If there has been a company that has opted for AI over its rivals, that is Samsung. Last year, with the launch of The Galaxy S24 familythe brand first introduced what it considered a “Ai Phone”. A telephone whose focus, in addition to a first level hardware, was AI.
He didn’t convince me. After months using this device on a day -to -day basis, I could not find the sweet point. As soon as I analyzed the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra I knew that something had changed. The AI was not something passenger, I was just taking its initial steps. With One UI 7everything worked in a more mature way. So much that for the first time I was in mind that the phone had those functions and that it was worth using them.
I have been able to talk about what Samsung’s vision is with AI, how consumers are using it in the real world, and what is the company’s future vision with David Alonso, Head of Mobile Business Iberia In Samsung Electronics.
The AI in the Samsung Galaxy: the reality of the claim
In Samsung they know that it is not enough to have a frontline hardware to sell phones, it is necessary to differentiate. Although the entire high range is beginning to implement IA, the company has been a pioneer. The golden question is clear: How many users are using it and for what?
David replies that, with the launch of the Galaxy S24 It was the first time that integrated functionalities were incorporated naturally and designed to use in a day -to -day basis. Regarding how many people they are using them, two data sources use: some come from their own use data and others are derived from a Market Study in IPSOS Collaboration.
According to their results, more than 60% of Samsung users use AI functions (every week). The two most prominent have them well located: Circle to Search and everything related to the camera and image editing.
An interesting point of debate between David and Xataka is given in If artificial intelligence is really the claim that promises to be. Annual sales data show us that the sale of smartphones still has a very marginal growth, although the consultants point year after year that, at some point, the AI will be decisive for the boom of sales.
Here David is clear: the Galaxy S24 family meant Samsung an increase in sales above 20% compared to the Galaxy S23, a significant fact regarding the market situation. Adding these sales figures to your use data, your conclusion is that AI is a reality of sale for new devices.
“A very, very significant percentage of more than 50% of users are really saying that they provide value and that the user experience is really improving.”
He also tells us that this market growth trend, which had been stagnant since 2021, is indicative of a trend change.
What is happening in the smartphones market
They sell more mobile, And more and more expensive. He Premium segment is triggereddespite the fact that the market is focusing on small improvements more than substantial changes. The smartphone industry is focusing on refine the hardware, and highlighting for the software.
The dilemma? Nothing technically prevents a Galaxy S24 ultra executing the functions of an ultra S25. How do they fight against that dilemma that the main sales argument are functions that the previous model can enjoy?
In Samsung they are clear that their strategy and philosophy is precisely that, not only giving these functionalities to users of new devices, but also users of previous models as well. On an exclusive level, at least for a while, the Ultra can enjoy and all their advances.
David points out, in the same way, the changes at the hardware level (especially optimized for these devices, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite) They also allow this implementation of Galaxy AI to work even better than on other devices.
In Spain we are different, or so says the saying. So much so that while the phones of 1,000 euros shoot, mid -range phones also sweep sales. What differentiates a Spanish buyer compared to the rest of European consumers?
The answer confirms the myth: “I believe that we do not stop having a market and similar customs but, on the other hand, we have detected that the increase in sales of this” Super Premium “range has been greater than in other parts of Europe.” He tells us that Spanish consumer is beginning to be more demanding.
For gossip A little more, I ask David to chive What are the characteristics that most value and look for Spanish consumers When buying a smartphone.
It tells us that it depends on the segment and type of user, but that the AI has been (at least this last year) the most wanted and main driver for the purchase, at least in the case of Samsung. But, beyond AI, there are some characteristics that have been moving the phone industry for years and that are still there.
The camera is most important for users, not only due to gross characteristics, but for postprocessing quality. Along with this, the battery life (not the milliamps hour). “It is not a matter of the more better, but that the more it lasts, the better.”
Ecosystem and future
Talking about Samsung is talking about an ultra galaxy s25. But it is also talking about a ring, a clock or a fridge. From Korea the message that comes to Europe is clear: all software will be called one UI, regardless of the operating system that is executed. Asked What to attend to this strategy And if I could generate some confusion, as long as my TV with One UI will run Tizen and my galaxy, Android.
David responds, very reason and landing in the real world, that he and I know what we are talking about when we talk about Tizen, but that a standard client has no idea what one ui or Android is. The important thing for Samsung is that the user experience is uniform, which provides value, and that having two Samsung devices is a connected experience.
“We want certain applications that work on several devices at the same time, or that allow us to obtain cross data between them.” That the user has an integrated experience and see that the value of using several Samsung devices is greater than using them separately, is the key.
Wying with this user experience philosophy, I take the opportunity to ask about the strategic alliances they are implementing this year. The clearest has been Google Gemini In his Galaxy family (And even in his future glasses) while Deepseek seems to sweep China and Apple bets on OpenAi and Chatgpt.
I ask David if the integration with Gemini is a pillar of the future or If they are open to new agreements. There is a clear decision in your response: “Within our DNA, the opening and collaboration with third parties have always been not only in the intelligent artificial theme, but in any other in any other topic in anyone that Samsung is developing.”
Proof of this is the multiple alliance with manufacturers on smartthings, or the collaboration with Microsoft on PCs. It emphasizes that the collaboration with Google has been (and is) very powerful and deep, but that they will continue without closing to third parties. In fact, one of the star features of One UI 7 is the integration of APIS for third -party developers to integrate functions in the system.
To conclude the interview, we ask David to get wet and tell us his vision of the AI here to five years. What are we going to be talking about?
David laughs, and tells me that he doesn’t know how to tell me or what will happen next year. He explains that this is still in diapers, and that we will surely talk much more about ecosystem and integration in even more products.
Image | Xataka
In Xataka | I have used Claude 3.7 for hours. It is the closest to a human brain that I have felt with an AI
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