOS, while Ternus will be overseeing Apple Watch hardware engineering once Williams departs at the end of the year.

Federighi has been with Apple for a long time and has the public speaking experience — frequently speaking during Apple Events — that would be vital if he replaced Cook as CEO. Considering his current role, Joswiak has a more marketing perspective and a broader overview of the company and may not be as hands-on with the tech as Ternus and Federighi. And according to Gurman, Williams was viewed as a shoo-in to be Cook’s replacement until his role as COO was announced to be ending. (He’s now Apple’s senior vice president of design, watch and health.) Cook held the position of chief operating officer before he replaced Jobs as CEO in 2011. Sabih Khan will be stepping into that COO role, which also puts his name in the running.

When Cook steps down, Apple will undoubtedly have a pool of qualified talent to choose from to take up the leadership mantle. Who exactly will take the mantle remains to be seen.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Meta Will Close Down Its Messenger Apps on Mac and Windows

You’ve got two more months until the apps are gone.

Meta is discontinuing its desktop Messenger apps for Windows and Mac. Starting Dec. 15, you’ll need to head to Facebook to continue chatting through the app on your computer.

Once the sundowning process begins, you’ll receive an in-app notification. You’ll have a 60-day window to continue using Messenger before the app is permanently shut down. (But don’t worry — the mobile app for Messenger will remain.)

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If you want to save your chat history, Meta suggests activating secure storage before the app is gone forever. Otherwise, your chat history will be gone forever, as well.

The Messenger desktop app is no longer available on the Apple App Store. After Dec. 15, Meta users who try to access Messenger on desktop will be redirected to Facebook.com. Users without a Facebook account will be redirected to Messenger.com.

Technologies

Your iPhone Is Quietly Extending Its Battery Life Thanks to This iOS 26 AI Feature

Adaptive Power in iOS 26 can help eke out more battery life before it’s time for a recharge.

The battery in the iPhone 17 Pro Max is physically larger, leading CNET managing editor Patrick Holland to say in his review that it delivers «the best battery life of any phone that CNET has ever tested.» But more power cells aren’t the only contributing factor, and longer battery life isn’t just for the newest iPhone models.

A new software feature in iOS 26 called Adaptive Power also contributes to improved battery life. It’s enabled by default on Apple’s latest phones, but also available on older models that support Apple Intelligence.

Currently, the iPhone uses as much power as it needs to perform its tasks. You can extend battery life by doing a number of things, such as decreasing screen brightness and turning off the always-on display. Or, if your battery is running low, you can turn on Low Power Mode, which limits background activity, like fetching mail and downloading data, and dims the screen to help extend battery life. Low Power Mode also kicks in automatically when the battery level reaches 20%.

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If Low Power Mode is the hammer that knocks down power consumption, Adaptive Power is the scalpel that intelligently trims energy savings here and there as needed. Based on Apple’s description that accompanies the control, the savings will be felt mostly in power-hungry situations such as recording videos, editing photos or even playing games.

Apple says Adaptive Power takes about a week to analyze your usage behavior before it begins actively working. And it works in the background without needing any management on your part.

Here’s how Apple describes it in the iPhone user guide: «It uses on-device intelligence to predict when you’ll need extra battery power based on your recent usage patterns, then makes performance adjustments to help your battery last longer.»

Which iPhone models can use Adaptive Power?

The feature uses AI to monitor and choose when its power-saving measures should be activated, so that means only phones compatible with Apple Intelligence get the feature. These are the models that have the option:

• iPhone 17
• iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Although some iPad and Mac models support Apple Intelligence, the feature is only available on iPhones.

How to turn Adaptive Power on

Adaptive Power is on by default on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air. For other models, you must opt in to use it. In iOS 26, you’ll find the Adaptive Power toggle in Settings > Battery > Power Mode. To be alerted when the feature is active, turn on the Adaptive Power Notifications option.

Adaptive Power sounds like an outgrowth of Gaming Mode, introduced in iOS 18, which routes all available processing and graphics power to the frontmost app and pauses other processes in order to deliver the best experience possible — at the notable expense of battery life.

What does this mean for your charging habits?

Although we all want as much battery life as possible all the time, judging by the description, it sounds as if Adaptive Power’s optimizations will not always be active, even if you leave the feature on. «When your battery usage is higher than usual» could include a limited number of situations. Still, considering that according to a CNET survey, 61% of people upgrade their phones because of battery life, a feature such as Adaptive Power could extend the longevity of their phones just by updating to iOS 26.

I also wonder whether slightly adjusting display brightness could be disruptive, but in my experience so far, it hasn’t been noticeable. Because the feature also selectively de-prioritizes processing tasks, the outward effects seem minimal. When it’s activated on my iPhone 16 Pro, the only indication was the Adaptive Power alert that appeared.

We’ll get a better idea about how well Adaptive Power works as more people adopt iOS 26 and start buying new iPhone models. Also, remember that shortly after installing a major software update, it’s common to experience worse battery life as the system optimizes data in the background; Apple went so far as to remind customers that it’s a temporary side effect.