interview with David Alonso (Samsung Iberia)

MWC 2024 is about to close and has left us with some of the most interesting products that have already been released. But also with others who still to come and of which we were only able to see a small preview. We are talking about products such as Samsung Galaxy Ringthe first smart ring from a South Korean company.

Samsung took advantage of its presence at MWC 2024 to show off its new product. wearable devicesand show the world how this product will fit into growing company ecosystemwhere artificial intelligence became connection various legs supporting it.

To find out more details about Samsung’s strategy in this regard, we had the opportunity to interview Andro4all. David Alonso, head of the Iberia mobile business at Samsung Electronics. Here’s what he told us:

Full interview with David Alonso

Imagine a consumer decides to buy a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S9, SmartTV, connected washing machine. What benefits can artificial intelligence bring to the SmartThings ecosystem?

Well, this can have many benefits and I think the best way is to give examples. You talked about washing machines; in washing machines, artificial intelligence will significantly reduce energy consumption and make the appliance much more efficient.

With the Galaxy S24 family, we’ve put AI at the heart of the device and brought AI into the everyday ways we use our mobile phone, like this conversation we’re having, you. I could speak perfect Korean, but I understand you in perfect Spanish, and vice versa. We can also do the same during a real-time phone conversation where you speak Korean, I speak Spanish, and we understand each other.

Thus, the language barrier is overcome in one of the main uses of a smartphone – communication. But not only this, but, for example, imagine that we are chatting, SMS or WhatsApp. Just like I can write in Korean, you get it in Spanish and vice versa.

Artificial intelligence will also change the way we search. Nowadays we go to Google, type in a string of words we want to find that describes what we want more or less well, and it finds a lot of things. Thanks to Circle to Search, another feature we’ve brought to the Galaxy S24 family, we simply have an image of what we want to find (it could be a photo, it could be part of a YouTube video, it could be this image we’re watching in Instagram…) Just by circling this image it will search all the information available on the internet about what I’m looking for.

Another aspect related to your profession. We can record our conversation and then the phone will automatically transcribe it, extract the transcription in the language you want, but not only that, but it can then format it for you and create a summary for you to identify the most important points of that conversation. I think these are examples of what we typically use the mobile phone for and where we see artificial intelligence coming through improving the user experience to improve the way we do things.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series includes Google’s Gemini Nano AI model, and some built-in features (like wallpaper creation) also use Google’s models. For what reasons was Google chosen as a “partner” in this sense, despite Samsung’s good relationship with Microsoft (OpenAI)?

We see AI as an open environment and work with several companies in addition to Google. In the case of Galaxy AI and its application in the Galaxy S24 family, there are a number of features specific to Samsung and other companies that are actually owned by Google.

Google is one of our main partners As for mobility, it is not for nothing that we use Android and Google operating systems on our mobile phones. It is also one of the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence companies.

We are collaborating with Microsoft, in fact this week the Galaxy Book4 series was launched in the market, which combines artificial intelligence with Galaxy AI. In the case of the Galaxy Book4, our main partner, as it could not be otherwise, is Microsoft.

We, within this concept of artificial intelligence as an open environment, collaborate with the main players. Both Google and Microsoft, as well as other companies that are less well known and are leaders in this environment.

⁠How does Samsung envision the future of AI in the Galaxy ecosystem?

Well, it’s taking out a crystal ball. When one of these technologies comes along and causes a disruption like what’s happening now, it’s very hard to imagine what will happen.

When we launched 3G or 4G a long time ago, no one imagined that the apps we use today like WhatsApp would become one of the most popular apps.

Ultimately, the path forward with AI is determined by the user. Users are the ones who determine what comes next, they are the ones who determine what the use will be or what new applications and uses will emerge as a result of this new technology.

But if we start imagining, I think it will make our lives easier in the long run. I think elements like instant translation or notes assistant, which we’ve just discussed, are some of the examples that can give us a little insight into what’s to come.

I think here at MWC 2024 we also have an example of artificial intelligence being applied to wellness and health through devices. wearable devices which we announce and introduce throughout the world as the Galaxy Ring.

Ring is also a device that will play a leading role in the Galaxy artificial intelligence landscape. How? Not specifically because of the device itself, but because of its interaction with the Samsung Health app and the AI ​​analysis it can do about our well-being and health to later make recommendations on how to improve and improve it. how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

How does Samsung ensure responsible and ethical use of AI in its products?

Of course, we are fully committed to business ethics and safety. I believe that AI, as a new technology, creates fears and uncertainty about what will be done with the data, how it will be used, or who I will share it with.

This is an obsession for us and something we’ve been working on for years through our Knox platform. It’s not for nothing that for several years in a row we have been nominated by people who know about this, for example, from Garner, as the most secure mobile platform on the market.

We are committed to assuring users that their data will be treated ethically, will remain secure, and will not be used for purposes that the user does not need, while respecting both the security and privacy of the data. , which is very important.

At your booth we saw the new Samsung Galaxy Ring, your next health-focused device. Personally, what advantages do you think this product can have over smartwatches?

The Galaxy Ring is another addition to Samsung’s family of wearables. The smartwatch does one thing, and the Galaxy Ring, I think, does another.

In some ways it may be more convenient and comfortable than the Samsung Galaxy Watch. A prime example is sleep monitoring, which is a very important aspect and which we also pay great attention to on the Galaxy Watch, starting with the Galaxy Watch5 family.

Many of us take off our watches before bed because they bother us or simply because we don’t want to sleep with nothing on. The Galaxy Ring complements this because, like many people who don’t sleep with a watch, almost everyone sleeps with a ring, and it’s a much lighter device that’s barely noticeable. It’s much more comfortable and we don’t even notice we’re wearing it.

It’s something that’s complementary to the Galaxy Watch, and it’s really about expanding that family of wearables, and it’s about improving everything that tracks our lifestyle, our health, and our well-being.

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