Apple’s 10th-gen iPad is on sale via Amazon as part of a bundle that includes two years of AppleCare+ warranty coverage. The discount brings the price of the 64GB model down to $409 from $518, which is a savings of more than $100. Apple sells the basic iPad for $449, so it’s like getting two years of warranty coverage for free, plus a little bit of walking around money.
If the 64GB model doesn’t do anything for you, the sale extends to just about every SKU available for Apple’s entry-level tablet. You have your pick of multiple 256GB models and a range of tablets with cellular connectivity. All of the discounts are in the $110 range, just like with the 64GB model.
As for the tablet itself, the iPad doesn’t exactly need an introduction. This is considered the most “basic” of Apple’s tablet lineup, but it’s still a fantastic choice for streaming content, checking on the dumpster fire that is social media, playing games and doing all kinds of other stuff. This is the 10th-gen version, so you get some features that were formerly reserved for its higher-priced cousins. There’s USB-C, a large display with thin bezels and a front-facing camera on the landscape edge.
This tablet is powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, which is surprisingly speedy, considering it's not one of the newer M-class chips. The battery life is solid, lasting anywhere from ten to 12 hours per charge, depending on what you’re using it for. Otherwise, it’s an iPad. You know what to expect.
Of course, this isn’t a perfect tablet. It doesn't come with any accessories, like the Apple Pencil, and the display isn't the sharpest on the block. It’s also usually on the expensive side, given the internal specifications, but this discount assuages that a bit. The other major caveat is that new iPad models are expected later this year, but this one is still plenty capable.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/save-over-100-on-the-10th-gen-ipad-with-two-years-of-applecare-162654321.html?src=rss
For its first phones of 2024, Samsung focused so much on its “Galaxy AI” features that, physically, the Galaxy S24 series doesn’t appear to be much different than the S23. Once again, the company's phones aren’t different enough to justify upgrading from their predecessors, especially knowing that the S23 series, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5 and Tab S9 will be getting at least some of these AI features later this year. There’s also competition from the Google Pixel 8 series, which offer many of the same new features from a more established AI company.
Still, that doesn’t mean we should dismiss the Galaxy S24 series altogether. Samsung’s AI efforts may be an indicator of smartphone features to come. Even when compared to the Pixel 8s, Samsung’s Galaxy AI has its perks, particularly with real-time translation in voice calls and the option to change the tone of your writing. In places where Google's Pixel is not available, Samsung has an opportunity to capture an audience that's curious about generative AI on phones. The question is: has Samsung done a good job at integrating these AI tools into its smartphone line?
Design and display
Compared to last year's S23 series, this year's flagships are basically the same, save for some new colors — I received the S24 in “Marble Gray” and the S24+ in “Cobalt Violet.” With the S24 and S24+ side by side, you’ll notice the lowered LED flash on the back, along with the frame’s cleaner layout with a new matte finish, but the lack of changes isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, as someone who is accustomed to various Chinese smartphones, I find Samsung’s minimalist design to be refreshing, especially with the uniformly sized individual rear cameras.
Aside from screen size, display resolution and battery capacity, the S24 and S24+ share identical specs. The S24 packs a 6.2-inch Full HD+ screen, weighs 167g and comes in at 7.6mm thick. The larger S24+ sports a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ panel, and it’s 29g heavier with an extra 0.1mm in thickness.
It’s worth noting that both models use the same AMOLED 2X panel, with an adaptive refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz, as well as a 2,600-nit peak brightness. I’ve had no problem reading things on either screen while out and about, though I haven’t experienced strong sunlight over the past few unusually cold days here in Hong Kong.
Cameras
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
This is probably the most boring aspect on the S24 and S24+, because there is no change here from last year’s phones. On the rear is a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 12 MP ultra-wide shooter and a 10 MP 3x telephoto camera, while a 12 MP camera sits up front. Samsung does point out that these cameras benefit from the new generative AI editing tools, which allow you to reframe shots, shift (or delete) subjects and create slow-mo clips from existing videos.
If you’re looking for better low-light performance and improved zoom, you might prefer the S24 Ultra (which my colleague Sam Rutherford reviewed). Still, the S24 and S24+ should be sufficient for your daily snaps, and for me, the results were usually consistent across the three rear cameras. Indoor shots tended to be a little on the dark side and noisier than the results I got on my main phone, the OnePlus Open (which has newer and larger sensors). The difference became more apparent as the environment got darker, especially the faded reds (like on taxis and traffic lights) and the aggressive sharpening on shrubs.
On a more positive note, I’d like to echo my colleague Cherlynn Low’s praise of the S23+’s selfie camera in her review last year. The S24 and S24+ inherited the same setup. In fact, it captured so much detail on my face — pores, dried skin, facial hair, et cetera — that I started to miss the beautification options offered by Chinese phones. I was also impressed by the video recording capabilities, as a 4K clip I shot at 60 fps during a bus ride home came out silky smooth. The relatively low light didn’t seem to affect video stabilization that much.
Software: Making a strong case for practical generative AI
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
I spent most of my time with my S24+ testing its “Galaxy AI,” which is touted as a privacy-first AI suite powered by the neural processing unit inside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. In other words, these phones can run some of their “advanced intelligence” tasks on device, and there’s an option to go completely offline for added privacy, but the results may not be as good or as up to date. On a related note, Samsung promises to never use your data “for machine learning or for targeting ads,” and that “your data is immediately deleted from our servers or our partner’s servers as soon as generation is complete.”
Samsung’s Galaxy AI can be broken down into six functions: “live translate” for voice calls, live interpreter (for in-person conversations), writing assist from the keyboard (for quick translations and changing the tone of your drafts), note assist (for auto summarization and formatting), transcript assist (with translations of your recordings) and generative edit in the gallery app. The translation features rely on Samsung’s own language packs, which currently include English (US and UK), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish (Mexico, Spain and US), Thai and Vietnamese. The company promised that more will be added later.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Before we go further, I’d like to point out that it wasn’t immediately clear where I could enable these AI features. They are disabled by default, and there’s no single switch to enable them all in one go. It took me a while before I dug up the “advanced intelligence” hub in system settings. Even for Google’s self-explanatory “Circle to Search,” I had to go through multiple settings pages to enable it.
The most prominent Galaxy AI feature is perhaps the real-time two-way translation for voice calls, which Samsung has been pitching since November. I had to first enable live translate in the dialer app’s settings, where I had to set the languages of myself and the receiver (it’s easier if you install the necessary language packs in the “advanced intelligence” hub beforehand). Then when you eventually make the phone call, you’ll also need to tap on the “call assist” button, and then tap the “live translate” button to start.
This took me a few runs before I realized I had to hit both buttons to get this thing going, at which point the live translate tool would broadcast a prompt declaring that the call is being translated and live-captioned. Speaking of, be warned that the phone app doesn’t save these transcripts afterwards (I found out the hard way), so be sure to take screenshots or jot down important info before you hang up.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
I enlisted my Ghanaian friend, Paul, who speaks French (and better Mandarin than me!). It took a few runs to let Paul get used to the delay (again, likely not a privilege to be had in the real world), and then we concluded that Samsung’s French language pack struggled to pick up some names and culinary terms, which was likely because it didn’t play well with Paul’s regional accent. Other than that, Paul and I were able to understand each other’s translated speech.
Paul and I also tried the split-screen interpreter tool during a face-to-face conversation. The tool was hard to find — it’s on the second page of the system’s pull-down menu; there is no app shortcut. Once we got the hang of the timing (especially with the pauses required to let the AI start processing), most translations were accurate, so long as Paul’s accent didn’t confuse the software.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Samsung's system performed better in Korean, which should come as no surprise. I brought my S24+ to lunch at a Korean restaurant, and after paying the bill, I used the interpreter to compliment the establishment in two or three lines. The manager’s eyes lit up upon seeing the Korean translation, which came out fast and exact. He then introduced some of his restaurant’s top dishes to me via the interpreter, but as I went to dig up the dish names the next day, I found out that the system only stores conversations for 24 hours. I lost all my earlier call transcripts. A disclaimer about transcript history would have helped.
The writing assist AI tools were more conveniently located – right above the Samsung keyboard. I could quickly translate short phrases while typing into a field – I just needed to give it a second or two before it automatically swapped my typing to its translation. However, I noticed that the Chinese for “Korean barbecue” (“韓式燒烤”) didn’t translate properly to Korean — it became “코리안 야끼” which is “Korean yaki” (which led me to okonomiyaki pancakes instead on Google), when it should be “코리안 바비큐” as Google correctly deduced. I’m sure Galaxy AI’s accuracy will improve over time, but be prepared to come across such silly mistakes every now and then.
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
As a reporter, I look forward to trying the AI transcription feature in Samsung’s Voice Recorder app in future interview opportunities. There’s no setting required, and like Google’s Recorder, it can recognize multiple speakers. But unlike the Pixel version, you can only transcribe (using any downloaded language pack) once you’ve finished recording, rather than seeing it live. This is a little odd considering Samsung has a live interpreter tool; maybe it had to rush out this unpolished Galaxy AI bundle in time for the launch.
Samsung’s other text-based AI tools will also come in handy, especially as I occasionally switch between English and Chinese. I’ve been able to play around with both the “writing style” and “spelling and grammar” tools in Samsung’s keyboard. In Samsung’s Notes app, you can also tap into Galaxy AI for auto summarization and formatting, which can be useful after jotting down notes from press events and interviews.
Sure, you can already perform similar tasks using ChatGPT, but it’s nice to have these functions just a couple of clicks away on our phones. I wouldn’t trust all of the grammar suggestions, though, as some didn’t make sense. Not all of the writing styles listed will suit your needs, either, but they do provide some amusement — like how to write to your love interest in the style of a professional letter.
Performance and battery life
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
Like the S24 Ultra, the S24 and S24+ are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor — but only in the US, South Korea and China. If you’re buying one in the UK, then you’ll have to make do with the Samsung Exynos 2400, though benchmarks have indicated that its performance isn’t far off from Qualcomm’s counterpart and, on paper, it actually has a faster 5G modem. As for options, the S24 starts with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for its $800 base model, whereas the S24+ starts with 12GB of RAM and twice the storage at $1,000.
I’ve yet to run into any hiccups on either device, and the slick Android 14 animations made switching from one app to another feel effortless. On Geekbench 6, the S24 and S24+ saw notable improvements in CPU multi-core performance scores, reaching 7,049 and 6,641, respectively. Both models saw a bigger boost in GPU scores, up to 15,082 and 14,982, respectively.
The S23+ already impressed us with its 25-hour result on our video rundown battery test last year. This time, the S24+ lasted for 25 hours and 50 minutes, beating its predecessor by almost an hour. The smaller S24 didn’t disappoint, either, clocking in at about 24.5 hours, so battery life isn’t an issue if single-handed operation matters to you. The S24+’s battery life is even more generous in the real world: With the occasional Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube and camera testing throughout the day, I still often ended up with 50 to 60 percent of power by the time I got home in the evening. If I forgot to charge the phone overnight, it could still last another day.
Wrap-up
Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget
I began my review of the S24 and S24+ with low expectations. After all, they weren't very different (visibly) than their predecessors. But as I spent more time with these devices, their minimalist design and slick UX grew on me. Then came the built-in generative AI features, which are more convenient and intuitive than most other third-party bots. There’s even greater potential with the live translation tools, especially with international travel basically back to pre-pandemic levels. The new software aids, combined with subtle design tweaks, help the S24 and S24+ make a more compelling case for upgrading from an S22 or earlier models. Or switching over from other brands, for that matter.
Even though OpenAI and Google are already well ahead in the generative AI game, Samsung still deserves some credit for simplifying these functions — at least while it keeps offering Galaxy AI for free until the end of 2025. For now, though, Samsung needs to find a way to polish the whole package, and make some of the AI features more easily accessible. More importantly, users should be offered an option to save the transcripts after each translated phone call or in-person chat. I’m sure Samsung would rather not have Galaxy AI be reduced to a channel for venting.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-galaxy-s24-and-s24-review-a-taste-of-generative-ai-in-everyday-use-160041639.html?src=rss
Pokémon Go creator Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The company teamed up with Reality Crisis, another player in the AR gaming space, to create Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX. For the uninitiated, Mullen is a professional skateboarder who is credited with creating a number of iconic tricks, including the ollie and the kickflip.
This is the first augmented-reality skateboard game ever, unless you count using an actual skateboard to speed around town catching pocket monsters in Pokémon Go. Niantic says the gameplay will involve players navigating the real world to “explore and collect skatepark elements.” The game will use the same AR precision elements as the company’s other titles to “turn the world into an endless skatepark.” A gameplay demo shows an avatar skating in real-world locations like parking lots and inside of washing machines. However, there’s one really expensive elephant in the room.
The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 and isn’t exactly suited to removing from the living room, let alone the home. You’ll also look pretty stupid wearing Apple’s bulky ski goggles while out and about, not to mention it’d be mighty easy to snag it from your head and race away, perhaps on a real-life skateboard.
To that end, Niantic and Reality Labs are also bringing the game to standard mobile devices, including iOS and Android smartphones. Much of the gameplay is still under wraps, but Niantic promises that players will be able to share custom-made skateparks with other users on both mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets.
Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX will be released sometime this year. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the device looks to be getting all kinds of apps. The headset will have access to Microsoft’s entire 365 productivity suite at launch, along with a Zoom app. All told, Apple says there will be 600 apps available for tomorrow’s release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/niantic-is-bringing-an-ar-skateboarding-game-to-apple-vision-pro-183740925.html?src=rss
While not quite Apple’s most powerful tablet, the iPad Air is still the best choice for most customers. Its blend of nearly iPad Pro-level specs and features with more accessible pricing made it one of Engadget’s top iPad picks for 2024. If you’ve been eyeing a new model and don’t want to spend a fortune, you can snag the latest iPad Air at Best Buy for a record-low $450 (usually $600).
The 2022 iPad Air has a 10.9-inch screen with True Tone (auto-adjusting display warmth), P3 wide color (for a vivid and accurate color presentation), and an anti-reflective coating. Powering it is the M1 chip, which places it a generation behind the more expensive ($750 and up) 11-inch iPad Pro. However, the M1 is still more than zippy enough for nearly anyone’s everyday tablet use.
The $450 price gets you the base model with 64GB of storage. If that isn’t enough, Best Buy also has the 256GB model discounted to $600 (usually $750). Both storage tiers ship in five color options: space gray, starlight, blue, purple and pink.
The iPad Air works with Apple’s best tablet accessories, including the second-generation Apple Pencil and the Magic Keyboard, which transform it into a laptop-like portable workstation. It also includes a USB-C port for universal charging and connecting external drives or cameras.
Apple is rumored to launch a new iPad Air model in the coming months, so you may consider holding off if saving money isn’t your highest priority. But on the other hand, this is almost certainly the most bang for your buck you’ll get from a $450 iPad anytime soon.
Apple recently announced the changes it's making to the App Store in order to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) that goes into full effect on March 7. The company's critics quickly denounced its plans and requirements for alternative app stores, with Spotify calling the changes a "total farce." Microsoft's Xbox is one of the latest companies to call out Apple's compliance plans. In response to a post on X by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek talking about the changes at Apple, Xbox president Sarah Bond said the company's new policy is "a step in the wrong direction" and that she hopes it listens to feedback to create a "more inclusive future for all."
We believe constructive conversations drive change and progress towards open platforms and greater competition. Apple's new policy is a step in the wrong direction. We hope they listen to feedback on their proposed plan and work towards a more inclusive future for all. https://t.co/mDRI5KPJf6
Under DMA rules, platform owners like Apple and Google have to open up their systems to competing app stores. Apple, however, requires these alternative app stores to have stringent rules and moderation tools comparable to its own. Their operators will also need to be able to prove that they have access to a minimum amount of around $1.1 million in credit that they can use to pay developers. Apple has a new rule for developers, as well, requiring them to pay a Core Technology Fee of €0.50 (around 54 cents) per install after an app reaches a 1 million download threshold for the year. That rule applies whether the app is distributed through Apple's App Store or through an alternative marketplace.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Apple's plan "is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance." He added that Apple is essentially forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and a new "also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads," as well as new taxes on payments the company doesn't process itself. The App Store is a massive business for Apple, which takes a 15 to 30 percent commission from developers' earnings. For the fiscal year of 2022, for instance, Apple said the App Store ecosystem "facilitated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales."
Epic pulled Fortnitefrom the App Store in 2020 after violating its rules on purpose and offering discounts to players making purchases outside of Apple's ecosystem. The developer recently announced that it's bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone and iPad in Europe this year after the DMA takes effect and that it's launching its own store for iOS. Spotify, which has also been a vocal critic of Apple, plans to launch its own in-app payment system for iOS users in Europe, as well.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-president-thinks-apples-eu-app-store-plan-is-a-step-in-the-wrong-direction-130551604.html?src=rss
Apple recently announced the changes it's making to the App Store in order to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) that goes into full effect on March 7. The company's critics quickly denounced its plans and requirements for alternative app stores, with Spotify calling the changes a "total farce." Microsoft's Xbox is one of the latest companies to call out Apple's compliance plans. In response to a post on X by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek talking about the changes at Apple, Xbox president Sarah Bond said the company's new policy is "a step in the wrong direction" and that she hopes it listens to feedback to create a "more inclusive future for all."
We believe constructive conversations drive change and progress towards open platforms and greater competition. Apple's new policy is a step in the wrong direction. We hope they listen to feedback on their proposed plan and work towards a more inclusive future for all. https://t.co/mDRI5KPJf6
Under DMA rules, platform owners like Apple and Google have to open up their systems to competing app stores. Apple, however, requires these alternative app stores to have stringent rules and moderation tools comparable to its own. Their operators will also need to be able to prove that they have access to a minimum amount of around $1.1 million in credit that they can use to pay developers. Apple has a new rule for developers, as well, requiring them to pay a Core Technology Fee of €0.50 (around 54 cents) per install after an app reaches a 1 million download threshold for the year. That rule applies whether the app is distributed through Apple's App Store or through an alternative marketplace.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said Apple's plan "is a devious new instance of Malicious Compliance." He added that Apple is essentially forcing developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and a new "also-illegal anticompetitive scheme rife with new Junk Fees on downloads," as well as new taxes on payments the company doesn't process itself. The App Store is a massive business for Apple, which takes a 15 to 30 percent commission from developers' earnings. For the fiscal year of 2022, for instance, Apple said the App Store ecosystem "facilitated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales."
Epic pulled Fortnitefrom the App Store in 2020 after violating its rules on purpose and offering discounts to players making purchases outside of Apple's ecosystem. The developer recently announced that it's bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone and iPad in Europe this year after the DMA takes effect and that it's launching its own store for iOS. Spotify, which has also been a vocal critic of Apple, plans to launch its own in-app payment system for iOS users in Europe, as well.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xbox-president-thinks-apples-eu-app-store-plan-is-a-step-in-the-wrong-direction-130551604.html?src=rss
For nearly a decade the Galaxy Note was the undisputed king of Android phones. But when the OG phablet line was retired in 2020, that title passed on to the Ultra. While the hardware inside the most expensive Galaxy S model is as dominant as ever, over the past few years, the software in Google phones has begun to outshine anything available from Samsung. But armed with a new suite of AI-powered features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra (S24U) got exactly what it needed to maintain its spot atop the Android battlefield.
Design and display: Now with titanium
There are three main areas of improvement to the S24 Ultra: design, cameras and all of Samsung’s new AI tools. The biggest change to its build is the switch to a new titanium frame, which follows what Apple did for the iPhone 15 Pro last fall. So no points for originality. But more importantly, because the previous Ultra featured an aluminum chassis, there’s not a major change in weight either, with the S24U coming in at 232 grams (just two grams lighter than the S23 Ultra).
Some other subtle changes are a new matte finish and an upgrade to Corning’s Gorilla Armor in front and back (instead of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 like on the regular S24/S24+). Another benefit of Corning’s latest hardened glass is that it has improved anti-reflective properties, so while it doesn’t totally eliminate glare, it does make it appear less harsh without impacting the display's color saturation. And despite the previous model having slim bezels, Samsung reduced the borders around the display again by 42 percent, which is most noticeable along the top and bottom.
The display itself proves, once again, that Samsung makes the best mobile screens on the market. You still get a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a variable 120Hz rate, except now it’s even brighter with a peak of 2,600 nits (up from 1,750 nits). And if that’s not enough, the phone’s improved Vision Booster adds an additional 300 nits of perceived brightness, so movies, games, and everything else always looks good no matter where you are.
Performance: Setting a new bar for speed
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Inside, the S24 Ultra features a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm and it’s a powerhouse. In Geekebench 6, we saw multi-core scores that were 30 to 35 percent higher than last year’s chip. This makes everything from games to switching between apps feel super snappy. The addition of a 92 percent larger vapor chamber also meant the S24 UItra never got above lukewarm even under sustained loads. Samsung also increased the phone’s RAM to 12GB for every config, unlike the S23U which started at 8GB base. Storage remains the same with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options.
Cameras: A more usable 5x optical zoom
Three of the S24 Ultra’s four cameras are largely unchanged from its predecessor, including its 200-MP main sensor, 10-MP ultra-wide and 12-MP telephoto shooter with a 3x optical zoom. The main upgrade is swapping out the old 10x lens for a 5x optical zoom with a higher-res 50-MP sensor, which Samsung says reflects 5x being the most widely used focal length aside from the main cam. While this move might seem like a loss in terms of reach, the sensor’s increased resolution allows the phone to crop in providing what Samsung calls a “10x optical quality zoom” that’s surprisingly sharp.
In photos of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty from across the water, the S24U produced rich, detailed pics that were just as good as what we got from a Pixel 8 Pro. And while images taken at 10X were a touch softer than similar shots taken by an S23 Ultra, they weren’t far off.
In general the S24U captured gorgeous pics in all sorts of conditions. You’ll still notice Samsung’s super-saturated colors and penchant for slightly warmer hues, but in most cases that just adds an extra sense of vibrancy. Samsung also has a habit of going a bit overboard on sharpening, though it’s not a major distraction. Even in low light the S24U’s Night Mode largely kept up with Google’s Night Sight, which is no small feat.
Software: Samsung’s big push into AI
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Aside from its new hardware, the biggest addition to the S24 Ultra is Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, which are an entire suite of tools that fall into three main categories: text and translation, photography and editing, and search.
There’s an interpreter mode for in-person conversations along with a live translation feature that you can use during calls. Both are good enough to use in a pinch while traveling, but some things like word choice and pacing may be a bit off. The experience can also feel a bit clunky, especially when you’re on the phone and have to wait so the AI can catch up.
Next, you have Chat Assist which can check spelling, grammar andadjust the tone of messages. Admittedly, the social and emojify options are a bit gimmicky, but I genuinely appreciate the polite and professional choices, as they can help prevent a text or email from sounding combative.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
In the Notes app, the S24U can also summarize, auto-format, spellcheck or translate a file, which is nice, but not exactly groundbreaking. A lot of these features are already available from other services like ChatGPT or Bard. That said, these improvements may be the biggest upgrades to the S24 Ultra’s S-Pen, which is otherwise largely unchanged.
Out of Samsung’s text-based tools, my favorite is the transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app. It makes grabbing quotes from interviews super simple, though I noticed that Samsung’s UX doesn’t feel quite as polished or streamlined as what you get from Google. For example, the Pixel Recorder lets you see the transcript in real-time, while on the Ultra, you have to record a convo and then hit the AI icon to generate a chat log when you’re done.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The AI can also suggest edits for images like automatically remastering images (which is similar to the Auto Tone feature in Photoshop) or removing distracting elements like shadows and reflections. You can see these options by hitting the Info icon in the gallery app, which makes them super easy to access and might be the fastest way to improve your photos. The S24 Ultra can also create slow-mo clips from existing footage, just by tapping and holding on a video while it’s playing. This triggers the phone’s AI to generate new frames based on the fps of the recording (i.e. from 30 fps to 120 fps) on the fly and the results are surprisingly smooth.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, there are Generative AI edits that allow you to reframe shots, move subjects around or delete them entirely, while the phone fills in the blanks. It’s a simple but effective process that sidesteps the need for Photoshop in a lot of cases. That said, if you look close you may notice areas where Samsung’s AI misses more details than the Pixel 8’s Magic Editor, which is a trend I noticed across a lot of Samsung’s AI features.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
All of the new tools generally function as expected, but things don’t feel quite as streamlined or polished as a lot of Google’s alternatives. In the Notes app, there’s a word limit for auto-formatting, summarizing and more, which limits you to about three or four paragraphs at a time. That means if you have a medium-sized doc, you’re gonna have to tackle it in chunks, which gets tedious pretty quickly. And sometimes if you try to highlight areas of a photo to remove reflections, the phone will smooth over the entire area and paint over the details.
In other situations, the AI will suggest edits that don’t make sense, like trying to turn a short motion photo into a timelapse. It’s possible this was my fault for importing a photo taken by another device, but I feel like the phone ought to know better. The AI is meant to work on any photo, regardless of where it came from. Even moving subjects around in a pic can get wonky depending on the shot and what you’re trying to do. And every now and then, the phone will suggest you remaster a photo, only for it to tell you that there’s nothing to fix. As a photographer, that’s a great feeling. But at the same time, why am I being told there are things to fix if that’s not actually the case? But, this is Samsung’s first big push into AI-assisted features, so it shouldn't be a shock to see a handful of hiccups.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Rounding out the S24’s kit is Circle to Search, which is the one new AI feature that relies on help from the cloud instead of taking place on-device. It’s essentially a combination of traditional text-based queries and visual search tools like Google Lens but without the need for a standalone app. The neat thing is that it can analyze images from the web or objects in photos you’ve taken yourself, which makes it pretty versatile. But Google recently announced that Circle to Search is coming to Pixel phones too, so it’s not like this is an exclusive feather in Samsung’s cap.
Battery Life: Nearing two days of juice
Between the power efficiency gains from its new processor and a large 5,000 mAh battery, the S24 Ultra delivered truly impressive longevity. On our local video rundown test, it lasted 24 hours and 19 minutes, which is up more than four hours compared to last year. And in the real world, its battery life was even more impressive. The S24U often had more than 50 percent left after 24 hours. So depending on your usage, it’s possible for this phone to last two days without recharging.
Wrap-up
At this point, you'd be forgiven for being fed up with companies trying to push AI into everything. But if you just think about these as software upgrades meant to make your phone more useful, Samsung’s push into machine learning makes a lot more sense. The S23U was already a great phone and on the S24 Ultra, we’re getting the same (though somewhat plain) design, but with a tougher titanium frame, a much faster chip, a brighter display and even longer battery life. Samsung also tweaked its main telephoto lens to provide a more useful focal length but without a major decrease in reach or quality.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But the big thing is that, with its Galaxy AI suite, Samsung finally has an answer to the sophisticated features that were previously only available from the Pixel family. Sure, the S24’s tools aren’t quite as polished as Google’s offerings, but they get you 80 to 90 percent of the way there. And as a complement to what is more or less a top-to-bottom list of best-in-class smartphone hardware, it feels like Samsung is using AI to shore up one of the few remaining weaknesses of its flagship handset. Particularly now that the company is following in Google’s footsteps and increasing software support from six to seven years of OS and security updates.
However, the Ultra’s biggest sticking point — its price — remains an issue. With the S24U starting at $1,300, it costs $100 more than the outgoing model. I’m also disappointed that Samsung didn’t adopt Qi 2. It’s frustrating to see all the major OEMs, including Apple, agree on a wireless charging standard only to have the biggest phone maker in the world drag its feet. Qi 2 got approved last year and we may not see it on a high-end Samsung handset until 2025.
While harnessing AI might not be a super exciting development now that everyone and their grandmother is trying to shoehorn it into everything, it does make the S24 Ultra a more powerful and well-rounded handset. And when you tack that onto a phone that already had a lead in hardware, you end with a pretty commanding device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/galaxy-s24-ultra-review-samsungs-ai-reinforcements-have-arrived-specs-price-191508062.html?src=rss
For nearly a decade the Galaxy Note was the undisputed king of Android phones. But when the OG phablet line was retired in 2020, that title passed on to the Ultra. While the hardware inside the most expensive Galaxy S model is as dominant as ever, over the past few years, the software in Google phones has begun to outshine anything available from Samsung. But armed with a new suite of AI-powered features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra (S24U) got exactly what it needed to maintain its spot atop the Android battlefield.
Design and display: Now with titanium
There are three main areas of improvement to the S24 Ultra: design, cameras and all of Samsung’s new AI tools. The biggest change to its build is the switch to a new titanium frame, which follows what Apple did for the iPhone 15 Pro last fall. So no points for originality. But more importantly, because the previous Ultra featured an aluminum chassis, there’s not a major change in weight either, with the S24U coming in at 232 grams (just two grams lighter than the S23 Ultra).
Some other subtle changes are a new matte finish and an upgrade to Corning’s Gorilla Armor in front and back (instead of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 like on the regular S24/S24+). Another benefit of Corning’s latest hardened glass is that it has improved anti-reflective properties, so while it doesn’t totally eliminate glare, it does make it appear less harsh without impacting the display's color saturation. And despite the previous model having slim bezels, Samsung reduced the borders around the display again by 42 percent, which is most noticeable along the top and bottom.
The display itself proves, once again, that Samsung makes the best mobile screens on the market. You still get a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a variable 120Hz rate, except now it’s even brighter with a peak of 2,600 nits (up from 1,750 nits). And if that’s not enough, the phone’s improved Vision Booster adds an additional 300 nits of perceived brightness, so movies, games, and everything else always looks good no matter where you are.
Performance: Setting a new bar for speed
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Inside, the S24 Ultra features a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm and it’s a powerhouse. In Geekebench 6, we saw multi-core scores that were 30 to 35 percent higher than last year’s chip. This makes everything from games to switching between apps feel super snappy. The addition of a 92 percent larger vapor chamber also meant the S24 UItra never got above lukewarm even under sustained loads. Samsung also increased the phone’s RAM to 12GB for every config, unlike the S23U which started at 8GB base. Storage remains the same with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB options.
Cameras: A more usable 5x optical zoom
Three of the S24 Ultra’s four cameras are largely unchanged from its predecessor, including its 200-MP main sensor, 10-MP ultra-wide and 12-MP telephoto shooter with a 3x optical zoom. The main upgrade is swapping out the old 10x lens for a 5x optical zoom with a higher-res 50-MP sensor, which Samsung says reflects 5x being the most widely used focal length aside from the main cam. While this move might seem like a loss in terms of reach, the sensor’s increased resolution allows the phone to crop in providing what Samsung calls a “10x optical quality zoom” that’s surprisingly sharp.
In photos of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty from across the water, the S24U produced rich, detailed pics that were just as good as what we got from a Pixel 8 Pro. And while images taken at 10X were a touch softer than similar shots taken by an S23 Ultra, they weren’t far off.
In general the S24U captured gorgeous pics in all sorts of conditions. You’ll still notice Samsung’s super-saturated colors and penchant for slightly warmer hues, but in most cases that just adds an extra sense of vibrancy. Samsung also has a habit of going a bit overboard on sharpening, though it’s not a major distraction. Even in low light the S24U’s Night Mode largely kept up with Google’s Night Sight, which is no small feat.
Software: Samsung’s big push into AI
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Aside from its new hardware, the biggest addition to the S24 Ultra is Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, which are an entire suite of tools that fall into three main categories: text and translation, photography and editing, and search.
There’s an interpreter mode for in-person conversations along with a live translation feature that you can use during calls. Both are good enough to use in a pinch while traveling, but some things like word choice and pacing may be a bit off. The experience can also feel a bit clunky, especially when you’re on the phone and have to wait so the AI can catch up.
Next, you have Chat Assist which can check spelling, grammar andadjust the tone of messages. Admittedly, the social and emojify options are a bit gimmicky, but I genuinely appreciate the polite and professional choices, as they can help prevent a text or email from sounding combative.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
In the Notes app, the S24U can also summarize, auto-format, spellcheck or translate a file, which is nice, but not exactly groundbreaking. A lot of these features are already available from other services like ChatGPT or Bard. That said, these improvements may be the biggest upgrades to the S24 Ultra’s S-Pen, which is otherwise largely unchanged.
Out of Samsung’s text-based tools, my favorite is the transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app. It makes grabbing quotes from interviews super simple, though I noticed that Samsung’s UX doesn’t feel quite as polished or streamlined as what you get from Google. For example, the Pixel Recorder lets you see the transcript in real-time, while on the Ultra, you have to record a convo and then hit the AI icon to generate a chat log when you’re done.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The AI can also suggest edits for images like automatically remastering images (which is similar to the Auto Tone feature in Photoshop) or removing distracting elements like shadows and reflections. You can see these options by hitting the Info icon in the gallery app, which makes them super easy to access and might be the fastest way to improve your photos. The S24 Ultra can also create slow-mo clips from existing footage, just by tapping and holding on a video while it’s playing. This triggers the phone’s AI to generate new frames based on the fps of the recording (i.e. from 30 fps to 120 fps) on the fly and the results are surprisingly smooth.
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, there are Generative AI edits that allow you to reframe shots, move subjects around or delete them entirely, while the phone fills in the blanks. It’s a simple but effective process that sidesteps the need for Photoshop in a lot of cases. That said, if you look close you may notice areas where Samsung’s AI misses more details than the Pixel 8’s Magic Editor, which is a trend I noticed across a lot of Samsung’s AI features.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
All of the new tools generally function as expected, but things don’t feel quite as streamlined or polished as a lot of Google’s alternatives. In the Notes app, there’s a word limit for auto-formatting, summarizing and more, which limits you to about three or four paragraphs at a time. That means if you have a medium-sized doc, you’re gonna have to tackle it in chunks, which gets tedious pretty quickly. And sometimes if you try to highlight areas of a photo to remove reflections, the phone will smooth over the entire area and paint over the details.
In other situations, the AI will suggest edits that don’t make sense, like trying to turn a short motion photo into a timelapse. It’s possible this was my fault for importing a photo taken by another device, but I feel like the phone ought to know better. The AI is meant to work on any photo, regardless of where it came from. Even moving subjects around in a pic can get wonky depending on the shot and what you’re trying to do. And every now and then, the phone will suggest you remaster a photo, only for it to tell you that there’s nothing to fix. As a photographer, that’s a great feeling. But at the same time, why am I being told there are things to fix if that’s not actually the case? But, this is Samsung’s first big push into AI-assisted features, so it shouldn't be a shock to see a handful of hiccups.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Rounding out the S24’s kit is Circle to Search, which is the one new AI feature that relies on help from the cloud instead of taking place on-device. It’s essentially a combination of traditional text-based queries and visual search tools like Google Lens but without the need for a standalone app. The neat thing is that it can analyze images from the web or objects in photos you’ve taken yourself, which makes it pretty versatile. But Google recently announced that Circle to Search is coming to Pixel phones too, so it’s not like this is an exclusive feather in Samsung’s cap.
Battery Life: Nearing two days of juice
Between the power efficiency gains from its new processor and a large 5,000 mAh battery, the S24 Ultra delivered truly impressive longevity. On our local video rundown test, it lasted 24 hours and 19 minutes, which is up more than four hours compared to last year. And in the real world, its battery life was even more impressive. The S24U often had more than 50 percent left after 24 hours. So depending on your usage, it’s possible for this phone to last two days without recharging.
Wrap-up
At this point, you'd be forgiven for being fed up with companies trying to push AI into everything. But if you just think about these as software upgrades meant to make your phone more useful, Samsung’s push into machine learning makes a lot more sense. The S23U was already a great phone and on the S24 Ultra, we’re getting the same (though somewhat plain) design, but with a tougher titanium frame, a much faster chip, a brighter display and even longer battery life. Samsung also tweaked its main telephoto lens to provide a more useful focal length but without a major decrease in reach or quality.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But the big thing is that, with its Galaxy AI suite, Samsung finally has an answer to the sophisticated features that were previously only available from the Pixel family. Sure, the S24’s tools aren’t quite as polished as Google’s offerings, but they get you 80 to 90 percent of the way there. And as a complement to what is more or less a top-to-bottom list of best-in-class smartphone hardware, it feels like Samsung is using AI to shore up one of the few remaining weaknesses of its flagship handset. Particularly now that the company is following in Google’s footsteps and increasing software support from six to seven years of OS and security updates.
However, the Ultra’s biggest sticking point — its price — remains an issue. With the S24U starting at $1,300, it costs $100 more than the outgoing model. I’m also disappointed that Samsung didn’t adopt Qi 2. It’s frustrating to see all the major OEMs, including Apple, agree on a wireless charging standard only to have the biggest phone maker in the world drag its feet. Qi 2 got approved last year and we may not see it on a high-end Samsung handset until 2025.
While harnessing AI might not be a super exciting development now that everyone and their grandmother is trying to shoehorn it into everything, it does make the S24 Ultra a more powerful and well-rounded handset. And when you tack that onto a phone that already had a lead in hardware, you end with a pretty commanding device.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/galaxy-s24-ultra-review-samsungs-ai-reinforcements-have-arrived-specs-price-191508062.html?src=rss
The Samsung Galaxy S24 isn’t taking Google’s Gemini AI with it to China. CNBCreported Friday that the Chinese version of the flagship phone uses Baidu’s Ernie chatbot to power the phone’s AI-powered features. Ernie arrived last August after reportedly receiving Chinese government approval.
“Now featuring Ernie’s understanding and generation capabilities, the upgraded Samsung Note Assistant can translate content and also summarize lengthy content into clear, intelligently organized formats at the click of a button, streamlining the organization of extensive text,” Baidu and Samsung told CNBC in a joint statement.
Samsung’s description of the Galaxy S24 series on its Chinese website advertises many of the same Google-powered features it debuted last week in its San Jose, CA, launch event. These include a version of Circle to Search, real-time call translation, a transcription helper and a photo assistant. The Chinese Galaxy S24 product pages don’t have any references to Google, which has limited operations in the country.
Samsung
A recent report suggests Apple recently ended Samsung’s 14-year run as the global smartphone shipment leader. In addition, IDC published data this week suggesting the iPhone maker claimed the top spot in the Chinese market (with a 17.3-percent market share) for the first time in 2023. Samsung didn’t make the top five.
Engadget has tried the Galaxy S24 series, including the standard, Plus and Ultra variants. Samsung’s 2024 flagship phone lineup launches in the US on January 31.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-ai-features-on-the-galaxy-s24-in-china-reportedly-ditch-google-for-baidu-174503505.html?src=rss
Last year, the European Union implemented new laws to make big tech open up its platforms to competitors. The deadline for compliance is March, and all eyes were on how Apple, which is famous for not playing nicely with others, would react. Now the company has set out how it will comply with the law, and the result is the sort of malicious compliance everyone was expecting. Similarly, the reaction from the coalition of well-heeled critics who were all hoping to get a slice of Apple’s pie for free has been similarly predictable.
The Digital Markets Act
In 2023, the EU laid down a new regime to prevent big tech throwing all of its weight around in the bloc. The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act govern what it calls “gatekeepers,” the big platforms who get between users and businesses. That includes Meta, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and (TikTok owner) ByteDance, who all have big user bases, deep pockets and a lot of power. One key provision of the law was to get platform holders like Apple and Google to open their systems and allow competing services, such as alternative app stores, a topic we covered in depth back in 2020.
On January 25, Apple published a statement explaining how the DMA would impact iOS, Safari and the App Store. The document is laced with references to how the law makes iOS less secure and that Apple needs to take steps to mitigate those risks. And while Apple does not say how much each part of its business makes specifically, the App Store is a key part of its services division which earned a combined $22 billion in its most recent quarter. Consequently, Apple will happily let you set up a competing iOS app store, but in order to do so, you will have to vault Mount Everest, dig a tunnel to the center of the Earth and front a million dollars in cash.
Okay, not quite that.
You can compete, but you won’t want to
The creators of a would-be rival app store can’t simply turn up and sell their wares without any oversight. It was obvious from the get-go that even if Apple did open up its platforms, no third party app store would be allowed to do an end-run around the company’s basic rules. If you were hoping to run Honest Doug’s App Store (Not A Scam) and take the world for a ride, then you’re out of luck.
Would-be rivals will still need to meet Apple’s Notarization requirements and have tight rules and moderation tools governing quality, piracy, fraud and payment disputes. (Notarization will mean these apps will be checked by Apple to look for “known malware”, with the ability to shut the app down if any is detected.) They will need key rules around data collection and to offer users the same level of control they enjoy in the App Store proper. Not to mention complying with the Digital Services Act, GDPR and a number of other acronym-heavy EU regulations around digital services and online privacy. Essentially, if you want to run your own App Store, you’ll need to do it to the same level that Apple does.
Apple has also said app stores need to ensure they can meet their obligation to pay app developers. In this case, it means sharing a letter from a top financial institution with proof they have access to a minimum of €1,000,000 (around $1.1 million) in credit. And to avoid third party app stores taking advantage of Apple’s platform without Apple benefiting, developers will need to pay a Core Technology Fee once an app has been downloaded more than a million times. This is a per-install fee of €0.50 (around 54 cents) which renews every 12 months the app is installed for. You can decide for yourself if this reminds you of Unity’s aborted Runtime Fee payment scheme.
At the present time, Apple charges developers either $99 or $299, depending on if they are for an individual or a company. Apple then takes a flat commission on any transaction, either to buy the app itself or with an in-app purchase. For small developers making less than $1 million per year, Apple takes a 15 percent cut, while bigger names pay 30 percent. There are exceptions, including “reader” apps which are downloaded for free and tie to subscriptions elsewhere. So far it's not clear under what circumstances the sideloading fees might be preferable (if ever) to the vanilla "Apple tax" through its proprietary storefront.
The expected response
Naturally, Apple’s statement and all of the explanatory detail in its developer notes was controversial. Its critics, many of whom feel that Apple has too much power over its platform, were incensed.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who has previously sued the company about this matter, was quick to denounce the changes. He said the new rules were “a devious new instance of malicious compliance.” Adding that it is forcing app developers to pick between App Store exclusivity or an “anticompetitive scheme rife with new junk fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don’t process.”
The Coalition for App Fairness, a lobby group backed by Epic, Spotify and Match Group, was quick to support one of its biggest backers. Executive director and former Republican spokesperson Rick Vanmeter said Apple had “no intention” to comply with the DMA. And added the move was a “shameless insult to the European Commission and the millions of European consumers they represent,” and urged officials to reject the move.
But it’s not just Apple’s well-heeled rivals who feel the company is thumbing its nose at the EU with these changes. Andy Yen, the founder of privacy service Proton, told Engadget that Apple’s compliance with the DMA is “done in bad faith,” and that the iPhone maker is “fighting tooth and nail to maintain its profits and monopoly." Yen added that the “strings attached to Apple’s new policies mean that in practice it will be impossible for developers to benefit from them.” And that the moves erode “the fundamental rights of users by giving Apple the ability to review apps downloaded outside the App Store.” He added that the “European Commission can’t let this blatant bending of the rules fly.”
But despite the chorus of calls demanding the European Commission to Do Something, the body hasn’t budged just yet. “We take note of Apple’s announcements ahead of the compliance deadline,” a commission spokesperson told Engadget “We do not comment on these announcements.” The spokesperson added they “strongly encourage designated gatekeepers to test their proposals with third parties.” And that these comments were “without prejudice to the Commission’s own assessment of these proposals.”
At the time of writing, there has not yet been a comment from any high-profile EU figures about the matter. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Margrethe Vestager, who handles technology and competition matters, have been active on social media but not about this topic. Similarly, we are waiting to hear back from Deezer, who have both previously urged the European Union to act. Not to mention that, before Apple’s announcement, Spotify published its own announcement saying it will offer app downloads directly from its site.
Update, January 26 16:19 ET: Spotify has now shared its statement saying that Apple's proposals are a "total farce." It adds that the plan for alternative app stores is an "undesirable alternative to the status quo" which will punish successful developers for "their success."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-rivals-arent-happy-about-its-eu-app-store-changes-160032585.html?src=rss