Your last-gen Samsung Galaxy smartphone is getting Galaxy AI in early April

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One of Samsung's biggest developments for the current lineup of Galaxy S24 smartphones is the Galaxy AI functionality. And now that functionality is coming to last year's models as well, the company has confirmed.

In early April, Samsung will rollout a new update to its One UI platform to 6.1, which will bring Galaxy AI functionality to the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold5, Z Flip5 and Tab S9 series.

That means devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will soon be able to enjoy features like Circle to Search, Transcript Assist and live translation through Samsung's hybrid approach to on-device and cloud-based AI.

Should you get excited?

Excitement is probably too strong a term.

While testing out the Galaxy S24 Ultra for our review, I found the AI features kind of cool, but typically buried deep within menus that means you'll probably never use them more than once.

Obviously, these things will get better over time, and that includes the user interface to access them. So I'd say rather than get excited, be cautiously optimistic the features will add a new level of functionality to your older device.

But! You may end up having to pay

In tiny font at the top of the press release announcing this move, Samsung has a little footnote:

"*Fees may apply for AI features at the end of 2025."

The use of "may" here is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that sentence. If Samsung were to hypothetically add a subscription for AI functionality in its smartphones and tablets, you can bet there will be one hell of an outcry.

My guess is that the company is looking to find more ways for recurring revenues, and has earmarked Galaxy AI as an area to deliver that. But it hasn't committed to it, given how early it is in the rollout of AI, and how unreliable the technology can be for giving information.

In any case, it's a good reason to play around with the feature on your 2023 or 2024 flagship Samsung phone sooner rather than later.

What are the AI functions coming to older models

Here's a list of AI functions Samsung mentioned in its release as coming to older devices:

• Chat Assist
• Live Translate
• Interpreter
• Circle to Search
• Note Assist
• Browsing Assist
• Transcript Assist
• Generative Edit
• Edit Suggestion
• Instant Slow-mo

[Source: Samsung]