Apple Intelligence is headed to the iPhone later this year as part of the big iOS 18 update announced at WWDC 2024, but how does it compare to one of the most popular Android alternatives, Samsung’s Galaxy AI?
While both offer a range of on-device features powered by GenAI and various LLMs, there are key differences between the two that you should be aware of before potentially investing in a phone featuring either Apple Intelligence or Samsung Galaxy AI, from differing features to varying device support.
With that in mind, here are some of the key differences between Apple Intelligence and Samsung Galaxy AI.
Both offer text editing, image replacement and transcription capabilities
Before we delve into some of the key differences between the two GenAI tools, it’s important to address just how similar they are in terms of features. Regardless of whether you end up using Apple Intelligence or Galaxy AI, there are a handful of features that you can look forward to.
These include the ability to remove elements from images, using GenAI to fill the space intelligently, as well as the ability to edit – or completely rewrite – chunks of text to sound more professional, more casual and more. There’s even an option to make it sound Shakespearean if you’re using Galaxy AI. It’s not that helpful, but it’s certainly amusing.
There are also on-device transcription capabilities, essentially allowing you to record voice notes on your phone and have them transcribed and even summarised. This makes it easier to find select parts of a recording, or in the case of recorded interviews, lift quotes without relying on a paid-for alternative like Otter.io.
Apple Intelligence can create custom emoji called Genmoji
Apple likes to take the base idea of emoji and run with it. We’ve already seen this with the likes of Memoji, which uses the Face ID scanning tech on recent iPhones to essentially model your facial expressions on a range of animated emoji.
It’s a fun alternative to voice notes that lets you add a little more expression to your delivery, but Apple Intelligence is taking it to the next level with Genmoji.
As the name suggests, Genmoji essentially uses Generative AI to create your own custom emoji that you can send to friends and family to help better express how you’re feeling. Want someone surfing with a slice of pizza in hand? I’m sure that’ll be possible. Raining heart emoji? Yep, you’ll be able to do that too.
It won’t be sent as an actual emoji, but rather as a sticker or an image depending on the app, but it’s still a cool addition nonetheless.
Galaxy AI offers real-time translation in calls
While Apple Intelligence has an equivalent feature for most of Samsung’s Galaxy AI offerings, that’s not true of on-device real-time translation in phone calls.
While both GenAI-powered services offer real-time translation, it’s only Galaxy AI that lets you perform that during phone calls, allowing the phone to speak on your behalf in calls and translate what the other person is saying – all without an active internet connection.
It might sound like a niche feature – and, to be honest, it is – but if you’re booking restaurants or calling hotels abroad, it’s an invaluable tool.
Apple Intelligence offers integration with other LLMs
While Apple Intelligence already has a pretty wide range of features, it separates itself from practically every other GenAI tool on the market because, well, it can integrate with them. More specifically, Apple Intelligence offers integration with LLMs, and that’s starting with the most popular around right now, ChatGPT 4o.
The idea is simple; while Siri can handle a lot of on-device features, it’ll rely on ‘world LLMs’ like that of ChatGPT 4o to deliver up-to-date information found on the web. And, in the case of ChatGPT specifically, it also allows the iPhone to analyse images and respond based on what it sees, allowing you to, for example, ask what colour you should paint a wall in the room you’ve photographed.
Integration with other LLMs is also planned, so expect the Apple Intelligence feature set to only expand from here.
Samsung’s Galaxy AI is available on more devices
If there’s one massive downside to Apple Intelligence, it’s device support. That’s because not even the entire iPhone 15 range – the latest iPhone collection on the market – will be able to access the GenAI features at launch later this year.
That’s because Apple claims that Apple Intelligence can only run on the A17 Pro chipset on the iPhone front, a chipset only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus users, along with users of any older iPhone, won’t be able to access the cool new GenAI tech Apple is working on.
Thankfully, that’s not the case with Samsung’s Galaxy AI. While it initially launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and S24 Ultra earlier this year, Samsung has since rolled out the functionality to other devices including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 collection and even last year’s Samsung Galaxy S23 range – though the exact feature set does depend on the device’s spec.
