Samsung Explores New Phone Forms with AI Focus

A Samsung executive said that an effective implementation would be “radically different” from the phones that consumers are used to and would be more mobile.

Samsung, a technology behemoth, is purportedly exploring potential modifications to its smartphone form factor to optimize them for generative AI applications and functions.

Roh Tae-moon, the president of Samsung’s Mobile Experience unit, revealed to the Australian Financial Review in a recent interview that the appearance of a new generation of “AI phones” would be “radically different” from ordinary phones.

A successful implementation would render the “AI phones” more mobile and could feature larger displays and more sensors than the current generation of phones.

Roh also disclosed to the AFR that Samsung’s mobile phone research and development efforts are currently focused on these devices. However, he declined to disclose the specific form factors that the company is investigating.

The form factor is a hardware design aspect that specifies components’ size, shape, and other tangible characteristics.

Most smartphones have adopted a slender rectangular form factor in various sizes since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone.

Roh’s remarks were made months after Samsung implemented its “Galaxy AI” system on numerous Samsung devices in May. The system aims to enhance the overall functionality of Samsung phones by streamlining existing features and introducing new tools for users.

In the interim, a few other market participants have endeavored to develop their line of AI devices with their distinctive form factors; however, they have yet to achieve mainstream success.

When Rabbit R1 was introduced in March 2024, it generated significant excitement by promising to provide an AI device enabling users to interact with it through voice commands and execute tasks on their behalf.

Nevertheless, it has been criticized by commentators, including the renowned tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, for its “borderline non-functional” battery life and its inability to respond to inquiries adequately.

Brownlee termed Humane AI, a comparable product, “the most unsatisfactory product I have ever reviewed.”

In June, Apple, Samsung’s largest competitor in the smartphone manufacturing industry, announced a partnership with OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT, to build AI features for the iPhone. In addition, Google has been integrating AI into its Android operating system and smartphones.