Samsung has launched its Galaxy S24 lineup in China, and it comes with the Galaxy AI. But, there is a catch. Unlike the rest of the world, where Google’s Gemini AI model powers Galaxy S24 phones’ AI features, the Galaxy AI on Galaxy S24 in China is powered by Baidu’s Ernie, as reported by CNBC.
Samsung’s Chinese division has teamed up with Baidu’s AI Cloud to incorporate the Ernie LLM in the new Galaxy S24 series.
“Now featuring Ernie’s understanding and generation capabilities, the upgraded Samsung Note Assistant can translate content and also summarise lengthy content into clear, intelligently organised formats at the click of a button,” Samsung Electronics China and Baidu said in a statement to CNBC.
The Chinese version of the Galaxy S24 phones has many of the same features as the US version, including real-time call translation, transcription helper, and photo assistant. The Ernie LLM feature will also assist users in translating and summarising texts and transcribing speech in multiple languages through the Note Assistant function.
Samsung is also bringing a feature similar to Google’s “Circle to Search,” which will enable users in China to search for texts, images, or videos through hand gestures, and the search results will be provided by Baidu.
The move is likely because of Google’s limited presence in China. Android devices sold in China do not come with Google apps and services. Furthermore, the Chinese government has been supporting homegrown AI enterprises, and Baidu, a Chinese search giant, opened up its Ernie Bot to the public last August.