Intelligent Tech

Samsung Chooses Ernie AI to Win China Back

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samsung ai, ai, samsung, S24, galaxy s24

Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 will check its Gemini AI partnership at the Chinese border as it picks up another with Baidu’s Ernie AI.

  • The AI features, including translation and summarization, will remain the same except they will be powered by Ernie AI.
  • The decision is motivated by the need to tailor solutions for diverse markets.

Samsung has decided that its new AI-focused smartphone series, Galaxy S24, will be powered by Baidu’s Ernie AI instead of Google’s Gemini AI in China.

The AI features will remain the same whether the phone is Gemini-powered or Ernie-powered. The list includes translation, summarization, text formatting, and real-time call translation. It’s even boasting one like Google’s Circle to Search.

The main reason for this drastic change is tailoring solutions for diverse markets.

Google’s presence is limited in China. Buy a Samsung phone anywhere and you will find Google apps and services pre-installed on it. But not in China despite the popularity of Android devices due to government restrictions. The government is so strict that even Baidu had to obtain its approval before launching its AI. So, instead of having to jump through hoops to keep Gemini AI, they went with Ernie AI, a local business. Much more favorable in the eyes of the Chinese.

According to an IDC report, Apple overtook the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market for the first time in its history this year. It even killed Samsung’s 12-year run as the largest seller worldwide. Poor Samsung did not even make it to China’s top five this year. Knowing this, would you believe that, in 2013, Samsung had 20% of China’s mobile market share? None of the current top five have that big of a percentage. And Samsung’s presence there has been declining ever since.

They need to make their way back into the hands of Chinese citizens while also appeasing the government to not end up in the doghouse with the Americans. The best way to do so is to help stimulate the economy by going local, hence Samsung’s partnership with Baidu.

When planning these types of collaborations, timing is everything. In fact, Ernie AI just surpassed the 100 million user mark. Ernie is neither ChatGPT nor Gemini AI. What it is, however, is up and coming. Baidu claims that its AI, Ernie 4.0, boasts capabilities comparable to the GPT-4 model. As the competition intensifies, having a tech giant the size and reputation of Samsung will benefit them.

Will Samsung manage to buy its way back into the top of the Chinese market? I guess we will see the signs at the end ofQ4 2024.

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