Sorry to be that guy. Smartphone innovation has stalled in favor of artificial intelligence. Samsung, Google, and Apple are making AI the main marketing focus of each of their flagship phones in 2024. It's not all about sleek hardware or smartphone capabilities. Smartphones serve as strong daily computing devices. It's about preparing users for AI attacks that will inevitably force them to update their phones to avoid being isolated.
This year has been full of gimmicky add-ons and rationalizations that you'll need a new smartphone to keep up with what's coming if you want to be on the same page as everyone else. in design that produced a handful of phones that didn't move the needle. Galaxy S24 Ultra looks like Galaxy S23 Ultra But with more square edges, Apple iPhone 16 Pro It doesn't look much different. iPhone 15 Pro—You can't tell them apart from the back. If for Google Pixel 9 ProThere's an improved camera strip on the back. Still, it now looks like an iPhone from the front. And everything else in the Pixel lineup caters to the Gemini more than anything else.
I don't like the idea that AI will clock in correctly. Regardless, I try to open the app to get some work done. or disappeared from the slide towards disaster. But what is the cost of prioritizing AI-enhanced performance over all else? Can smartphones remain thin if power consumption is important? Will they not have to make concessions for bigger batteries and additional components if AI becomes the main power source? All these questions revolve around When we leave 2025
The meteoric rise of AI
Samsung starts 2024 right away with Galaxy AI– has done what Google Gemini set out to do Except this time there are some new and unique features that will be launching alongside: circle to searchIt turned out to be the best thing to happen to Android this year, even before Android 15 came along. Developer Example– Samsung and Google teamed up for the Galaxy S24 launch event to maintain a sharp message, stating that Android will become the vessel for whatever happens with AI behind the scenes.
Google followed with Pepper this year as well. Abundant Pixel Drops That enabled features like Circle to Search, Call Screen and, most recently, the Gemini extension when the developer conference took place in the spring. It's clear that the Android platform's path is focused primarily on AI. Android is no longer its main activity. Instead, the focus will be on explaining how Gemini will improve the user experience. The most important indicator for me was when I booted up Gemini beta and set it as the phone's default assistant. It broke some of my Google Assistant-enabled hardware, like the Roav Bolt, which I use to control my phone hands-free while driving. Thankfully, things Google has done behind the scenes since then have fixed it. Although I had to wait half a year for Gemini to be fully released. It's a heartbreaking reminder of what happens when the company behind your smartphone platform suddenly takes a left turn into something new.
Some of us hope that Apple will be the one that doesn't care about AI. Apple basically takes what Google does and “denies” it, then explains how it's impossible because it would destroy the integrity of the product. But Cupertino surprised us too. smart apple At WWDC, it announced that it was adding AI to the platform and did it in the most Apple way possible: rebranding what everyone else was doing. Totally doing it. and presented as a new technology that is unique Even though I still want ChatGPT's help to handle more complex queries At least the company remains unique about it. Because of the name “Apple Intelligence,” the style guide often required me to spell it out. When mentioned This helps me avoid being overly “AI” – it's not. artificial wit; It's Apple's ingenuity.
Image creation cost
It is now several months after the launch of the latest generation of all new smartphones. We're stuck with a bunch of premium devices from Samsung, Google, and Apple, all of which are focused on selling us this new method of predictive computing. Each platform also has a visualization app for creating images: Image Playground on iOS and Pixel Studio on Pixel devices. Thanks, I guessBut this isn't what people think of when they ask for help with photos. But I hope to add a better lens to the back of these devices. Because the price is already higher than a mid-range digital camera. I was willing to avoid thinness, knowing that the hardware would have to be thicker if I wanted a larger screen. Instead, I have a generative AI suite that makes my photos look like Hallmark movie poster–
I'm not saying that cameras haven't improved on Samsung, Google, and Apple devices. That happens every year with every new smartphone. everything received a little Slightly better, but this time, all three seem to depend on AI working its magic to create images. The Pixel's entire camera system is based on the premise that AI can automate what you're trying to do in the editing suite. Apple uses algorithms to ensure that every time you press the iPhone 16's new camera control, the photo doesn't. blur
This is the Catch-22 of phone visualization in the age of AI advancements, although AI and algorithms can help with battery management, such as reducing background processes and automatically optimizing settings based on what's going on. up on the screen Visualizations within the app use those same resources. Even when data is retrieved from the cloud. Smartphones also require a lot of memory to perform these tasks. That's why we're now seeing phones come with 16GB of RAM as standard, including Pixel 9 Pro– All of the extra hardware that powers AI will ultimately increase production costs. We're already seeing higher price tags on iPhones and Android devices. It's not just economics.
That doesn't mean next year's phones will be bulbous and bulky. They are likely to arrive in the same tempered glass enclosure as they arrived this year. They all have large, bright displays with high refresh rates and saturated colours. They will still fit in a man's bag. They may even be thinner than last year. At least according to the rumors about it. iPhone 17 And the Galaxy S25 Ultra is even talking about that. Samsung foldable devices Could be bigger to accommodate different crowds. What will be interesting to see is how each manufacturer manages the need to balance what the industry says is needed for competition and what consumers want for utility. It doesn't make AI worth it if it means a hot smartphone that doesn't last half a day.