Apple has the iPhone 16 Pro, Samsung has the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Google has the Pixel 9 Pro. But which upcoming phone will lead the race for a dominant AI smartphone?
As we head into the second half of 2024, let’s take stock of the three biggest players in the smartphone space and how they are approaching the use of generative artificial intelligence.
While Google was first to launch an AI-powered smartphone in October 2023, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro handsets have not matched the market share of either Apple or Samsung. The real value of the Pixels are to demonstrate Google’s pure vision of a smartphone to the public and to its partners. As the custodian of Android it can steer the ecosystem in the direction that is most beneficial to Google.
Last year was all about introducing AI to the public. The Pixel 8 Pro showcased the tools and apps that would become familiar on all smartphones over the next year. Arguably Google’s focus on AI was enough to start the revolution and change the conversation on what a smartphone should be capable of.
With the Pixel 9 series launch in August, Google can apply a course correction to AI on smartphones. It can acknowledge the gains in the last year, introduce new tools into Android at the OS level, and ensure Google stays at the forefront of AI development and adoption.
Samsung brought forward the launch of the Galaxy S24 family to January 2024 and launched the handsets alongside Galaxy AI. That timing has proven to be a success, with the South Korean company taking the lead in AI smartphone sales. While the Galaxy S25 launch is six months away, Samsung is not going to be caught napping.
Early July will see the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6. While the foldable market is smaller than the regular candybar phones, it allows Samsung to continue talking about the current success of Galaxy AI and what comes in its second wave of AI. Notably, Samsung will introduce this next generation of AI a month before Google introduces its next steps.
And the popular Galaxy S24 family is not going away; Samsung continues to promote the handset and tempt consumers with special offers discounts, and bonus peripherals when purchasing a new handset, all of which will support the Galaxy AI advances.
Apple is in an unusual position. While AI and Machine Learning routines can be found in iOS going back over a number of years, the current focus on generative AI and large language modules has passed the iPhone by. The Pixel introduction happened a few weeks after the iPhone 15 launch, and Tim Cook made no mention of the tidal wave that was about to hit smartphones. It wasn’t until this month’s Worldwide Developer Conference that Apple confirmed its AI plans.
Some of the Apple Intelligence AI features are expected to arrive on the iPhone 16 family when they launch in September, but the majority of the software announced last month will not arrive until the first quarter of 2025, and even then they will not be backported to any iPhones-except the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.
Apple does have the advantage of its walled garden of consumers; there’s nowhere else for iPhone owners to go if they want to stay inside Apple’s ecosystem, but that means they will not have the full AI smartphone package on the iPhone until nearly 18 months after the technology reached the public.
Google can showcase Android’s direction, and have it benefit Google. Samsung has a numerical lead and is making the first move in the second half of the year. Apple has a captive audience but is more than a year behind its competitors.
Consumers have three different approaches and the innovation born out of competition means that the real winner will be the public. Even if it takes years to decide which manufacturer made the right calls.
Now read more about Samsung’s approach to Galaxy AI across its ecosystem of devices.
