From the bustling streets of Beijing to the vibrant markets of Shanghai, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into our everyday lives has become a ubiquitous phenomenon. Now, Samsung Electronics has taken a pioneering step in this realm by joining forces with the Chinese search giant, Baidu, to integrate cutting-edge AI technology into its latest flagship smartphones. However, the response from Chinese consumers has been lukewarm, raising important questions about the role of AI in the highly competitive Chinese smartphone market.
Announced in late January, the collaboration between Samsung’s Chinese division and Baidu AI Cloud involves the implementation of Baidu’s language model, Ernie, and its search engine technology in the AI search functionality of the Galaxy S24 smartphone series. While these features, tailored for the Chinese market, partially mirror the capabilities offered by Google’s Gemini AI in the global version of the Galaxy S24, they are unavailable in China.
Many Chinese consumers have expressed concerns on social media platforms that the search features on the Chinese version of the Galaxy S24 may not be as robust as the international version. “The foreign version is a completely different world compared to the mainland version,” said Weibo user “Sun Weilun,” who visited a Samsung store in Hong Kong to test various models and found that the Baidu-supported “Circle to Search” function yielded significantly fewer results compared to the Google-supported version available internationally.
Richard Zhang, a 30-year-old resident of Beijing, plans to purchase the international version of the Galaxy S24 to avail himself of the superior AI services. “I started considering this after noticing that the [mainland] system recognizes Samsung phones as devices from other brands,” he revealed.
Baidu is considered one of the major players in the AI field in China, having introduced its own alternative to ChatGPT when its Ernie bot made its debut in March 2023. In September of last year, the company unveiled the latest version of its Language Model (LLM) – Ernie 4.0, which, according to Baidu, boasts overall capabilities that “rival GPT-4, created by OpenAI.”
While the collaboration between Baidu and Samsung does not foresee a significant increase in Samsung’s market share in China, where it has plummeted below 1% from 20% over the past decade, it does highlight one of the core challenges facing the South Korean giant – the rise of Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, who either develop their own LLM models or integrate generative AI features into their latest devices.
In China, Samsung has set prices for the S24 and S24+ models between 500 and 800 yuan (approximately $70-112) higher than their predecessors, according to an analysis conducted by Peng Peng, a wireless smartphone strategy analyst at TechInsights. In comparison, Samsung has maintained the same prices in the United States and even reduced them in Europe.
This leads us to the conclusion that Samsung has not been aggressively competing in the Chinese smartphone market in terms of price. The partnership with Baidu may indicate that Samsung has committed to a long-term and consistent presence in the Chinese market.
This article was originally published in South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative source of information on China and Asia for over a century. More SCMP articles can be found on the SCMP app, as well as on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAQ
1. What is the partnership between Samsung and Baidu AI Cloud?
The partnership involves integrating Baidu’s AI technology with Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones.
2. What features are included in this integration?
The AI search functionality in the Galaxy S24 smartphone series has been customized for the Chinese market and utilizes Baidu’s language model, Ernie, along with its search engine.
3. What concerns do Chinese customers have about this feature?
Many Chinese consumers express concerns on social media that the search features in the Chinese version of the Galaxy S24 may not be as robust as the international version.
4. What other AI features are available in the global version of the Galaxy S24 series?
The global version of the Galaxy S24 series offers features provided by Google’s Gemini AI, which are not available in the Chinese version.
5. Which company is considered one of the major players in the AI field in China?
Baidu is considered one of the major players in the field of artificial intelligence in China.
6. What innovative solution has Baidu presented?
Baidu has introduced its own alternative to ChatGPT, and their latest Language Models (LLM), such as Ernie 4.0, are considered competitive with other advanced AI solutions.
7. What is the challenge for Samsung in the Chinese smartphone market?
One of the main challenges for Samsung is the rise of Chinese manufacturers, such as Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, who develop their own LLM models or integrate generative AI features into their latest devices.
8. How do Samsung’s prices in China compare to other regions?
Prices for the Galaxy S24 and S24+ models in China are 500-800 yuan (approximately $70-112) higher than previous models, while prices remain the same in the United States and have been reduced in Europe.
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