We are moving from the smartphone era to AI Phone era: Samsung’s Mohan Rao Goli on Galaxy AI’s next chapter

Samsung has outlined its strategic vision for the future of its on-device artificial intelligence (AI). According to a top executive from Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore (SRI-B), with

Galaxy AI

, the company is now keenly focused on moving from the smartphone era to the ‘AI Phone’ era where AI is used to enhance overall experience. To achieve its goal, Samsung is dedicated to democratising Galaxy AI, making its advanced capabilities accessible across a broader spectrum of Galaxy devices. This includes everything from flagship smartphones to notebooks and other gadgets.“Galaxy AI started with the

Galaxy S24 series

of smartphones, and now it has become a platform for us to make a good impression on the consumers,”

Mohan Rao Goli

, corporate vice president and managing director of Samsung R&D Institute India – Bangalore (SRI-B), told The Times of India-Gadgets Now. He highlighted that the company offered several features under the Galaxy AI platform, and based on the “very good feedback from the consumers”, the company is now building on those features to further enhance the user experience.Rao says that Samsung is working on two ways to enhance the Galaxy AI experience for the consumers: Personalisation and moving from smartphones to AI phones.

“Galaxy AI focuses on personalisation of one’s device as per his/ her needs. It can provide timely assistance to everyone’s personal needs and (by extension) enhance productivity,” Goli said, when asked about Samsung’s vision when it comes to AI. “So that's where we are focusing: Providing a personalised experience to the users using the Galaxy AI.”

Mohan Rao Goli explains how Samsung decides AI features on each smartphone series

When asked how the company optimises the same Galaxy AI features across the Galaxy devices – Like from a Rs 8,000 phone to a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 that costs Rs 1.75 lakh -- Rao emphasised that while the level of functionality will naturally depend on the specific hardware compute capabilities available on each device, the overarching goal is to significantly expand the AI platform's reach. He noted that while flagship devices will run all Galaxy AI-related features, certain meaningful AI functionalities will also be extended to platforms like the A-series smartphones.“We make a decision. What features go onto the Galaxy A platform, to what kind of consumers and it all depends on the market needs. We also try to optimise certain features by taking out certain minimum features to provide to the consumers. This happens before making the product itself,” Goli told TOI-Gadgets Now.

AI is going to be the ‘next big thing’: Rao

Rao elaborated on the impact of AI, saying that the technology is going to be the ‘next big thing’. He explained that AI is fundamentally changing user interaction with technology, moving beyond traditional interfaces.“I think AI is going to be a very important trend. I know AI is the buzzword everybody is using, but in my opinion, the face of these particular technologies with AI introductions, complementing the AI models, is changing,” Goli said.“If you have to stick to computer vision and technologies only, maybe a smartphone camera wouldn't have been where it is today. By adding and complementing the AI features and models with smartphone camera algorithms, we created wonderful images, wonderful videos, and are creating the editing experience for the masses,” Goli explained.The transition from a “smartphone to AI phone” is not an overnight phenomenon, Goli stressed, drawing parallels to the evolution of smartphones themselves. “The smartphone era did not happen overnight. The AI phone also will happen, and it will take some time. For that, the groundwork is that we have to prepare the platform. So the Galaxy AI is the platform for that transition to happen,” he concluded.