"'Galaxy AI' to be installed in 200 million devices this year... No plans for monetization in the near future"

President No Tae-moon's Briefing Right After the Unpacked Event on the 10th
"Expanding Supported Models to Over 200 Million Devices"
'AI Monetization' Not Considered Until 2026

Samsung Electronics has announced that it will increase the number of mobile devices equipped with Galaxy artificial intelligence (AI) to approximately 200 million by the end of the year. It also emphasized that there are no plans to charge for Galaxy AI for the time being, focusing more on popularization.

On the afternoon of the 10th (local time), at a press conference held immediately after the 'Galaxy Unpacked 2024' event in Paris, France, Tae-moon Roh, President of Samsung Electronics MX Division, is answering questions. Photo by Samsung Electronics

At a press conference held immediately after Samsung Electronics' 'Galaxy Unpacked 2024' event in Paris, France, on the 10th (local time), Tae-moon Roh, President of Samsung Electronics' MX Division, said, "By expanding Galaxy AI-supported models to all Galaxy S and Z series released since last year, we expect to apply AI technology to more than 200 million devices within this year." This figure is double the initial target of 100 million units announced earlier this year with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series. Roh added, "The support scale will further increase as AI was also supported on last year's Galaxy Tab S9 tablet."

Regarding the newly launched AI foldable phones, Galaxy Z Flip6 and Z Fold6, he stated that sales are expected to increase by more than 10% compared to their predecessors. Roh said, "Since the S24 series also aims for over 10% sales growth compared to the previous generation, the foldables have the same goal," adding, "We anticipate good results in the global market."

He said that there are no plans to monetize Galaxy AI until 2026. Roh explained, "Our goal is to provide AI technology to consumers in a way that makes them proud of their devices," and added, "Under this goal, even if it costs more, we have set a policy to continue offering free support within the scope supported by hardware." He further noted, "From 2026, we will decide future plans considering consumer demands up to the previous year."

Regarding plans to enter the AI hardware market, he said that the relationship with Google will be one of "both cooperation and competition." Roh stated, "From the perspective of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy, Google has been and remains the most strategically important partner." He added, "Galaxy AI emphasizes hybrid AI that combines on-device and cloud AI," and explained, "We will cooperate with Google's Gemini in terms of hybrid AI by providing Samsung's own on-device AI and other companies' AI where appropriate."

In response to concerns that Samsung Electronics, which collaborates with Google, might also become a target of the European Union's (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation following Google's recent targeting, Roh dismissed worries by saying, "We are making many efforts." He said, "We are well aware that the EU is very interested in personal data protection," and added, "In Samsung's case, most sensitive information such as health data is processed on-device." He also emphasized, "Samsung's greatest strengths lie in transparency and choice," explaining, "Users are given the option to decide whether AI-related services are provided on-device or via the cloud." He concluded, "We also try to respond to regulations by giving users choices regarding services provided by Google."