Samsung teases Galaxy Ring and 'premium' smartwatches

What you need to know

• Samsung posted its revenue report for Q1 2024, and the company states it earned 71.92 trillion KRW in consolidated revenue and 6.61 trillion KRW in operating profits.

• The highlights are Samsung's Memory and MX businesses as the former saw a sharp turnaround from a sour 2023 thanks to generative AI.

• Samsung's MX Business attributes its success to the Galaxy S24 series and teases it will continue to "invest" and bring Galaxy AI to more devices.

• The report also teased the Galaxy Ring and new "premium" model smartwatches.

As usual, Samsung posted a roundup detailing its performance in the opening quarter of 2024 and it seems things have taken a positive turn as the company preps for exciting new launches this summer.

According to Samsung, the company earned 71.92 trillion KRW (Korean won) in consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2024. Operating profits were said to have reached 6.61 trillion KRW. As CNBC notes, these numbers are higher than what analysts previously forecasted for Samsung.

The Korean OEM's Q1 earnings see a 12.8% jump compared to last year. However, its operating profits grew substantially by 932% during the same period in 2023.

The company says its DS Division posted 23.14 trillion KRW and 1.91 trillion KRW in operating profits. The reason seems to align with the demand for Samsung-made servers and storage for generative AI. As Samsung looks ahead to Q2, it anticipates things will remain stable with its memory business as it continues to supply servers for AI.

Samsung's MX and Network businesses posted 33.53 trillion KRW in consolidated revenue and 3.51 trillion KRW in operating profits in Q1 2024, which it attributes to the success of the Galaxy S24 series. Additionally, Samsung states that its usage rates for Galaxy AI features like Circle to Search have remained "high." The Korean OEM states its MX Business will "remain committed" to R&D investments in AI and more.

More importantly, Samsung sees Galaxy AI as the driving force behind its phone sales, stating it will "seek annual growth." The company then teased it would expand its Galaxy portfolio by bringing Galaxy AI to "existing and new flagship" products like foldables and tablets. The other side of this business is its wearables, to which Samsung mentions the Galaxy Ring — a new contender we're expecting later this year.

Smartwatches will also play a role, with Samsung stating it will look to "meet demand for upgrades through the launch of new premium models." It's unclear exactly what Samsung means here, but rumors of an expanded Galaxy Watch profile have been circulating, with talk of a Galaxy Watch 7, 7 Classic, and 7 Ultra. Normally, Samsung launches two variants of watches, so a third, more premium model would help the company compete with the likes of the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

This positive turnaround for Samsung is likely taken with a sigh of relief as the company had quite an upsetting 2023. The company's Q4 2023 earnings highlighted a critical blow its semiconductor business took, which it attributed to a "delayed economic recovery." The brand's overall revenue dropped by about 35%, as well.

At the time, Samsung stated it would look toward the Galaxy S24 series and its recent investments in Galaxy AI to turn things around in 2024. The company also anticipated its memory business would see positivity this year as demands for PCs and mobile devices shifted into the green.

Elsewhere, Samsung has already started bringing Galaxy AI to older devices like the Galaxy S23 during its One UI 6.1 update. The company also suggested that "existing" devices could also pick up some of the new features, such as the two-year-old Galaxy S22.