The Galaxy S24’s big selling point is the suite of Galaxy AI generative AI features that Samsung built into its first Galaxy flagships of the year. Circle to Search is one of the highlights of Galaxy AI. It’s a feature that Google only launched on the Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8.
Samsung confirmed during the Galaxy S24 Unpacked event that more Galaxy flagships would receive Galaxy AI features down the road but didn’t share a date at the time. Thankfully, the company announced a rollout plan for Circle to Search and Galaxy AI on Tuesday.
As expected, the Galaxy S23 series and other 2023 Samsung flagship devices will support Galaxy AI via the imminent One UI 6.1 software update.
I like Circle to Search the most of all the Galaxy AI features. It’s easily the Galaxy S24’s most useful AI feature and one I’d use regularly. I’m actually dying to see it on the iPhone at some point in the future. As the name implies, all you have to do is perform a circle gesture on the screen to search the web for more information about the contents of that circle.
It could be a piece of text, a part of an image, or something you just saw in a video. The AI will recognize the objects in that circle and try to find relevant information online. Since searching the web for information is how most people use the web, Circle to Search is a feature I’d definitely use on supported devices.
Circle to Search is coming to the Galaxy S23 flagships, the Galaxy S23 FE, and Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 via the One UI 6.1 update. The software rollout will begin on March 28th, according to Samsung. Devices sold at AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers should get the software update.
Furthermore, the Wi-Fi versions of the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9 Plus, and Tab S9 will get the One UI 6.1 update this week.
In addition to Circle to Search, Galaxy AI will also bring features like Live Translate, Generative Edit, and Chat Assist to these Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
Live Translate offers two-way, real-life live translation of phone calls via the Samsung Phone app. Live captions are also included. With Generative Edit, you can edit your photos with generative AI. You can remove people and objects and fill in the background. Chat Assist, meanwhile, offers translations, grammar tweaks, and style suggestions in various apps, as long as you use the Samsung Keyboard.
As with the Galaxy S24 phones, the Galaxy AI features are available for free on the supported devices above. But Samsung notes in a press announcement that the Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025.
It’s unclear what happens after that. Samsung never announced plans to charge a subscription for any of the Galaxy AI features it launched so far.
