"Embrace it or not, 2024 is poised to be the era of the ai phone."

Recall the days when smartphones were considered smart enough? Not anymore in 2024, as the cutting-edge frontier of mobile innovation embraces artificial intelligence, introducing us to the era of AI Phones.

The term becomes unavoidable in early 2024, with Samsung set to reveal its Galaxy S24 lineup, actively branding it as an "AI Phone" and even trademarking the term in the European Union and UK. Interestingly, this move seemingly overlooks Google's introduction of its "AI Phone" with the Pixel 8 launch in October.

To comprehend why 2024 is heralded as the AI Phone year, we must grasp what leading phone manufacturers mean by the term and how we've reached this point. Artificial Intelligence goes beyond mere smartness or automation; it represents a leap. AI is trained to make logical leaps based on training, such as identifying objects like trees or dogs by processing millions of relevant images.

Much like AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard construct human-like sentences through extensive word data training, AI Phones, envisioned by companies like Samsung and Qualcomm (with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), perform similar generative tricks, often on-device.

Despite the excitement surrounding the prospect, there is a worry that some individuals might view artificial intelligence as a novel concept for smartphones. In truth, chips equipped with neural processing capabilities and on-board machine learning have been present for several years. Six years ago, Apple's A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone X revolutionized the landscape with its Neural Engine and on-board machine learning. Fast forward to 2023, and Apple's iPhone 15 Pro and A17 Pro demonstrated AI processing capabilities that significantly exceeded the capabilities of the earlier Neural Engine.

Similarly, Samsung's touted AI Phone traces its roots back to at least 2017 when Qualcomm introduced neural processing to the Snapdragon 845. Google's Tensor chips brought machine learning and computational photography skills to Pixel 6 phones in 2021.

While major phone manufacturers have been tapping into AI-centric tech for years, 2023 marked a shift towards generative AI actively assisting users with content creation and more.

Despite AI capabilities becoming more common across platforms, the differences between Apple's and Samsung's AI, for instance, might become more pronounced. Google, with its Pixel 8 and Tensor G3 SoC, takes a bold step by introducing onboard AI that powers various generative tricks, albeit dependent on a cloud connection.

As we look ahead to 2024, the expectation is for Google to expand onboard Pixel 8 AI capabilities, and Android phones powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will likely introduce potent on-board generative AI. Perhaps the trend in 2024 should be termed "Local AI Phone," emphasizing the shift towards on-device AI capabilities.

In conclusion, the term "AI Phone" is set to be a focal point of discussions in 2024. Yet, it doesn't inherently signify a total overhaul of the smartphone experience. Even as the Samsung Galaxy S24, Apple iPhone 16, or Google Pixel 9 introduce compelling new features, they will, at their core, continue to function as phones. And that's perfectly fine.