Samsung's AI ambitions

Samsung announces outstanding AI features. Photo: Mashable .

At the Galaxy Unfold event in New York on the morning of July 9th (local time), Samsung launched three foldable phones and two watches. These included the high-end Galaxy Z Fold7 foldable phone, priced at $1,999 , with a 6.5-inch secondary screen that can expand into an 8-inch main screen.

In addition to announcing a major improvement in the slimness of its foldable phone line, Samsung also highlighted its efforts in its AI strategy. Like many other businesses, Samsung is trying to determine how the AI revolution will reshape its business and the entire industry.

AI development strategy

At the event, Samsung stated that they view AI as the core of all their products and services, not just an auxiliary tool. Known primarily for smartphones and home appliances, the brand now aims to place AI at the center of its operations.

“AI is redefining your entire interaction with your device,” said TM Roh, President and CEO of Samsung’s Mobile Experience business. Features such as Live Translate, Interpreter, Note Assist, Photo Assist, Gemini AI, etc., are all integrated directly into the One UI 8 operating system, making them as easy to use as the stock version.

Companion devices will also become more important as AI develops. These include devices Samsung is currently selling, such as smartwatches and fitness rings, as well as those under development, such as the Android XR glasses. Samsung's Executive Vice President, Jay Kim, believes that these surrounding devices, working in conjunction with the phone, will help AI become more naturally present in everyday life.

AI will be integrated more into the device ecosystem. Photo: Samsung.

This leverages Samsung's advantage as one of the world's most diversified and comprehensive electronics conglomerates. However, the company says fully leveraging the potential of AI will be a long-term endeavor. “It will take years to achieve that, but we started very early and are making good progress,” Kim shared.

In addition, the company is developing a "Hybrid AI" model to balance tasks processed directly on the device or in the cloud. Through this, Samsung collaborates closely with partners such as Google Gemini, Qualcomm, Adobe, and Microsoft to provide optimized services.

Axios analyzes that to build and expand this strategy, Samsung needs to answer two questions. First, which AI features will Samsung provide itself, and which will rely on partners, given that for universal cloud AI features, the company largely relies on Google Gemini.

Secondly, like its rival Apple, Samsung needs to make decisions about which parts of AI should be processed on-device and which parts should be handled in the cloud. On-device AI processing offers advantages in terms of cost, latency, and privacy, but it has limitations in processing performance and battery life, leading to the need to handle more complex tasks in the cloud.

One of Samsung's early AI efforts on devices was the Now Brief feature. This is a daily personalized update that includes schedules, traffic information, health data, and access to music and video recommendations based on preferences.

Samsung is currently collaborating with Google to develop both AI-integrated smart glasses and Project Moohan, a mixed reality headset similar to Apple Vision Pro.

Should AI services be charged for?

At the Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung clarified rumors that they have no plans to charge for certain Galaxy AI features. However, it is entirely possible that the company will charge for these features.

Some AI features may become available for purchase starting in 2026. Photo: Gadget Match.

Many argue that AI models are energy-intensive and costly to operate. They believe that while AI companies have already implemented fee-based packages, Samsung will sooner or later do the same.

However, Samsung has definitively stated that Galaxy AI features will continue to be offered free of charge for some time. This remains consistent with Samsung's original commitment to providing free Galaxy AI services until the end of 2025.

Currently, features like Live Translate during calls or Generative Edit in the Photos app are still offered free of charge to users. In the future, Samsung may decide to disable some features later with a paid firewall, according to 9to5Google.

At the Unpacked event, Samsung clearly distinguished between "default" features and other features. However, it remains unclear which tools the company considers "worth paying for."