Galaxy AI, mixed reality and foldables

In a swanky downtown Paris hotel, Samsung Electronics’ mobile boss sat behind a suite of the tech giant’s latest products, ranging from foldable smartphones to the brand new smart ring — underscoring how the South Korean firm is looking to lock customers into its world of products to drive sales.

TM Roh is the man tasked with bringing Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, into the artificial intelligence era.

In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC at that Paris hotel earlier this month, Roh laid out Samsung’s vision for Galaxy AI, its suite of artificial intelligence features, how the company is thinking about making money off software and about future products, such as mixed reality headsets.

These include features like interpreter, which can translate spoken language between two people, and the Notes app that can record audio, transcribe and summarize what has been said or noted down.

AI has become the key focus for Samsung this year, as the firm looks to drive sales to its premium handsets at a time when consumers are holding onto their phones for longer and remain cautious on spending.

“We are reinforcing and bringing more AI capabilities to our products. As consumers use more AI capabilities, they can actually feel the convenience and benefits they bring,” Roh told CNBC in Korean translated by a company translator.

“I believe strongly that these Galaxy AI, mobile AI are strong motivation and driver for purchase of new products,” he added.

“Galaxy AI is here” was the slogan plastered across posters at the location of the Galaxy Unpacked launch — the Carrousel du Louvre, a shopping center and events space near the famous Louvre museum in Paris.

It highlights Samsung’s marketing blitz to tell users that its phones now have AI capabilities, as it looks to fend off Apple’s AI push. The U.S. technology giant announced Apple Intelligence in June, but this set of AI features won’t start rolling out until fall, and there are many regions where it won’t be avaialable, such as in China.

Still, many analysts don’t expect these early AI apps alone to drive new phones sales.

Roh anticipates the technology will develop over the longer term.

“When you think about when first smartphones and the internet came to being only a handful of people … used smartphones and internet. But as they progress, as they become more advanced, they became more pervasive in day-to-day lives. And I think [the] same applies to mobile AI as well,” Roh said.

Revenue in Samsung’s mobile business has historically come from sales of various smartphones and other devices. This stands in contrast to Apple, which, on top of cashing in iPhone revenue, makes billions of dollars from…