Eight out of 10 features available on the Samsung Galaxy S24 won't come to the Galaxy S21, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 with the One UI 6.1 update.
Samsung Galaxy S21 (right) and Galaxy S21+ were launched in India in 2021
Samsung Galaxy S21 series is set to receive the One UI 6.1 update, along with the company's Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable phones. However, unlike more recent models from the South Korean smartphone maker, these three handsets will only gain support for two new Galaxy AI features. One the past few months, Samsung has been rolling out One UI 6.1 to recent Galaxy Z and Galaxy S series phones, with support for up to 10 AI-powered features.
The company confirmed on Friday that Samsung Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 users will get access to two Galaxy AI features: Circle to Search and Chat Assist. The company's announcement also contains a footnote stating that it will provide Galaxy AI features "for free until the end of 2025" — the same message that was shown on the company's website when the Galaxy S24 series was launched earlier this year.
With the One UI 6.1 update, owners of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be able to use the Circle to Search feature that is currently exclusive to smartphones from Samsung and Google. Users can log press the navigation pill to summon an overlay that lets them draw around, scribble, or highlight a part of the screen to perform a visual lookup — without leaving the app they are using.
Chat Assist, another AI feature that is designed to help users compose texts in different languages, via seamless translation of incoming or outgoing messages, is also coming to all three handsets. Samsung says the feature is also designed to work with third party apps, which means users won't have to open a translation app while messaging another user. Chat Assist is also designed to help users change the tone of their messages, according to the company.
Samsung's announcement that it will update the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 with these two features confirms that the company's other Galaxy AI functionality won't be making its way to these older handsets. AI features that won't be a part of the update include Interpreter, Live Translate, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Generative Edit, Edit Suggestion and AI-Generated Wallpaper.
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