In case you hadn’t noticed, AI is having a bit of a backlash moment. More and more people are opposed to data center construction where they live, for example, and a lot of consumers (especially Gen Z) are questioning the need for generative AI overall.Samsung seems to be tuned in to this sentiment with the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Instead of hitting people over the head with ‘Galaxy AI,’ the company is focusing on a handful of features that it believes have real-world benefits.
Samsung Isn’t Afraid of the Foldable iPhone | Fold 8 Interview with EVP Jay Kim - YouTube
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“We don’t want to overwhelm the consumer with AI,” Samsung EVP Jay Kim told me. “A lot of industry focus on AI is sort of as itself as a technology, but I think it’s shifting from technology to benefits. We’re looking at how you make this meaningful, how do you make this more easy to access?”Subtler AI
(Image credit: Future)One example is Now Nudge. Say you get an incoming text that references an upcoming appointment with the date. The Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra are smart enough to present a little Calendar button. When you tap that, the Calendar app will automatically open in Split View on the right side of the display.“You're looking at the screen, and then it understands where you're looking at, and then it actually provides the next action, it suggests your action,” Kim said. “Before you have to go through extra steps to make that work, but now it's instant. We’re just trying to help consumers get things done in a more easy way.”
