Yesterday's big Samsung Unpacked event was unabashedly focused on the annual refresh of the company's flagship phone. There are no smart speakers, no tablets, no wearable devices (pretty much…) just three more phones, each with completely different unique features. Just kidding: these are mainly changes to the cameras and screen size. Same as from the Galaxy S20.
Introducing the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra, the company brought out streamer and YouTuber Pokimane to liven up the screens even brighter, while MrBeast, who Samsung Couldn't he afford to be there in person? – showed off some of the camera tricks and specs of the flagship S24 Ultra.
However, beyond the predictable spec bumps, Samsung went to town with ai features this year. And they're intriguing, going beyond what Google has been doing in its Pixel series for years.
Sure, there are features that improve photography, with the S24 detecting unwanted reflections and shadows, but now generative ai will power auto-complete features, magnifying the background of shots to help recompose crooked photos. With video, a new feature will use ai to generate more frames and create slow motion clips that aren't actually captured in slow motion.
Samsung also added artificial intelligence beyond the camera, with new search, translation, note creation and message composing functions. The new transcription tricks, when recording meetings and other conversations, mean that S24 will split audio recordings into separate people speaking and reformat them on the fly. You can even share selected parts or have the smartphone summarize meetings and notes for you. I'm intrigued to see what my smartphone considers important during my weekly meetings with the Engadget team.
I'll delve into the specs of the new S24 flagship below (it's a TMA with a lot of Samsung), but this year, it's really all about the software. And the good news is that many of these features are coming to select older Galaxy devices later this year.
-Mat Smith
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The $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's biggest bet on ai yet. Sure, the hardware design doesn't seem to have changed much, but there's now a titanium frame (available in colors beyond monochromatic shades, Apple), ensuring the larger flagship feels lighter and easier to hold. handle than previous iterations. The S24 Ultra's telephoto camera is now based on a 50-megapixel sensor (up from 10 MP on the S23 Ultra) with 5x optical zoom. If you're obsessed with specs, you might remember that the S23 Ultra included a 10x optical zoom. The company apparently chose this setting based on customer feedback and usage patterns, which saw 5x as the most used zoom mode. We have the first impressions right here.
Keep reading.
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Near the end of its Unpacked event, Samsung began talking about its health-focused software, Samsung Health, and those watching the show struggled to stay focused. Samsung then teased a new smaller piece of health-focused hardware, the Galaxy Ring. It will have many sensors and connections to the Health software package. But that's all we know.
But if Samsung gets involved with smart rings, all we can say is: Watch out, Oura.
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Google admits it could collect data in Chrome's incognito mode
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When you open an incognito browser in Chrome, you'll see a notification warning that other people using your device won't be able to see your activity, but your downloads, bookmarks, and reading items will still be saved. Now, Google has updated that disclaimer in Chrome's experimental canary channel, shortly after agreeing to settle a $5 billion lawsuit accusing it of tracking users incognito. The plaintiffs in the 2020 lawsuit argued that by tracking users incognito, Google was giving people the false belief that they could control the information they were willing to share. The new disclaimer on Canary says that incognito mode will not change the way websites collect people's data.
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Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta's board of directors after 12 years, her last official position at the company. Sandberg spent 14 years as Meta's chief operating officer and Mark Zuckerberg's top lieutenant and 12 years on the company's board of directors. Her role as a board member will officially end in May. In a Facebook post, she said: “It seems like this is the right time to step away” and that she would continue to advise the company. Hey, at least she posted it on Facebook.
Keep reading.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-samsung-reveals-the-galaxy-s24-ultra-121629916.html?src=rss
