Well, that didn’t take that long. In one fell swoop, the Galaxy S23 lineup will be gaining all the best AI features of the Galaxy S24 series. Samsung’s rolling out its One UI 6.1 starting in late March, which will bring the Galaxy AI features first introduced with the Galaxy S24 to older devices.
It’s a shakeup like no other because the Galaxy AI features were exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series, essentially narrowing the divide between the latest flagships with last year’s models. Specifically, the One UI 6.1 update will come to the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5 — along with tablets like the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9+, and Tab S9.
Even though Circle to Search was a short-lived exclusive for the Galaxy S24, which has since been rolled out to the Pixel 8, all those aforementioned devices will be able to access it as well. Other Galaxy AI features included with the One UI 6.1 update includes Chat Assist, Live Translate, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, and Interpreter mode.
While these Galaxy AI features are primarily geared towards communication and productivity, the update will also bring the coolest Galaxy AI features of them all — Edit Suggestion, Generative Edit, and Instant Slow-Mo. These features make it a breeze for anyone to easily leverage generative AI to fix photos, resize subjects, fill in gaps, and even convert any video into a slow motion one.
As we’ve seen in our Galaxy S24 Ultra review, these Galaxy AI features were the main selling points of the flagship — but now that it’s coming out to older Samsung devices — it does beg the question if there’s anything meaningful about the flagship now. Samsung’s President and Head of mobile experience, TM Roh, wants people to experience Galaxy AI.
“Our goal with Galaxy AI is not only to pioneer a new era of mobile AI, but also to empower users by making AI more accessible to all,” said TM Roh. “This is only the beginning of Galaxy AI, as we plan to bring the experience to over 100 million Galaxy users within 2024.”
Considering how there was a lot of controversy about the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera downgrade, its Galaxy AI features certainly prove that AI features can make up for the lack of hardware upgrades. Now that they’re coming to older Samsung Galaxy devices, it’s a totally different story and doesn’t encourage consumers from making the upgrade. In that regard, this is a move that will allow users to save time with the help of AI.
Although, it’s unknown if these Galaxy AI features will remain free to use — or possibly hidden behind a paywall down the road.
