This article was updated on March 29th. Update the following:
Samsung last month promised to roll out a series of new AI features to “100 million Galaxy users” by the end of March 2024. The rollout appears to be happening now, according to users who have received notifications about the upcoming update.
The new AI tools are bundled with the One UI 6.1 update, which was previously only available on the Galaxy S24. In a surprising move, the South Korean company announced in February that it would bring the entire lineup of Galaxy AI features to older devices as well.
AI features (live translation, Circle to Search, Note Assist, and generated image editing) will only be available on select Samsung devices released in 2023. This includes the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, the latest Fold and Flip handsets, and the Tab. S9 series.
Older devices, such as the Galaxy S22 series, which Samsung continues to support with Android updates and security patches, will not have the new AI features.
Galaxy S23 owners on Reddit are receiving a notification about an impending update. A Romanian user said Samsung sent him an email about One UI 6.1 on March 25th. “So I got an email from Samsung saying he’s updating his S23 Ultra to the new OneUI of his. I guess [in] It’s probably a matter of hours or days. ” They explained.
It appears Samsung is preparing to roll out the update globally, as other Reddit users in Belgium and China have also received the same email. Tarun Vats Twitter/X, which tracks Samsung updates, posted a screenshot of a notification from a Galaxy user in China. There it states that the update will be delivered on his March 28th.
It’s worth pointing out that the users receiving these notifications appear to be Galaxy S23 owners. It appears that owners of the Fold 5, Flip 5, and Tab S9 have not yet been contacted. For example, we received nothing for the Fold 5.
Why would a Korean company offer these key Galaxy S24 exclusive (official) features? There is some logic to Samsung’s generous stance. The company may charge for these features in the future.
The small print on Samsung’s website says, “Galaxy AI features will be free on supported Samsung Galaxy devices until at least the end of 2025.”
This is likely the company covering its bases in case the cost of providing AI tools for free becomes prohibitive. After all, research and development of generative AI technology is expensive. Other companies with their own language models also tend to charge for chatbots.
Google recently bundled Gemini Advanced (the paid version of Gemini) with Google One cloud storage plans. This also includes free subscriptions to Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium. We’ll have to wait and see if Samsung actually decides to charge for these AI tools in 2025, but if it does, it’ll likely be adding more before that deadline to make subscriptions more attractive. It seems that they will release this feature.
Update for March 27th: One UI 6.1 is currently rolling out to some users, including: sam mobile, got early access to new software updates. Testing it out on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it looks like all the AI features that debuted on the Galaxy S24 are now available on the foldable smartphone.
As expected, some features really benefit from the Fold 5’s larger display, with SamMobile citing Circle to Search as an example. The Fold’s large inner screen shows more search results and provides a larger canvas for highlighting. The same goes for generative picture editing, which gives users more space to make complex edits. All other features (live translation, note assist, generated image editing) have been ported.
According to SamMobile, there are no Fold-specific features in the One UI 6.1 update, but there are plenty of other hidden features. Improved and smoother UI animations are a big plus, as is a new battery protection feature and a new (at least on the Fold 5) “single take” feature in the camera app. We’ll continue to roll out updates, so stay tuned for more details.
Update for March 29th: One UI 6.1 is now rolling out globally to all eligible Galaxy phone owners, including my Galaxy Z Fold 5, which was patched this morning. As expected, it has all the aforementioned AI features. Once the update is installed, Samsung will give users a chance to try it out, along with a brief explanation of what it can do.
This update was very popular among Galaxy S23 users on Reddit. ben 10 meme They reacted to the futuristic AI features and commented on how smooth the UI animations were.
“Honestly, so far so great. I’m going to keep an eye on the battery life, and I’m taking a closer look at the AI features (especially Generative Edit). Good job Samsung.” one Redditor Said.
Some people praised the live translation feature, while others posted photos edited using the new generative editing feature. However, not all users are completely satisfied with it. Some Redditors described the new feature as gimmicky and questioned whether it would be useful on a daily basis. Across his Samsung-related Reddit channels, One UI 6.1 is a topic of great discussion and is clearly one of his more important updates for Samsung in recent times.
It’s not uncommon for smartphone manufacturers to update older devices with new features through major OS updates. Google has been doing just that with its quarterly Pixel Drop program. But these are big new features. Samsung’s aggressive marketing of its Galaxy AI language model means that the One UI 6.1 update received a much bigger response than previous updates.
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