With a new partnership between Google Cloud and Samsung, Galaxy S24 users will be able to access our most capable AI model, Gemini, through apps and services built by Samsung.
We look forward to working with Samsung to bring Gemini into even more product experiences for Galaxy users around the world. Learn more about Google Cloud and Samsung’s partnership.
Official statement from Google on new Samsung partnership. Google’s AI algorithms can be found all over the Galaxy S24 series.
But hold on… Why in the world is Google allowing Samsung early and exclusive (!) access to some of its most precious AI features, which make the Pixel as special as it is? The answer is… business.
Google and Samsung are closer than ever, and they don’t try to hide it. Samsung manufactures the Tensor chip powerding Google’s Pixel phones, while Google is now returning the favor by sharing its most powerful AI algorithms with Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 phones.
Building on their existing relationship, Samsung and Google’s partnership is now stronger than ever. The South Korean tech giant makes modified Exynos chips (a.k.a. Tensor) for Google’s Pixel flagship, while Google gives Samsung access to exclusive software and AI features even before the Pixel 8 gets them!
So, all of this sounds like an incredible deal for Samsung, as the Galaxy S24 series of phones also become the first Android phones (after Google’s Pixel) to offer seven years of Android OS updates. But what does Samoogle’s friendship with benefits mean for the Pixel phone and Android as a whole?
As far as the Pixel is concerned, perhaps the one question that immediately popped up in my head was: Do we really need Tensor, which (as it’s become clear) isn’t what makes the Pixel smart?
Since most of the Pixel’s AI features are now available on Samsung’s Galaxy S24, which is powered by two different chips (Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Samsung’s Exynos), it’s now clear that Google’s AI algorithms are what makes the Pixel smart – not the Tensor chip. Respectively, this makes Tensor seem more like a business-driven product rather than an essential part of the Pixel phone.
My Pixel 8 Pro takes a long time to process AI-related tasks. Especially those related to photos and generative AI. What stops me from recommending a Galaxy S24 over a Pixel 8, when I know Samsung’s flagship will perform better than the Pixel even when it comes to features developed by Google and for the Pixel?
Galaxy S24 and Google’s commitment issues: Is Google’s priority to make the best Pixel phone possible; make the best version of Android possible, or make the best business decisions possible?
Looking at the bigger picture, I can’t help but ask myself what Google’s priorities are. Apparently, being the world’s leading data centre, the creator of Android, and a phone-maker, isn’t an easy balancing act to pull off.
Is Google working to make Android better than iOS – in its role of a software company, or is Google working to make the Pixel better than the competition – from the perspective of a phone-maker?
But if this is the case, then why is the Galaxy S24 getting early access to AI features not yet available on Pixel? And why is the Galaxy S24 able to run the same AI features faster and smoother than Pixel, which settles for a noticeably inferior chip?
Google-made Galaxy S24 AI features prove Samsung gets special treatment: Is this fair towards other Android phone-makers?
Google and Samsung vs the rest?
Is Google about to draw a fine line between the Pixel and Galaxy’s version of Android – with all the AI tricks and 7 years of OS updates, and the version of Android available to other Android phone-makers?
Last but not least, I have a strong feeling the new AI tricks shared between the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 might not be coming to any other Android phone anytime soon. And if that’s indeed the case, it’d put other Android phones running on (supposedly) the same version of Android at a clear disadvantage.
The reason I think Google’s new AI algorithms could end up being exclusive to the Pixel and Galaxy is that they aren’t tied to a new Android version like many new Android features usually are. Instead, these new AI tricks launch in the middle of the transition from Android 14 to Android 15. Hence, I don’t see how a Xiaomi or a OnePlus phone will get them without Google’s explicit assistance.
With that in mind, I also won’t be surprised if the Galaxy S24 is the only non-Google phone able/allowed to get 7 years of Android updates for a good while.
- Is Google now working to make Android better and more competitive as a whole, and for every phone that uses Android?
- Is Google working to make the Pixel the best Android phone in the world – something all other Android phone-makers are trying to achieve with their own flagship phones?
- Is Google working to strengthen its partnerships and business with the likes of Samsung?
I guess the answer might be all of the above, which means I’m sensing a conflict of interest within Google itself, and more specifically the different divisions within the company. I guess this is what happens when your primary business has nothing to do with making phones?
