Samsung is bringing these Galaxy AI features to older devices

Andrew Romero | Feb 22 2024 - 10:13 am PT

It was known early on that Samsung would not limit some of its most anticipated AI features to the Galaxy S24 series. The One UI 6.1 update with all of its AI features is officially coming to a batch of devices outside of the latest releases, and it’ll bring these cool features.

When the Galaxy S24 series was announced, Samsung made sure to advertise all of the new AI features as a key selling point. The new hardware lets those features shine – Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is better positioned for onboard AI than previous SoCs.

However, those features can run on the Galaxy S23 series and other devices, once updated. The new One UI 6.1 Galaxy phone update coming to certain devices will bring AI features in tow, which is exactly what we were hoping to see.

Galaxy AI features coming to older devices

Circle to Search with Google

Circle to Search was a controversial release that we saw debut on the Galaxy S24 series. The Google-made feature is a new tool for easily accessing Google Search within any app, at any time. By tapping and holding on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen or the home button, you’ll get access to a new overlay.

That overlay allows you to search with Google’s Search Bar, activate voice search, or take a picture with Google Lens. The feature also lets you draw around any captured portion of the screen, throwing that into Google Search as well.

The tool is extremely helpful once you get the muscle memory down. Previously, you had to either access Google Search from the home screen on your phone or head into Chrome or Google’s website or app. The new tool gives quicker in-app access while adding a capture tool, hence the name “Circle to Search.”

Live Translate and Interpreter

Live Translate is probably one of the coolest features that you won’t realize you need until you need it. At its core, the tool essentially adds a translation tool to any phone call powered by AI.

When speaking to someone who understands a different language, Live Translate will translate and regenerate your voice into that language. When the other party speaks, you’ll hear a generated voice in your language.

The best part about this updated AI feature is that you’ll only need to have Live Translate on one end, meaning from a Galaxy phone to an iPhone this feature will work.

Out of phone calls, Interpreter mode works as a newly designed translation app. The tool will generate a split-screen view of live conversations, taking a lot of the back and forth out of the translation process one might be used to.

Chat Assist

In most apps with Samsung Keyboard, Chat Assist acts as an AI tool to help you restructure your verbiage. Whether it’s in a chat with Google Messages, Samsung Messages, or another app like Telegram, Chat Assist can help out in a few ways.

First off, it can act as another translation tool. When using the translation feature, you’ll see both your original text and the translated text. Incoming messages get the same treatment, so you know exactly what’s happening in the conversation.

Another Chat Assist function is the style tool. You can write text however you feel comfortable, and when you want, can change it so that it reflects a certain writing style. For instance, you can convert a casual sentence into something a little more professional.

Generative Edit

Generative Edit is essentially Samsung’s version of Magic Editor from Google. The two programs are extremely similar, but Samsung’s version proves to be a very strong competitor.

The tool allows you to take any image and pull certain objects out of it, or move them around. Ai will help you select objects and fill in the void that it leaves behind.

When generating backgrounds or new objects, it does an okay job in most respects. As time goes on, it’ll no doubt improve and offer further use cases.

Which Galaxy devices will get this update?

According to Samsung, the One UI 6.1 update with the above AI features will hit quite a few Galaxy devices, rating back over the past year. The move makes sense, as older chips would only be able to provide these features over a connection at best.

Here’s the full list of devices, according to Samsung’s press release: