BARCELONA, SPAIN – MARCH 2: The Galaxy S23 Ultra, the top-range smartphone from the new S23 series … [+]
After adding a raft of new AI tools to older phones in May, Samsung is preparing a new camera and AI feature boost for several Galaxy devices through its One UI 6.1.1 update.
In a post (translated) on the company’s community forums, a Samsung representative explained that several new features, that are currently exclusive to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, will be rolled out to older phones.
These include the Galaxy S22 range, the S23 range (including the S23 FE), the Galaxy S24 range, the Flip 4 and Fold 4, the Fold 5 and Flip 5, Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S9. It doesn’t look like the Galaxy S21 will be included, which seems to be a pattern with these AI updates.
There is no launch schedule yet, but the OS update is already available on Samsung’s latest foldable phones. In terms of features, different devices will have access to select AI-powered tools. The full list is below.
- Auto Zoom – automatically adjusts zoom level when it recognizes people and pets (Flip 5)
- Flex Camcorder – uses flex mode to shoot like a camcorder (Flip 5)
- Instant Slow-mo – uses AI to add slow motion to any videos (Fold5/Flip5, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Tab S9 series)
- Portrait Studio – turns pictures of people into cartoon-like drawings (Fold4/Flip4, Fold5/Flip5, Galaxy S22/S23/S24 series, Galaxy S23FE, Galaxy Tab S8/9 series)
- Sketch ToImage – will turn hand-drawn sketches into AI-generated pictures (Fold4/Flip4, Fold5/Flip5, Galaxy S22/S23/S24 series, Galaxy S23FE, Galaxy Tab S8/9 series)
- Live Effect – creates 3D images and adds depth from 2D pictures (Fold4/Flip4, Fold5/Flip5, Galaxy S22/S23/S24 series, Galaxy S23FE, Galaxy Tab S8/9 series)
- Motion Clipper – creates gifs and stickers from motion pictures (Fold4/Flip4, Z Fold5/Flip5, Galaxy S22/S23/S24 series, Galaxy S23FE, Galaxy Tab S8/9 series)
- Overlay Translation – overlays translated text on the original image (Fold4/Flip4, Z Fold5/Flip5, Z Fold6/Flip6, Galaxy S22/S23/S24 series, Galaxy S23FE, Galaxy Tab S8/9 series)
- Expert RAW support (Galaxy S23/S24 series)
The Galaxy S21 won’t be getting any of these AI tools according to the Samsung forum post, although it may still get the One UI 6.1.1 update without these features. This isn’t the first time the S21 range has been left out of Galaxy AI feature updates.
During the last major Galaxy AI rollout to older devices, the Galaxy S21 range only got access to Circle to Search and missed out on generative image editing, Live Translate and other features that hit other devices. Samsung told me in May that the reason some older and lower specification phones won’t get Galaxy AI features is because of compatibility. This is likely as much a business decision as it is a hardware reality.
Interestingly, what this means is that the Galaxy S22 is the cut-off point for people looking to buy an older device and save some money. While the Galaxy S23 hits the best balance between price, features and remaining years of software updates.