The year's biggest smartphone event is kicking off in Barcelona, Spain, this week, and companies are pushing artificial intelligence in all types of products.
At a launch event in Barcelona on Sunday, Chinese smartphone maker Honor, a spin-off from Huawei Technologies, introduced the company's latest AI strategy. This strategy includes developing an "intent-based user interface" designed to make using different devices and systems smoother. His announcement came just before the city's big mobile industry event, MWC Barcelona, previously known as the Mobile World Congress.
During the event, Honor's CEO, George Zhao Ming Zhao, showcased Honor's new feature, Magic Portal. It lets users quickly move a text message with, for example, a restaurant's name, directly into Google Maps to see the location. The goal is to use AI to predict what users might need next, making their experience better and more intuitive.
Counterpoint, a technology research company, predicts that the worldwide delivery of smartphones equipped with GenAI technology will exceed 100 million units this year, a significant increase from roughly 47 million in 2023. This number is expected to surge to 552 million by 2027.
Other late-breaking developments:
Motorola has announced that starting from the latter half of 2024, every Moto smartphone, encompassing their diverse lineup from budget to high-end models, will be equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass. The company plans to utilize varying grades of Gorilla Glass based on the device's price point, showcasing prototypes featuring Gorilla Glass 5 and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 at a recent briefing. This move is expected to enhance screen durability across the board, particularly improving display protection for budget smartphones.
Qualcomm has unveiled the first-ever large language model capable of operating directly on an Android smartphone, featuring more than 7 billion parameters. In addition, the company is presenting a separate model designed to run offline on Windows PCs. Through the Qualcomm AI Hub, Qualcomm is making available more than 75 models optimized for the Snapdragon platform, which will also be accessible on platforms such as HuggingFace and GitHub.
Samsung finally took the wraps off the Galaxy Ring, showcasing a variety of prototypes in different sizes and colors, from S to XL, at the event. The Galaxy Ring is designed to provide functionalities such as monitoring heart rate and sleep, with the larger sizes expected to offer better battery life thanks to their bigger batteries. Set to hit the market by the end of 2024; the Galaxy Ring is also designed to integrate seamlessly with the Galaxy Watch. Pricing details for the Ring have yet to be announced.
Honor unveiled the Magic 6 Pro, its newest flagship smartphone that does not fold, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip with generative AI capabilities. In addition, the company introduced the PORSCHE DESIGN Honor Magic V2 RSR, a foldable premium model, also equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. Both smartphones operate on an Android 14-based MagicUI 8.0 and come with features such as a 180 MP telephoto lens and a battery constructed from Silicon-carbon for improved efficiency
