Samsung has reported a notable increase in the number of people in the UK switching from Apple’s iPhone to their devices, attributing this trend to the widespread adoption of its artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The Korean tech giant commenced the rollout of its Galaxy AI tools in January and has since incorporated them into various phones and tablets, including its flagship S Series phones and mid-range FE handsets.
In contrast, Apple has yet to introduce its own suite of AI tools on the iPhone 16 range, which was recently released. These tools will only be available on the top-tier iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models from the previous year, as well as a couple of its most recent tablets. Samsung has seen a surge of over 40% in customers making the switch from Apple to Samsung in the UK following the launch of Galaxy AI.
Annika Bizon, Samsung’s marketing and omnichannel director for mobile in the UK and Ireland, emphasised the company’s belief in making AI accessible to a wider audience. She stated, “AI should be for everyone. We don’t believe in gatekeeping it for our most premium smartphones on the market.” Samsung aims to make AI available to a broad range of users, such as incorporating AI into tablets with the Tab S10 and offering the most affordable AI phone on the market with the S24 FE.
While a beta version of Apple’s AI tools is set to roll out this month, with an English launch scheduled for December and other languages to follow, there are challenges in the EU. Apple is currently embroiled in a dispute with the European Union over new competition rules under the Digital Markets Act, thereby hindering EU users from accessing Apple’s AI tools on iPhone or iPad.
Both Samsung and Apple’s suites of AI tools include features powered by AI to assist with various tasks such as writing and editing text, image editing and generation, as well as recording, transcribing, and summarising calls and audio. Smartphone manufacturers are integrating these features in response to the growing popularity of generative AI, which was fuelled by the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022.