Just weeks after an AI-packed Apple event, Samsung is now kitting out its latest generation of smartphones and wearables with new AI-powered features, the tech giant has announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event at the Louvre in Paris on Wednesday.
The South Korean electronics company unveiled a new generation of its folding smartphones, the Flip and Fold devices, and its Buds and Buds Pro headphones, all of which are gaining various new AI features.
The headphones can, for example, automatically recognize the sounds of a nearby siren and lower the volume of the music so that the user is aware of the danger.
Samsung's last smartphone unveiling had already been dominated by AI features, and after an Apple event that saw the release of "Apple AI", the South Korean manufacturer now appears to be doubling down on the potential of AI to improve user experiences.
On the one hand, Samsung is relying on an AI developed in-house, which the manufacturer calls "Galaxy AI". At the same time, Samsung is also integrating AI technology from Google Gemini, such as the previously announced Circle to Search feature.
This allows users to draw a circle around a person or object and get AI to try and recognize it. The feature is helpful for example for identifying a pair of shoes a person is wearing or a building you've passed in a city.
Samsung AI also includes comprehensive translation functions for written texts and spoken language.
Samsung also presented a new generation of its smartwatches in Paris. The design of the newly launched Galaxy Watch Ultra model is strongly reminiscent of the Apple Watch Ultra, which the iPhone company launched on the market in 2022.
Not just the name, but also the rectangular titanium frame and the orange-coloured button are clearly borrowed from Apple's model.
In another product category, however, there is no Apple counterpart: The Galaxy Ring fitness tracker, which was first presented as a prototype at the CES tech fair in Las Vegas in January, has now been formally launched.
The tracker, which will look like a rather massive ring on small hands, can record health vitals and track workouts using sensors on the inside. This data also enables AI-supported sleep analysis. Samsung says wearers can also better track their menstrual cycle by monitoring skin temperature at night.
The Galaxy Ring also monitors heart health, so if the heart rate is unusually high or low, the fitness ring triggers a pulse warning via the Samsung Health app. The Galaxy Ring is also designed to motivate users to lead a more active lifestyle.
An inactivity alarm reminds users to get moving. Ring-shaped fitness trackers are currently only available from comparatively small providers such as Oura, Ultrahuman, Ringconn or Evie, some of which are only available with a monthly service subscription. Samsung offers its ring without a subscription and is charging a one-off fee of just under €450.
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