Artificial Intelligence Takes Center Stage in the Smartphone Industry
Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 15, 2024 – In the midst of fierce competition, Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading smartphone maker, aims to boost sales this year by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI). Considered the buzzword of the year, AI technology in smartphones has garnered immense attention, not only in the mobile industry but across various sectors. With the introduction of AI-powered phones, Samsung seeks to establish itself at the forefront of this digital revolution.
Industry experts at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s biggest trade show within the mobile industry, believe that smartphone manufacturers are eager to embrace AI technology and position themselves as cutting-edge entities. The competition is fierce, and the allure of AI has become highly appealing to consumers.
AI: The Driving Force Behind Samsung’s Innovation
AI phones offer a range of smart features likely to captivate consumers worldwide. With AI becoming more prominent, smartphones are beginning to integrate advanced AI chipsets capable of running AI applications directly on the device, avoiding the dependence on cloud-based systems.
Bryan Ma, the Vice President of Client Devices Research at IDC, states, “Nobody wants to be seen as being behind the curve, and AI is just the talk of the town. It is the buzzword this year that all the vendors are going to be jumping on.”
Unlocking the Potential of AI in Smartphones
Qualcomm and MediaTek, leading chipset manufacturers, have recently launched smartphone chipsets specifically designed to handle the power necessary for AI applications.
Smartphones have already seen the integration of AI, particularly in features such as background blur effects and image editing. However, the introduction of large-scale language models and generative AI has taken on-device AI to a new level.
Ben Wood, Chief Analyst at CCS Insight, emphasizes the momentous impact on-device AI has on the smartphone industry, saying, “I think one of the big stories at MWC will be the ability of the AI models to run natively on the devices themselves, and that is where it potentially starts to become a bit more of a gamechanger.”
The Journey Towards New AI Experiences
Device manufacturers are thrilled to showcase the AI capabilities of their devices at events like MWC. However, despite the advancements, AI features on smartphones often still rely on cloud processing. It may take several years for developers to identify a “killer use case” that truly exploits the potential of on-device AI.
Ben Wood warns that smartphone manufacturers face the challenge of directing their focus on AI experiences rather than just the concept of AI. Consumers must clearly see the benefits that AI technology brings to their day-to-day lives.
Wood adds, “We are building an unbelievable foundational platform for AI on-device. 2024 will be the year we look back on and say that’s where it all started to happen, but it could be a long time before we experience the game-changing benefits.”
